Nearly 130 years have passed, Quoc Hoc School still stands quietly on the banks of the gentle Huong River, providing shade for each generation of students to nurture their dreams. Today, in addition to being a place of study, every summer, the school becomes a tourist attraction with its ancient architecture, bearing historical marks.
The school was built during the reign of King Thanh Thai 8 (October 23, 1896), originally named Phap Tu Quoc Hoc Duong with primary level specializing in teaching French, in addition to Quoc Ngu and Chinese characters. This is the first junior high school in Hue and is one of the three oldest high schools in Vietnam, after Le Quy Don High School in Ho Chi Minh City, built in 1874 and Nguyen Dinh Chieu High School in Tien Giang, built in 1879.
The school gate is built with two floors and covered with glazed tiles.
Located on the main Le Loi street in the center of Hue city, the school gives a strong oriental impression with its bell-shaped gate and glazed tile roof - an architecture commonly found in Hue palaces. The fence surrounding the school is painted dark red, making the school look like a "red address", making it easy for visitors to find on the busy street with people and vehicles.
View of the school campus of more than 10,000 m22Nowadays, few people think that when the school was first established, it was just three old-style buildings, thatched houses with mud walls, which were originally converted naval barracks. In 1915, when it was rebuilt, the new thatched houses were replaced by two rows of brick-built, tile-roofed buildings in the Western European style, which have been preserved to this day.
The wall surrounding the school is painted dark red.
The school is where President Ho Chi Minh attended the second year of high school in the 1908-1909 school year, when Nguyen Sinh Sac was in the capital Hue to take up the position of Minister of Rites. In addition, many talented people and leaders of Vietnam such as General Vo Nguyen Giap, General Secretary Tran Phu, General Secretary Ha Huy Tap... also attended this prestigious school.
Having gone through the sun, wind and changes for nearly 100 years, Quoc Hoc School was recognized as a national historical relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on March 26, 1990. Also in that year, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday, the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Thua Thien Hue together with Quoc Hoc School built a statue of young man Nguyen Tat Thanh (another name of President Ho Chi Minh) in the center of the school, which can be easily seen from the gate.
The statue of Nguyen Tat Thanh is located in the center of the campus.
The statue was originally built of plaster and white cement. In 2006, the statue was recast in bronze, 3 meters high, placed on a natural reddish-brown ruby stone base. Until now, this is still a favorite place for many tourists to take souvenir photos, recording the moment of visiting the most famous school in Hue.
At the highest position of the central building of the school, the words "Talents are the vitality of the nation" serve as a reminder for generations of students to continue the tradition of studiousness so that the "vital vitality of the nation" will be abundant and last forever.
The golden letters are placed solemnly at the highest place of the school.
Walking in the green campus with shady trees, stone benches lying quietly under the sun, the chirping of cicadas at the beginning of the day evokes memories of a distant time when we went to school, frolicking in the sun. The classrooms and corridors of the school are all surrounded by rows of ancient green trees, making the deep red paint stand out even more.
The school has four main buildings for teaching, a gymnasium, a memorial house, a swimming pool, a badminton court, a football field, and a basketball court. All of them have typical French architecture, built more than 100 years ago and still retain their ancient appearance to this day.
The school campus is covered with trees and green grass.
All main and secondary buildings and corridors are painted in dark red, giving an antique feel.
Visiting the school on a beautiful morning, Nguyen Tran Hieu from Ho Chi Minh City felt his heart flutter with each gust of wind that made the treetops sway gently in the clear sunlight of the early morning. "Watching the mischievous look of my beloved in a white dress in the school yard, I felt like a little student, peeking out the window at the silhouette in my heart," Hieu confided.
In the summer, the Royal Poinciana flowers bloom under the blue sky, recalling a season of melancholy. Sitting on the stone bench, perhaps many people suddenly remember the last summer of high school when they said goodbye to teachers, friends and school, carrying their luggage to embark on a new journey.
Nguyen Tran Hieu is one of many tourists moved by the beauty of Quoc Hoc School in the early morning sun.
Amidst the ancient space, the white dress by the window evokes a nostalgic innocence.
Quoc Hoc School is a place that evokes memories of student days.
For the people of Hue, the school is like an eternal presence, the flow of time parallel to the flow of the Perfume River. But for visitors from afar, this school is like a key that opens an old box, containing memories or nostalgia of 5, 10 or many years ago, of the white shirt silhouette under the blooming royal poinciana flowers in the corner of the school yard.
