The Hue Relics Preservation Centre (HRPC) has decided to manage Hue ’s relic sites through geographic information technology (GIS) on a large scale to meet UNESCO’s requirements, according to HRPC Director Phan Thanh Hai.

To that end, a training course on how to use GIS started in June 2013, held by the HRPC and the Urban Solution consulting company of the NUFFIC – the Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education.

Some 23 trainees from the course, which ended on October 30, have acquired the skills needed to use GIS and analyse databases concerning Hue’s cultural heritages.

According to Stephanie Geertman, a representative from Urban Solutions, the course helped establish different maps on GIS, which are considered useful tools for preserving and restoring heritage sites and promoting tourism development in the future.

About 1,500 trees in the Hue Royal Palace have been managed by GIS technology, Hai said, adding that the technology helps the city manage its plant system, define the density of flora on each street and make plans to prune the plants in the rainy season.

Hue attracted nearly two million tourists including 752,000 foreign arrivals to the ancient capital over the last nine months.

Hue was the capital of Vietnam between 1802 and 1945 under the reign of 13 Nguyen Kings.-VNA