The delegation included, UNESCO’s Chief Representative in Vietnam, Katherine Muller-Marin and Head of the Culture and External Relations and UNESCO Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pham Sanh Chau along with representatives, ambassadors and deputy ambassadors from China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Austria, Indonesia, Morocco, Russia, Germany and the Belgium.

During the visit, the foreign diplomats were provided with detained information about global outstanding value of the Ho Dynasty Citadel.

The citadel of the Ho Dynasty, also called Tay Do Citadel, is situated in Vinh Tien and Vinh Long communes, Vinh Loc district, west of Thanh Hoa city.

Built about 600 years ago, with four gates in the centre of the wall facing South, North, East and West, the Ho Dynasty Citadel is an old military compound of great cultural and historical value. It was the old capital of Vietnam from 1397 to 1407.

The citadel includes three sections: A bamboo hedge, a moat and parts of the citadel walls behind which are the structures of several palaces connected to each other by marble-paved roads.

In 2004, Vietnamese and Japanese archaeologists conducted initial excavations in the centre of the citadel and found architectural traces of old palaces. In 2010, they discovered the foundation and main part of the Nam Giao, an elevated platform for royal rituals worshiping the Heaven and the Earth, about 30cm under ground.

The excavations also revealed thousands of artefacts believed to belong to the Ho Dynasty and ceramics of Vietnam and China, proving cultural exchanges had existed between Vietnam and neighbouring countries at the time.

Thanh Hoa province has submitted the complete dossier on the Ho Dynasty Citadel to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for consideration and recognition as a world heritage site.