Son Duong (Tuyen Quang): Cultural preservation associated with tourism development

Reenactment of the harvest praying ritual performed by the San Diu ethnic folk culture club, Ninh Lai commune.

Developing cultural preservation clubs

Son Duong district has 19 ethnic groups living together, converging many unique cultural values. Up to now, the district has 5 intangible cultural heritages, including: Soong Co singing of the San Diu ethnic group, Sinh Ca singing of the Cao Lan people, decorative art on traditional costumes of the Red Dao people, Tho Vuc Communal House Festival in Hong Lac commune and Hong Thai Communal House Festival in Tan Trao commune have been recognized as national intangible cultural heritages.

Over the years, the preservation and promotion of the value of national cultural identity associated with the implementation of the movement "All people unite to build a cultural life" has always been of interest to the Party Committee and authorities from the district to the grassroots level and has received positive and effective responses from the people. In particular, the Department of Culture and Information of Son Duong district has always focused on developing mass cultural activities and cultural preservation clubs, gradually forming unique tourism products, contributing to the development of local tourism, creating new livelihoods for ethnic minorities.

Currently, Ninh Lai commune has 6 Soong Co singing clubs in the villages. Although he is 78 years old this year, Mr. Luu Van Nam, Head of the Soong Co singing club in Hoi Ke village, Ninh Lai commune, is still actively collecting Soong Co songs to guide the club members in practicing. Mr. Luu Van Nam shared that the club was established in 2011, and now has 24 members who are enthusiastic and passionate about the culture of the San Diu ethnic group. The club maintains activities on the 20th of every month, focusing on practicing Soong Co songs, dances and reminding members and their descendants to preserve the traditional language and costumes of the ethnic group.

In addition to practicing collected and passed down ancient songs, the club's board of directors also composed new lyrics praising the Party, Uncle Ho, and the innovative homeland of Son Duong and Ninh Lai for members to practice. Good singers and dancers taught new participants, and gradually everyone could sing and dance fluently, and could perform at cultural and artistic exchanges, and in tourism activities inside and outside the district.

Son Duong district has coordinated with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in researching and inventorying cultural heritage, organizing ethnic costume shows and establishing 32 cultural and artistic clubs for ethnic minorities. The mass cultural and artistic movement in Son Duong has developed increasingly diversely and richly, imbued with national cultural identity; gradually forming a clear healthy cultural environment, having the effect of aestheticeducation and promoting and introducing the image of the revolutionary homeland to domestic and international tourists.

Members of the Soong Co singing club in Hoi Ke village, Ninh Lai commune sing to welcome guests at the 2024 year-end summary meeting.

Consider culture as a resource for tourism development

Currently, the construction of Tan Lap Cultural - Tourist Village in Tan Trao commune, to preserve Tay ethnic culture and develop community tourism, creates a good impression on tourists coming to Son Duong.

Mr. Hoang Van Lieu, Nhien Hien restaurant, Tan Lap village, Tan Trao commune (Son Duong) said that his family's restaurant started in 2010, with a capacity of about 800 guests. Thanks to early access to social networks, his family proactively set up a Fanpage "Nhien Hien Restaurant" on Facebook with full address information and specific phone number so that tourists can easily contact for advice and service support. To diversify the choices of tourists who love to experience tourism, the restaurant has also built a menu of traditional dishes, such as: Grilled goat, grilled bamboo rice; hill chicken, smoked sausage, Hong mountain rock crab, grilled stream fish, stir-fried buffalo meat with sour bamboo shoots, seasonal wild vegetables...

There is a good sign that the Provincial Tourism Management Board is urgently recreating the traditional wedding of the Tay people at the Cultural Tourism Village of Tan Lap hamlet, Tan Trao commune, recreating the beauty of customs in the Tay people's wedding procession with simple but highly educational Quan village melodies, containing profound humanistic meanings... The excerpt of the wedding will be a special tourism product for visitors to experience, so that they can try being a bride and groom, and enjoy the unique cuisine and art of the Tay people. This is a particularly important highlight in tourism development, aiming to preserve the vitality and beauty of traditional culture in contemporary life.

Thanks to synchronous and effective solutions, tourists coming to Son Duong account for nearly 50% of the total number of tourists in the province. Social revenue from tourism activities in the district annually reaches over 1,000 billion VND. Cultural preservation associated with tourism development is a new direction in Son Duong, contributing to creating stable livelihoods for people, helping people, especially ethnic minorities, gradually escape poverty sustainably.

Son Duong ( Tuyen Quang ): Efforts to improve the lives of ethnic minorities from national target programs

Source: https://baodantoc.vn/son-duong-tuyen-quang-bao-ton-van-hoa-gan-voi-phat-trien-du-lich-1734671555667.htm