Hồ Thủy Tiên

Hồ Thủy Tiên (lit. 'Daffodil Lake', also known as Thiên An park) is a community park and former water park located on the outskirts of Huế, Vietnam. After its openingl in period in 2004 and was operational for a few years, the park gained notoriety for its dilapidated state, becoming a destination for urban explorers. The Hue city government said in 2022 that it would renovate the park and reopen it in March 2023, but it was later reported that problems had risen and it had not been possible as of August 2023, although it could be visited in its dilapidated and closed condition. The property was reclaimed by the municpicial authorities, who conducted restoration work and reopened it as a community park in 2025.

Hồ Thủy Tiên
Entrance of the water park
Location	Thủy Bằng [vi] rural commune, Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế, Vietnam
Owner	Thừa Thiên Huế Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment (present)
Operated by	Huế Capital Tourism Company (2004)
Opened	2004
Closed	2004; 21 years ago (2004)
Status	Defunct[[]]

History

The park, located near Thiên An hill (already a tourist attraction for its monastery and natural environment) and the lake of the same name about ten kilometers away from the city of Huế, began construction in 2000 and was finished and opened to the public in 2004 by the city's state funded tourism company at a projected cost exceeding ₫70 billion (US$3 million).^[1][2] Reportedly, it was only half finished when it was constructed, but was still relatively popular when it opened.^[3] However, the park closed down after a few months. The investment company Haco Hue took over the park and reopened it in 2006, with plans to create a new eco-tourism complex, but ultimately had to shut down the park by 2011 due to a lack of business. The province again attempted to revive the park three years later, but the financial inability of Haco Hue to return to the project, compounded by the lack of progress made, led to the provincial government reclaiming the land and prohibiting entry to the premises due to safety concerns from the now-deteriorated infrastructure.^[4][5]

In 2016, HuffPost ran a story on the attention the park gained from backpackers and other tourists,^[6] which sparked a wider interest in the property.^[7][5] Visitors have described Hồ Thủy Tiên has "eerie" and "surreal" due to its abandonment and lack of regular human presence.^[8] On the other hand, it has also been considered an "off-the-beaten-path" attraction with a unique aesthetic.^[3] Despite the prohibition on entry, locals at the gate allow tourists in for a fee. Reportedly, crocodiles placed in the park while it was open continued to roam there until travelers placed pressure on animal rights organizations, causing the Vietnamese government to relocate them to a nature preserve.^[9][2] The park's "desolate, creepy image" has led to several artists using it as a backdrop to their music videos, including the videos for We Must Love by ONF, Bad Memories by Meduza and James Carter, and Warpaint by Niki.^[10]

In 2020, the provincial government announced plans to redevelop and connect the park, but the debt of Haco Hue provided issues for attracting investors.^[11] After spending ₫20 billion ($844,100) to renovate the park, the Huế city government announced it would be opened to tourists from March 2023 after renovation.^[12] However, an August 2023 article from Vietnamese state media describing it as abandoned, though disclosing information on how to visit the dilapidated and non-functioning park, said that the project had not yet been implemented due to "problems related to procedures for land allocation and auction of properties left by the old investor".^[13] By 2025, the property had reverted back to the municipial government, who sold off assets to pay accumulated debts and directed the Thuan Hoa District Green Park Center to renovate the park, opening it as a community park that year. The restoration included debris removal and the paving and repaving of paths, including a new one around the namesake lake. Certain aspects, like the graffiti on a dragon statue in the middle of the lake, were preserved.^[14]