An ancient villa located on the edge of Pleiku city (Gia Lai) was built nearly a century ago. Over time, the villa is only ruins and interesting stories are handed down.
About 1 km from Ham Rong mountain is the vestige of an ancient villa located in Ngol Ta village, Chi Lang ward, Pleiku city, Gia Lai. The ancient villa is located on land under the management of the Tropical Forestry Center (Forestry Science Institute of South Central and Central Highlands, Vietnam Academy of Forestry Science). Around the old villa are green pine forests.
On the bronze sea of the villa, it is written that it was built in 1930. The shape of the villa is designed according to French architecture. Over time, the mansion was not intact. The roof was completely damaged, leaving only the frame and some pillars and walls of the villa.
The remaining solid and meticulously constructed part is the foundation with a height of more than 2 m. Although nearly a century, the mixed concrete layer is still difficult to peel off. In addition, the villa has a few chimneys built in the corner of the rooms, each room in the villa also has a fireplace.
A staff representative of the Center for Tropical Forestry shared, according to the map of the Da Lat Department of Geography, before 1975, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thi was the owner of the plantation area with these old French villas. After that, the Agricultural Soil Erosion Prevention Research Station took over and handed over about 9 hectares of land to the Management Center until now.
Mr. Truong Van Luan – Deputy Director of Thuan Tien Gia Lai Transport Service Co., Ltd , who used to live in this ancient villa, said that around 1978, officers and employees of the Anti-erosion Research Station Agricultural land in the Central Highlands (Hanoi University) is transferred to this place.
Everyone living in this villa has the task of studying the climate, hydrology and geomorphology of Gia Lai in particular and the Central Highlands in general for the State to implement agricultural programs. After the project is completed, it will be handed over to the inherited Tropical Forestry Center.
“Before we were here, this area was a coffee plantation owned by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thi. I heard, before that, this was the Plant Breeding Research Camp of the old regime. They built 8 villas for When we were still working at the camp, General Vo Nguyen Giap and his wife, leaders of the State and Gia Lai province visited,” Mr. Luan recalled.
On weekends, sometimes groups of young people come to the villa to take pictures and film souvenirs. Pictures from the moss-covered walls, plus a few large trees growing in the rooms of the house, yellow wildflowers have created a nostalgic beauty and close to nature. The entrance is also convenient, so it attracts young people who love to explore and admire.
Pleiku City People’s Committee also actually surveyed this ancient French villa. However, there are still many further evaluations to build the plan of that area into a relic, sightseeing and tourist destination.
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