Con Son-Kiep Bac relic site on the journey to become a World Heritage site

Experts from Vietnam and UNESCO both assessed that the Con Son-Kiep Bac Relic Site (Hai Duong) meets very well the World Heritage criteria for efforts in conservation, protection and restoration.

The ancient beauty of Thau Ngoc Bridge in Con Son Pagoda, part of the Con Son-Kiep Bac Relic Site. (Photo: Tuan Anh/VNA)

Recently, the leader of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hai Duong said that during the survey process to carry out the scientific dossier to submit to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to recognize the Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son-Kiep Bac Monument and Landscape Complex as a World Cultural Heritage, experts from Vietnam and UNESCO both assessed that the Con Son-Kiep Bac Monument and Landscape Complex met the criteria of a world heritage very well, promoting the authenticity and integrity of the monument.

This is a favorable condition for this relic site to have a basis for the journey to become a world heritage, meeting the expectations and pride of the Vietnamese people in general and the people of Hai Duong province in particular.

Land of spiritual land and talented people

Con Son-Kiep Bac Relic Site (Chi Linh city) is known as an important spiritual and cultural address in the minds of every Vietnamese person.

The richness of tangible cultural values combined with unique intangible cultural values expressed in festivals associated with relics is the reason this place attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.

The relic site includes two main areas: Con Son Pagoda and Kiep Bac Temple.

If Con Son Pagoda is known as the ancestral place of Truc Lam Zen sect and the place that marks the life of the world cultural celebrity Nguyen Trai, Kiep Bac Temple is associated with the name of the national hero Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan with the feat of defeating the Yuan-Mongol invaders three times.

Through many historical changes, the relics and traditional festivals in Con Son-Kiep Bac still retain their values and have special appeal.

Conservation efforts

In the autumn days of September 2022, Ms. Nguyen Thi Yen (in Yen Bai ) joined the bustling crowd of people coming to Kiep Bac Temple. Ms. Yen noticed that compared to 10 years ago, when she first came here, the relic has changed a lot. Besides the ancient and solemn features, there are flower gardens, lawns, and trees that are carefully tended, green and full of life.

Ms. Yen's feelings are also the comments of the majority of tourists who have recently visited Con Son-Kiep Bac. That partly proves the effectiveness of the relic conservation work that Hai Duong province has implemented over the past years.

Kiep Bac Temple worships national hero Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan and his entire family. The temple currently preserves five bronze statues of great cultural and spiritual value. (Photo: Thanh Dat/VNA)

Along with efforts to protect existing relics, Hai Duong has researched and restored architectural works of historical relics, based on archaeological documents and results.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hai Duong Nguyen Truong Thang, implementing Decision No. 920/QD-TTg dated June 18, 2010 of the Prime Minister approving the Master Plan of Con Son-Kiep Bac Relic Site, Hai Duong has restored architectural works at Kiep Bac Temple and Con Son Pagoda.

The restoration strictly complies with the provisions of the Law on Cultural Heritage and the criteria for ranking UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Deputy Head of the Con Son-Kiep Bac Relic Management Board Le Duy Manh added: “The relics have been restored and embellished in accordance with the relic systems recorded in the stele and historical documents. At the Con Son Relic, the bell tower, the Nine-Plate Lotus Hall, the Back Hall, the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Tower, and the Bach Van Hermitage have been restored. At the Kiep Bac Relic, the disarming house, the main temple, and relics related to the Van Kiep Estate of Saint Tran in the 8th century have been restored…”

Along with that, Hai Duong also pays attention to the work of preserving and upgrading the Con Son Pagoda Festival in January and the Kiep Bac Temple Festival in August of the lunar calendar every year. Implementing the Festival Upgrade Project since 2006, Hai Duong has restored rituals, performances of the Saints, the Army Gathering on Luc Dau River, and the memorial ceremony of the death anniversary of Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan...

By 2012, Con Son-Kiep Bac was ranked as a Special National Historical and Architectural Artistic Relic. Con Son Pagoda Festival and Kiep Bac Temple Festival were recognized as National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The local government also actively and responsibly participates in the conservation of relics.

Le Loi is one of two communes with relics located in the area. Mr. Nguyen Van Luan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Le Loi commune, shared: “We have directed the People's Committee of the commune to coordinate with the Relic Management Board every year to organize well the two Spring and Autumn festivals of Con Son - Kiep Bac such as: sending people to participate in performing rituals in the festival, ensuring security and order, environmental sanitation... At the same time, directing the Fatherland Front and organizations to mobilize people and members to raise awareness in preserving and promoting the values of the relics. Most recently, we have mobilized people to support the policy of expanding the road to Con Son - Kiep Bac.”

Promoting the values of relics

Currently, every year, the Con Son-Kiep Bac Special National Monument attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world to visit and worship. During the National Day holiday on September 2, 2022 alone, over 72,000 visitors visited the monument.

To make this place an attractive spiritual destination for people across the country, in addition to conservation work, Hai Duong has done a good job of information and promotion so that the value of the relic is spread and increasingly promoted.

Ceremony to commemorate the 720th death anniversary of National Hero Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan. (Photo: Manh Minh/VNA)

Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hai Duong Nguyen Truong Thang said: "We also focus on training and professional development on cultural values, on maintenance, conservation and promotion of heritage values for officials at all levels and staff working at the Monuments Management Board."

To enhance the value of the relic, currently, Hai Duong province, along with the two provinces of Quang Ninh and Bac Giang, are urgently coordinating to build a scientific dossier "The Complex of Monuments and Landscapes of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac" to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a World Heritage Site.

By August 2022, the construction of the Dossier had completed phase 1. The leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recently agreed to adjust the progress of the Dossier construction by 12 months compared to the approved plan to ensure the quality of the dossier.

According to Mr. Le Duy Manh, the Relic Management Board also coordinated with the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology to conduct archaeological exploration and excavation at Thanh Mai Pagoda, Huyen Thien Pagoda, and Sung Nghiem Pagoda in Chi Linh City. At the same time, the Institute of Geology also conducted a survey of all relics in Chi Linh related to the Van Kiep base and Van Kiep estate of Saint Tran in the 8th century.

Following the recommendations of experts, the Management Board has renovated the relic, moved shops, and completed related records, especially archaeological excavation records at the Con Son-Kiep Bac relic from 1972 to present.

Along with that, the unit has completed the propaganda signs and boards in English and Vietnamese on the mass media, the Management Board's website and Fanpage to promote to the public the value of the relic, the famous people and the land of Chi Linh associated with the Truc Lam Zen sect and the resistance war against the Yuan-Mongol invaders in the 8th century.

It is hoped that the relic complex will soon be recognized as a world heritage site. This will be a title worthy of the multifaceted values of the relic complex in general and Con Son-Kiep Bac in particular./.

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/di-tich-con-son-kiep-bac-trong-hanh-trinh-tro-thanh-di-san-the-gioi-post815662.vnp