It has been 75 years since President Ho Chi Minh signed a decree on preserving the national cultural heritages and 15 years since the Prime Minister issued a decision setting November 23 as Vietnam's Cultural Heritage Day.
It has been 75 years since President Ho Chi Minh signed a decree on preserving the national cultural heritages and 15 years since the Prime Minister issued a decision setting November 23 as Vietnam’s Cultural Heritage Day. On this occasion, Khanh Hoa News has had an interview with Nguyen Thanh Ha, director of Khanh Hoa Provincial Department of Culture and Sports.
- Khanh Hoa Province now has 16 nation-level monuments, 176 province-level monuments, and three nation-level intangible cultural heritages. Khanh Hoa is one of the localities in Vietnam which has practiced Bai Choi, an intangible cultural heritage of humanity recognized by UNESCO. The province and provincial Department of Culture and Sports has issued and implemented many activities and projects to promote the values of monuments and cultural heritages; paid attention on protecting and preserving the monuments and cultural heritages throughout the province. Over 30 out of more than 60 monuments planned to be renovated in the 2017-2022 period have been restored. The department has also set up projects to restore and embellish Dien Khanh Ancient Citadel, road leading to Dr. Alexandre Yersin’s Tomb, and memorial stele of the historical event namely 1968 Mau Than Lunar New Year.
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Propaganda and education on cultural heritages have been carried out in many forms to provide knowledge about cultural heritage values to people, especially young people. Traditional festivals such as Ponagar Temple Festival, Am Chua Festival, and Hung Kings’ Death Anniversary were safely organized in accordance with traditional rituals. Some monuments have become tourist attractions, for example Ponagar Temple and Hon Chong tourist site.
- For the preservation and promotion of monuments and cultural heritages’ values, what are the problems that need to be solved?
- Khanh Hoa has quite many monuments; most of them were built a long time ago and have been degraded, which require big restoration projects. However, the funds for monument restoration and embellishment are limited. In many areas, public contributions for restoration are also limited due to local people’s difficult financial circumstances. Some intangible heritages, especially those of traditional arts, are facing the risk of falling into oblivion. Besides, activities connecting monuments and heritages with tourism have only been implemented in some places.
- What are some key tasks the department will implement to preserve and promote the values of monuments and cultural heritage more effectively?
- Implementing the documents of the central authorities and the province on preservation and promotion of traditional cultural values, the provincial Department of Culture and Sports, in the period from 2020 to 2025, will focus on researching, identifying and clarifying the values of local cultural heritages. Additionally, the department will continue to rank monuments; define the protected areas of some historical monuments, which are revolutionary bases, such as Dong Bo (Nha Trang); Dong Trang (Dien Khanh District); Hon Heo, and Da Ban (Ninh Hoa Town).
The department will also focus on implementing solutions to mobilize, manage and exploit all resources effectively to protect and promote the value of heritages in the province. By the end of 2025, the department will have finished 43 projects on monument restoration. Besides, the department will regularly renovate and embellish some revolutionary bases in Khanh Vinh District and Khanh Son District; complete investment in Dong Bo monument, C235 Ship memorial monument, and Dr. Alexandre Yersin’s Tomb; implement the investment projects to restore, preserve and promote the value of Dien Khanh Ancient Citadel to create a new tourist attraction in the west of Nha Trang; focus on preserving and promoting the values of the Ponagar Temple Festival, Tomb-leaving Ritual of Raglai people, Whale Worshipping Ceremony, and Bai Choi performance.
-Thank you for your answers.
Giang Đinh
Translated by H.N
