Bac Ninh: Protecting cultural heritage in the new administrative space

BAC NINH - Possessing a massive cultural heritage system, diverse in types and rich in values, Bac Ninh is facing many opportunities and challenges in the management, conservation and promotion of heritage values. After more than a month of implementing the two-level local government model, the problem is how to ensure continuity, efficiency and depth in preserving local identity, while turning heritage into an endogenous resource for comprehensive development.

Huge cultural heritage

Bac Ninh is a land rich in cultural traditions, where many typical cultural values ​​of the nation converge and spread. According to the latest synthesis of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the whole province currently has 3,879 relics of all kinds, of which more than 1,400 relics have been ranked, 24 national treasures, nearly 1,400 traditional festivals and 33 national intangible cultural heritages. In particular, Bac Ninh also has 7 cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO, including: Quan Ho folk songs; Ca Tru; Practice of worshipping the Mother Goddess of the Three Realms of the Vietnamese people; Then practice of the Tay, Nung, Thai people in Vietnam; Tug of war rituals and games in Huu Chap village; Woodblocks of Vinh Nghiem pagoda; Complex of historical and scenic relics of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac. Possessing a large amount of heritage, widely distributed, and each relic contains a separate historical and cultural story, requires a comprehensive, in-depth and effective management method to properly exploit the potential and limit the risk of cultural loss.

Some ancient structures and carvings at Lo Hanh communal house were moldy due to rain.

In mid-July, when visiting Lo Hanh communal house - a national relic known as "The First Kinh Bac" in Hiep Hoa commune, we noticed that the roof of the communal house had deteriorated. Mr. Nghiem Xuan Quang, the head of Lo Hanh communal house, worried: "The roof of the communal house has been leaking since 2022, many tiles have been shifted, when it rains, water seeps through the rafters, affecting the ancient carvings. People have repeatedly requested and temporarily fixed it, but after patching one place, another place leaks again. A few months ago, a survey team came to survey but so far there has been no progress. If the repair is not done soon, the relic is at risk of serious damage."

Yen The commune owns 8/23 special national relics, belonging to the Yen The Uprising sites. According to Mr. Than Hai Nam, Secretary of the commune Party Committee, the locality is waiting for instructions to complete the relic management board. Currently, in the commune, there are many special national relics that have not been invested in, restored and embellished such as: Hom Fort, Ho Chuoi Fort, Leo Pagoda..., including relics that are deteriorating, and some sites that need archaeological excavation.

Vo Cuong Ward was originally merged from three old administrative units: Vo Cuong, Dai Phuc and Phong Khe. The ward currently has 48 relics, including 9 national relics, 18 provincial relics, 7 original quan ho villages and 2 quan ho practice villages. Ms. Ta Thi Hue, a cultural officer of the ward, said: After one month of implementing the two-level government model, the cultural sector has basically stabilized. However, the implementation of professional tasks is still confusing due to the lack of specific instructions, especially the decentralization of management and the consolidation of the relic management board after the merger.

Need many synchronized solutions

Local communities are the ones who directly own, practice and pass on heritage to the next generation. Therefore, all heritage conservation and preservation activities can only be successful with the voluntary and proactive participation of cultural subjects. The community's support not only helps protect heritage from the risk of being lost, but also spreads and enriches heritage values ​​in contemporary life.

However, after the merger, the old management decentralization documents have not been adjusted or supplemented appropriately. The local relic management board, which plays a key role in monitoring, protecting and promoting heritage values, is still waiting for consolidation according to instructions from specialized agencies. In some localities, cultural officials are disrupted in terms of organization, lack specialized human resources or have to take on many concurrent fields. This leads to a lack of focal points to monitor, advise and effectively implement heritage conservation activities at the grassroots level.

Faced with that reality, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has been proactively advising on many synchronous solutions. The Department coordinates with localities to study and grasp the current status of relic management; reports and proposes to the Provincial People's Committee to provide specific guidance on the establishment and consolidation of the Commune-level Relic Management Board. In addition, the Department strengthens coordination in propagating and promoting the values ​​of Bac Ninh cultural heritage in general and typical cultural heritage of each locality in particular to raise awareness and responsibility of the community in preserving and promoting the values ​​of heritage.

Mr. Truong Quang Hai, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: In the coming time, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will advise on decentralizing heritage management to local authorities and communities; encourage and create conditions for people to participate in community management models such as local heritage conservation teams and groups; organize training courses and foster knowledge about cultural heritage for managers, local people and artisans and craftsmen related to heritage; combine heritage conservation with tourism development, create attractive, unique, highly educational tourism products, bringing economic benefits to the locality... From now until the end of 2025, the Department will advise the Provincial People's Council to consider and promulgate a number of specific mechanisms and policies, including supporting artisans and other subjects practicing intangible cultural heritage; supporting Quan Ho villages and heritage clubs; support the caretaker of revolutionary historical sites...

Article and photos: Thanh Lam

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/bac-ninh-bao-ve-di-san-van-hoa-trong-khong-gian-hanh-chinh-moi-postid423701.bbg