Pride of Bac Ninh

Inheriting a huge and unique cultural treasure, Bac Ninh people are always proud, respectfully preserve and promote traditional cultural values ​​in the process of construction and development. With a favorable location, Bac Ninh is a place where cultures of different regions converge and assimilate, creating a unique cultural identity of Bac Ninh - Kinh Bac people.

Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and female heads of foreign representative agencies in Vietnam watch artisans making Dong Ho paintings.

Huge and unique cultural treasure

Bac Ninh - Kinh Bac, a land of "geomancy and talent", rich in historical, cultural and revolutionary traditions, the birthplace of the Ly Dynasty - the dynasty that opened and developed Dai Viet civilization. Originally the ancestral temple of Buddhism, and at the same time the first Confucian center of the country, over thousands of years of history, it has forged, crystallized and existed in the land of Bac Ninh - Kinh Bac a diverse, rich and unique cultural heritage system.

Currently, Bac Ninh has 1,589 typical historical and cultural relics, including 4 special national relics, 204 national relics, 457 provincial relics; 18 artifacts and groups of artifacts recognized as national treasures. Bac Ninh is proud to have four intangible cultural heritages recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs, Ca Tru, the practice of worshipping the Mother Goddess of the Three Realms of the Vietnamese people and the rituals and tug-of-war games of Huu Chap village. In addition, Bac Ninh also has eight intangible cultural heritages included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritages.

Currently, the dossier "Dong Ho folk painting craft" has been approved by the Prime Minister to submit to UNESCO for consideration to include in the List of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection.

Not only containing many cultural heritages, this land is also known as the land of traditional folk festivals, with nearly 600 large and small festivals; 140 craft villages, including 62 traditional craft villages; many types of folk performing arts such as: tuong, cheo, trong quan, water puppetry, folk games... In addition, thousands of rituals, customs, legends, anecdotes, folk songs, stories surrounding historical figures, predecessors and related to the human life cycle are preserved and passed down from generation to generation by the Bac Ninh - Kinh Bac communities... Bac Ninh people are gentle, hospitable, respectful of righteousness, respectful of love, always open-hearted to welcome visitors.

All of these converge to create a Bac Ninh rich in cultural heritage traditions, which is a resource for the province to develop cultural tourism. It can be said that the cultural heritage of Bac Ninh - Kinh Bac is a valuable asset of the community in the province; a symbol of longevity, and at the same time a bridge between the past, present and future of the nation.

Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs are recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Preserving and spreading heritage

Aware of the importance of protecting and promoting the value of cultural heritage, in addition to focusing on socio-economic development, Bac Ninh province always pays attention to and invests resources to preserve and promote cultural heritage types with specific policies for each field of heritage conservation.

Propaganda and promotion work is focused on in many rich and diverse forms, contributing to raising awareness and responsibility of authorities at all levels and the community in the work of preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage. The province has pioneered the implementation of the Heritage Digitization Project to sustainably preserve the cultural heritage treasure of the homeland, and at the same time completed the Project of producing propaganda films, promoting typical cultural heritage, opening up opportunities for Bac Ninh cultural heritage to "integrate" into modern society.

Every year, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism advises the Provincial People's Committee to support funding for the restoration and prevention of degradation of 50-70 relics that have been ranked by the state. In 2023 alone, the specialized agency will complete the classification dossier for eight provincial-level relics, three national-level relics, one special national relic, and one dossier for recognition of a national treasure; provide guidance on the order and procedures for restoration of 78 relics, while maintaining inspection and guidance on the management, protection, and promotion of the value of relics in the province; develop a pilot project to design and produce souvenir products for tourism from the value of cultural heritage and national treasures.

In particular, Bac Ninh is the leading province in the country in promulgating policies and mechanisms to treat artisans in the field of intangible culture, "living human treasures" who have made important contributions to preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage.

A typical example of the leadership’s attention, direction, and investment in preserving and promoting the cultural heritage values ​​of Bac Ninh is the series of action programs to preserve and promote the values ​​of Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk song heritage. Immediately after being honored by UNESCO, the province implemented a series of practical policies and guidelines to help Quan Ho folk song heritage gain new vitality in contemporary life.

In addition to fully implementing its commitments to UNESCO, the province has stepped up propaganda and promotion of Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs on the media; invested in organizing many large-scale political and cultural diplomatic events to promote the heritage. Notably, the annual "Ve mien Quan Ho" Festival; organized art exchanges, connecting and promoting the Quan Ho folk song heritage domestically and internationally; maintained the organization of Quan Ho singing programs on boats...

Many policies of the province in recent times have been meaningful, having a practical impact on the material and spiritual life of the people. Typically, the policy of honoring and rewarding professional artists and artisans; supporting original Quan Ho villages, Quan Ho practice villages, typical Quan Ho clubs... These are the sources of encouragement and motivation for artists, actors, and artisans to be more enthusiastic in their profession, actively contribute, teach, and promote the value of heritage in community life; encouraging the next generation of artisans (young people) to actively participate and contribute more in preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage in general and Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs in particular.

Along with conservation efforts, the work of inventorying and compiling scientific records of intangible cultural heritage has always received direction and attention from authorities at all levels, especially the consensus and support of local people. Notably, in the early days of spring 2024, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Ninh proactively advised and proposed to the Provincial People's Committee to actively bring traditional folk performing arts to perform at a number of relics and tourist attractions in the province, both improving the quality of destinations, stimulating tourism, and continuing to promote the heritage and image of the civilized and developed homeland of Bac Ninh.

In the context of international integration, Bac Ninh province is always at the forefront of spreading cultural heritage to the international community. On May 31, in Paris, the Provincial People's Committee coordinated with Vietnamese representative agencies in France to organize the "Bac Ninh - Kinh Bac Cultural Night" to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs being recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2009-2024). At the event, in addition to enjoying Quan Ho melodies, guests also directly heard an introduction to the unique art of making Dong Ho folk paintings of Bac Ninh province.

These continuous efforts have shown the commitment of Bac Ninh province to continue to prioritize the task of building culture and people, focusing resources and solutions to preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage associated with tourism development... contributing to helping those cultural heritages last forever and spread everywhere.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/di-san-van-hoa-niem-tu-hao-cua-bac-ninh-280990.html