Citadel of the Ho Dynasty


World Heritage Identification Number: 1358

World Heritage since: 2011

Category: Cultural Heritage

Transboundary Heritage: No

Endangered Heritage: No

Country: 🇻🇳 Viet Nam

Continent: Asia

UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific

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The Citadel of the Ho Dynasty: A Testimony to Neo-Confucianism and Southeast Asian Imperial Cities

The Citadel of the Ho Dynasty, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, stands as a significant historical monument that offers insights into the political, economic, and cultural development of Vietnam during the 14th to the 18th centuries. Situated in the picturesque landscape of Thanh Hoa province, this 15th-century stone fortress serves as a remarkable example of the fusion of feng shui principles, neo-Confucian ideologies, and southeast Asian architectural styles.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

The 14th -century Ho Dynasty citadel, built according to the feng shui principles, testifies to the flowering of neo-Confucianism in late 14th century Viet Nam and its spread to other parts of east Asia. According to these principles it was sited in a landscape of great scenic beauty on an axis joining the Tuong Son and Don Son mountains in a plain between the Ma and Buoi rivers. The citadel buildings represent an outstanding example of a new style of south-east Asian imperial city.

Encyclopedia Record: Citadel of the Hồ Dynasty

The Citadel of the Hồ Dynasty is a 15th century stone fortress in Thanh Hóa, Vietnam. It served as the western capital of the Hồ dynasty (1398–1407) while also being an important political, economic, and cultural centre in the 16th to the 18th century. It is located in modern Tây Giai commune, Vĩnh Lộc District, in Thanh Hóa Province, in Vietnam's North Central Coast region.

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Additional Site Details

Area: 155.5 hectares

UNESCO Criteria: (ii) — Significant interchange of human values
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape

Coordinates: 20.0780555556 , 105.6047222222

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Image of Citadel of the Ho Dynasty

© Loi Nguyen Duc, CC BY 2.0 Resized from original.

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Country Information: Viet Nam

Flag of Viet Nam

Official Name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Capital: Hanoi

Continent: Asia

Population (2024): 100,987,686

Population (2023): 100,352,192

Population (2022): 99,680,655

Land Area: 313,430 sq km

Currency: Vietnamese đồng (VND)

Country Data Sources

Last updated: January 18, 2026

Portions of the page Citadel of the Ho Dynasty are based on data from UNESCO — World Heritage List Dataset and on text from the Wikipedia article Citadel of the Hồ Dynasty, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes made. Additional original content by World Heritage Explorer (WHE), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. WHE is not affiliated with UNESCO or the World Heritage Committee. Legal Notice. Privacy Policy.

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