Phu Yen's Tower Square Earns 2023 Asian Townscape Award

Many visitors to Tuy Hoa City, in the south central coastal province of Phu Yen, feel that Nghinh Phong Tower is like a work in a fiction film.

Hannah Nguyen

ngminhphuong26@gmail.com November 21, 2023 | 15:46

Nghinh Phong Tower Square in Vietnam’s south-central province of Phu Yen has been given the 2023 Asian Townscape Award, establishing it as the only representative in Southeast Asia to win this year’s award, NDO reported.

The square was inaugurated in 2021, covering nearly 7,200 sq.m at the intersection of Nguyen Huu Tho and Doc Lap in Tuy Hoa City.

The tower’s design was inspired by the Ghenh Da Dia (The Cliff of Stone Plates), considered a symbol of the locality, and the legend of the “one hundred eggs and one hundred children” of Father Lac Long Quan and Mother Au Co.

A Tower Square in Phu Yen Province Earns 2023 Asian Townscape Award

An overview of Nghinh Phong Tower Square in Phu Yen province. Photo: Tuy Hoa City People’s Committee

It features two tall stone columns, one with a height of 35m representing Lac Long Quan, and another 30 metres tall representing Au Co. Fifty stone blocks are stacked on top of each other at the bottom of each tower. The wall between the two stone columns is decorated with reliefs of the land of “yellow flowers and green grass” in the locality.

The space between the two high stone columns is just enough for two people to stand. Visitors can hear nature’s special and unique music composed by the wind blowing through the gaps.

Nghinh Phong Tower in the impressive scene of sunrise. Photo: Haiconthego

Nghinh Phong Tower has been equipped with a unique lighting system combined with Bobine Tesia technology, 3D mapping, and high-intensity laser to display unique lighting effects in the evening.

With this unique location and design, visitors can enjoy a special space of nature combined with human creativity at any time of the day. They can also unleash their creativity and capture the impressive background of this towering building from every angle.

Thanks to its beauty, Nghinh Phong Tower has become an attractive destination that visitors should not ignore when visiting Phu Yen. Many tourists have shared their experience that the ideal times for taking photos at Nghinh Phong Tower are in the early morning and the late afternoon so that they can utilize the natural light of the sunrise and sunset. Many feel that Nghinh Phong Tower is like a work in a fiction film.

The space between the two high stone columns is just enough for two people to stand. Photo: cuongkhii

The Asian Townscape Awards was initiated by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in cooperation with Fukuoka Urban Research Centre, Asian Habitat Society, and Asia Townscape Design Society, in 2010.

It aims to highlight and honor significant efforts by cities, regions, organizations, and projects that have achieved excellent results in creating a comfortable living environment for people in Asia.

Winning works and projects are evaluated based on five criteria, including harmonious coexistence with the regional environment; safety, convenience, and sustainability; respect for regional culture and history; high artistic quality; contributions to local development and capabilities of becoming models for other cities.

Last year, Nguyen Tat Thanh Square in Tuyen Quang city of the northern province of Tuyen Quang was ranked fifth among 11 outstanding landscape projects winning the Asian Townscape Awards 2022.