Published:  00:00 Saturday - October 16, 2010

A project to restore a 17th-century temple on the outskirts of Hanoi, which was carried out by architect Le Thanh Vinh, won the highest prize in the heritage preservation category at the International Union of Architects event in Xi'an, China.

This is the first time Vietnamese architects have won an international architecture prize for restoration work.

The project beat out 33 entries from 14 countries in the Asia Pacific region. Chu Quyen Temple, which is commonly known as Chang Temple , in Hanoi 's Ba Vi district was primarily built with wood at the end of the 17th century.

The temple was recognised as a national historic heritage site in 1962. Restoration work began in 2005 and was completed earlier this year.

Various modern techniques were used to remove mould from the wooden pillars, Vinh said.

"While overseeing the work, I noticed that we didn't have enough professional restorers," said Vinh. "We cannot restore a relic in a rush without taking proper precautions. There are only a few experts who can handle such a task."

Vinh said the country needs to begin training more restoration workers, who are experts in architecture, construction, culture and history.

Deputy Minister of Culture Tran Chien Thang said that the project should serve as the standard that later restoration projects should emulate.