Preserving and Promoting Cultural and Historical Values

Completely aware of the spirit of the Resolution of the 5th Central Party Committee (8th term) on building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity, Ninh Binh has made efforts to preserve and promote tangible and intangible material and spiritual cultural heritages, which make Ninh Binh more known to the world for tourism and investment.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports, said, historical and archaeological studies showed that human beings resided in Ninh Binh from a very early age. In this land, all ethnic groups have an inheritance of cultural creativity. Over time, Ninh Binh handed down many historical and cultural imprints linked to important historical events of Vietnam. Currently, Ninh Binh has preserved a lot of charismatic natural landscapes, which are important resources for stronger economic development and more robust cultural exchange with countries and ethnic groups in the world. Typical cultural heritages, which have strong impacts on Ninh Binh development, include Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, Cuc Phuong National Park and Phat Diem Church.

Experiencing resistance wars against colonialists and imperialists, like other localities across Vietnam, Ninh Binh had revolutionary bases where senior leaders and patriotic politicians worked. Ninh Binh has many officially recognized wartime relics, with nine communes in Nho Quan district named the Wartime Safe Zone by the Prime Minister.

Ninh Binh province is home to 1,821 relics, including 279 in Gia Vien district, 222 in Yen Khanh district, 286 in Yen Mo district, 317 in Nho Quan district, 272 in Hoa Lu district, 188 in Kim Son district, 61 in Tam Diep City and 196 in Ninh Binh City.

With its ongoing efforts, at the end of 2020, Ninh Binh had 370 officially recognized monuments, including 289 provincial monuments and 81 national monuments or higher, of which three were named special national monuments (Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Historic and Cultural Complex, Trang An - Tam Coc - Bich Dong Scenic Landscape Complex, and Non Nuoc Mountain). In 2014, Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex (which holds five national treasures of special cultural, historical and artistic value) was honored by UNESCO as a world natural and cultural heritage. This important event confirmed the result of heritage conservation, posing the importance of heritage conservation linked with sustainable development in all aspects of economic, cultural and social life in Ninh Binh and opening up opportunities to use heritage values as resources for tourism development, domestic and international cultural exchange.

Ninh Binh currently has 466 intangible cultural heritages, which are important resources for tourism development, attractive tourist destinations, and meaningful instruments for traditional education. The province also capably builds a social moral foundation, develops socially spiritual and cultural life, creates motivation for comprehensive economic, cultural and social development of Ninh Binh province and contributes to the general development of Vietnam in the current period. Every year, the province has hundreds of popular festivals hosted by residential communities, which draw the attention of many people, domestically and internationally. Its popular intangible heritages have been introduced to many countries around the world such as xam singing, cheo singing, Ninh Hai embroidery, Ninh Van stone sculpture, and Kim Son sedge mattress. If traditional trade villages are invested to develop into economic sectors, arts will be made into tourism products in addition to their traditional function of serving the spiritual life of people.

Ninh Binh has coordinated with central research institutes to carry out more than 20 programs to preserve intangible cultural heritages throughout the province since 1998. Two major projects have been implemented since 2018, including the Project on “Preserving and promoting values of intangible cultural heritages to practice Tam Mau beliefs of Vietnamese people” in Ninh Binh province and the Project on “Restoring, preserving and promoting the art of xam singing in Ninh Binh province in 2019-2022".

Besides, Ninh Binh has carried out many historical and cultural research projects, with special attention paid to archaeological research. Since 2018, the province organized three scientific seminars and one provincial science and technology project on “Research and identification of Son Lai Imperial Land of Dai Co Viet State, executed two research projects - “Researching the history of Gia Thuy land from the beginning of Anno Domini to the period of Dai Co Viet State” and “Archaeological study of the land from the confluence of the Boi River to the imperial capital Hoa Lu from the beginning of Anno Domini to the period of Dai Co Viet State”.

While effectively and safely preventing and controlling the COVID-19 epidemic, in the first 6 months of 2021, the Department of Culture and Sports advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee and coordinated with all relevant agencies and local authorities to complete many projects and programs, especially the successful organization of “Opening ceremony of the National Tourism Year Hoa Lu - Ninh Binh 2021”. The department is drafting and submitting plans and schemes on conservation of Ninh Binh cultural heritages to the Provincial People's Committee. Major priorities will be conserving and promoting cultural and historical heritage values and good traditions in Hoa Lu, the former imperial capital of Vietnam.

By effectively applying the dual goal, the culture, sports and tourism sector has helped attract tourists to Ninh Binh province in the first six months of 2021. Hoa Lu historical and cultural relic site was estimated to welcome 69,653 visitors and earned revenue of VND1.147 billion.

Director Nguyen Manh Cuong affirmed that the system of tangible and intangible cultural heritages in the province is now a valuable resource for the charm, image and value of Ninh Binh tourism. That will be the premise for Ninh Binh tourism to achieve breakthrough development in the coming time and create distinctive tourism products attractive to domestic and foreign tourists.

By Ha Thanh, Vietnam Business Forum