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Nearly 130 years have passed, yet Quoc Hoc High School still stands serenely on the banks of the gentle Perfume River, providing shade for generations of students nurturing their dreams. Today, in addition to being a place of learning, every summer the school becomes a tourist attraction, drawing many visitors with its ancient architecture and historical significance.
The school was built during the reign of King Thành Thái (October 23, 1896). Its original name was Pháp tự Quốc học Đường, offering primary education specializing in French, but also teaching Vietnamese and classical Chinese. It was the first secondary school in Huế and one of the three oldest high schools in Vietnam, after Lê Quý Đôn High School in Ho Chi Minh City (built in 1874) and Nguyễn Đình Chiểu High School in Tiền Giang (built in 1879).
The school gate was built with two stories and covered with glazed tiles.
Located on Le Loi main road in the heart of Hue city, the school makes a strong initial impression with its distinctly Eastern design, featuring a bell-shaped gate and a glazed tile roof – an architectural style commonly seen in Hue's palaces. The surrounding fence is painted a deep red, making the school a prominent landmark, easily found by visitors on the bustling street.
Take a look around the school grounds, which span over 10,000 square meters.2Nowadays, few people realize that when it was first established, the school consisted of only three old-style buildings, thatched-roof and mud-walled structures, originally renovated naval barracks. In 1915, during reconstruction, the thatched-roof buildings were replaced with two rows of brick-built, tiled-roof buildings in the Western European style, which have been preserved to this day.
The walls surrounding the school are painted a dark red.
This school is where President Ho Chi Minh attended the second year of high school in the 1908-1909 academic year, during the time when Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac was in Hue to take up the position of Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Rites. In addition, many talented individuals and leaders of Vietnam, such as General Vo Nguyen Giap, General Secretary Tran Phu, and General Secretary Ha Huy Tap, also studied at this prestigious school.
Having withstood sun, wind, and changes for nearly 100 years, Quoc Hoc High School was recognized as a national historical relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on March 26, 1990. Also in that year, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birth, the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Thua Thien Hue, together with Quoc Hoc High School, erected a statue of the young Nguyen Tat Thanh (another name for President Ho Chi Minh) in the center of the school grounds, easily visible from the gate.
A statue of Nguyen Tat Thanh (Ho Chi Minh) is placed in the center of the school grounds.
Initially constructed from plaster and white cement, the statue was recast in bronze in 2006, standing 3 meters tall and placed on a base of natural reddish-brown ruby stone. To this day, it remains a popular spot for tourists to take souvenir photos, capturing moments of their visit to the most famous school in Hue.
At the top of the central building of the school, the inscription "Talented people are the lifeblood of the nation" serves as a reminder to generations of students to continue the tradition of studiousness so that the "lifeblood of the nation" will be abundant and endure for generations to come.
The golden lettering is prominently displayed at the highest point of the school building.
Strolling through the lush, tree-shaded grounds, the stone benches sit silently in the sun, the incessant chirping of cicadas at the start of the day evokes memories of a bygone era of carrying schoolbooks and playing happily in the sunshine. The rows of classrooms and corridors are surrounded by ancient trees, making the deep red paint of the buildings stand out even more.
The school has four main buildings for teaching, a gymnasium, a memorial hall, a swimming pool, badminton courts, a football field, and a basketball court. All of them feature distinctive French architecture, built over 100 years ago and retaining their antique charm to this day.
The school grounds are covered with shady trees and green lawns.
All the main and auxiliary buildings and corridors are painted in a deep red color, giving them a vintage feel.
Visiting the school on a beautiful morning, Nguyen Tran Hieu from Ho Chi Minh City felt his heart flutter with every gentle breeze that stirred the trees in the clear early morning sunlight. "Watching the playful look of the girl I love in her white dress in the schoolyard, I felt like a little schoolboy, secretly watching her from the window," Hieu confided.
In summer, the flamboyant trees bloom profusely against the blue sky, evoking a season of poignant farewells. Sitting on a park bench, many people may involuntarily recall that summer of their final year of high school, when they said goodbye to teachers, friends, and school, and embarked on a new journey.
Nguyen Tran Hieu is one of many visitors who were moved by the beauty of Quoc Hoc High School in the early morning sun.
Amidst the antique atmosphere, the white attire by the window evokes a sense of innocent nostalgia.
Quoc Hoc High School is a place that evokes memories of school days.
For the people of Hue, the school is like an enduring presence, its passage of time paralleling the flow of the Perfume River. But for visitors from afar, this school is like a key unlocking an old box, containing memories or nostalgia from 5, 10, or many years ago, about the image of white uniforms under the blossoming flame trees in the schoolyard.
