Promoting the value and enhancing the cultural heritage of the Ancestral Land

Heritage not only has spiritual value but also becomes material wealth, closely linked to the livelihood of the community. Realizing the significance and importance of this task, in recent years, Phu Tho province has paid special attention to investing in research, restoration and conservation of cultural heritage values. The merger of the provinces has opened up great opportunities for connection, exploiting common strengths, bringing cultural heritage beyond the local scope, becoming a driving force for sustainable socio-economic development.

The Hung Temple Festival is held annually and attracts a large number of people to attend. Photo: Phuong Thanh

Land of heritage convergence

According to statistics, by July 2025, Phu Tho province has 2,778 relics, of which 979 are ranked (6 special national relics, 176 national relics, 797 provincial relics), 6 national treasures and thousands of relics and antiquities preserved at the Hung Vuong Museum, private museums and historical and cultural relics of the province. Combined with the rich heritage of Hoa Binh - the cradle of Hoa Binh culture famous throughout Southeast Asia and Vinh Phuc - the land that preserves many unique architectural works and artistic relics, the common heritage of the region becomes even more massive and attractive.

Regarding intangible heritage, Phu Tho province has nearly 2,000 heritages, of which the most prominent are 5 heritages recognized by UNESCO (2 heritages recognized as subjects: Hung King worship in Phu Tho, Xoan singing in Phu Tho; 3 heritages with Phu Tho as a spreading area in the multinational dossier: Tug of War Rituals and Games, Ca Tru singing of the Vietnamese people and Practice of the Three Palaces belief of the Vietnamese people; 41 national intangible cultural heritages.

In addition, the extremely rich archaeological heritage of the merged region from Son Vi - Hoa Binh - Phung Nguyen - Dong Dau - Go Mun - Dong Son has created a continuous picture, affirming that this is the cradle of the formation of Van Lang State - the first nation of the Vietnamese people.

Not only stopping at historical and cultural values, heritages are also closely associated with contemporary life. Hung Temple Festival, Lang Suong Temple Festival, Au Co Temple Festival, Khai Ha Muong Bi Festival, Tay Thien Festival, Tro Tram Festival, and hundreds of other traditional festivals have become unique spiritual and cultural destinations, attracting millions of tourists. Traditional craft villages such as Huong Canh pottery, Sai Nga conical hats, Muong brocade weaving, Ly Nhan forging, Bich Chu carpentry... contribute to shaping the identity of the Northern midland and mountainous region.

Phu Tho Xoan singing heritage recognized by UNESCO. Photo: Phuong Thanh

In recent years, localities have focused on preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritages according to the Law on Cultural Heritages and other legal documents. Cultural heritages in the province have been identified, inventoried, and announced, serving as a basis for the development and implementation of investment plans for preserving and promoting their values. The work of planning relics has been focused on and implemented (Planning for the special national relics of Hung Temple, Planning for the special national relics of Hang Xom Trai and Mai Da Lang Vanh; Planning for the special national relics of Tho Tang communal house, Binh Son Tower; Planning for the special national relics of Tay Thien - Tam Dao). The work of preparing scientific dossiers to propose the ranking of relics at all levels and scientific dossiers to propose inclusion in the list of national intangible cultural heritages has been carried out regularly. The work of managing, preserving, and promoting the value of heritages is associated with education on patriotic traditions, national pride, and tourism development. Many relic sites, traditional rituals and festivals have attracted more and more tourists, promoting tourism development and local socio -economic development.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has consulted on mechanisms, policies, resolutions, projects and plans to preserve and promote the values ​​of cultural heritage in the province such as: Resolution of the Provincial People's Council on the mechanism to support investment in the restoration of ranked relics, support for relic caretakers, support for artisans awarded titles by the President in the field of intangible cultural heritage; Plan to support the prevention of relic degradation; Project to preserve and promote the value of Xoan singing; Project to preserve and promote the cultural values ​​of the Muong ethnic group and "Hoa Binh Culture". In the period of 2021 - 2025, nearly 250 relics were restored, embellished and prevented from degradation; more than 40 intangible cultural heritages were preserved and restored. The total investment resources are 1,100 billion VND, of which the State budget is 756 billion VND, and socialized sources are 344 billion VND.

Challenges and opportunities in the new period

In addition to the achieved results, the work of preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage is still difficult. Many types of relics such as archaeological sites and revolutionary historical relics have not received due attention. Many types of intangible cultural heritage are at risk of disappearing (such as Mo Muong, Ca Tru, ethnic languages ​​and scripts). Funding for relic restoration is still limited, and the remuneration policy for artisans and managers is still low. Some grassroots relic management boards operate part-time, lack expertise; the staff is uneven. The work of propagating and promoting heritage values ​​is still not consistent...

From the practice of preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage in the province, it can be seen that, in order to promote the achieved results and overcome the limitations, in the coming time, the province will focus on solutions to preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage associated with sustainable development. In particular, focusing on preserving and promoting the value of historical relics and scenic spots; conducting more in-depth research on Phu Tho - the homeland of the ancient Vietnamese people with cultural stages from prehistoric times to the Hung King period. Based on archaeological results, develop a plan to preserve the system of archaeological relics until 2030, with a vision to 2040; form archaeological parks for sightseeing and research.

Muong gong performance art is recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage, contributing to spreading the value of national culture. Photo: Huong Lan

Comrade Pham Nga Viet - Deputy Head of the Department of Cultural Heritage Management (Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism) said: Currently, the Department is actively advising the Provincial People's Council and People's Committee to issue specific mechanisms and policies in the field of cultural heritage to continue to better implement the work of protecting and promoting the values ​​of cultural heritage in the province, in which priority is given to special national relics (Hung Temple, Tay Thien - Tam Dao, ...), archaeological relics, revolutionary relics of the resistance war and some architectural - artistic relics of typical value. Continue to implement the Project to protect and promote heritages recognized by UNESCO; continue to research and build dossiers to submit to UNESCO for recognition of some other valuable intangible cultural heritages. In addition, the work of protecting and promoting the heritage values ​​of ethnic minorities, craft villages, traditional festivals continues to be focused on, concerned, ...

Along with that, the province promotes the application of digital technology in preserving and promoting the values ​​of national cultural heritage. Digitize data on relics, digitize intangible cultural heritage documents, documents, ancient documents related to the history and culture of Phu Tho to serve the management, research, exploitation and development of digital products on heritage to promote and introduce the province's typical heritage. Create a digital map of Phu Tho cultural heritage. Innovate the work of communication and heritage education. Propaganda, introduction and promotion of cultural heritage values ​​on mass media in cultural - sports and tourism events, trade promotion, investment promotion at home and abroad and foreign cultural events.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism also proposed to the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council and People's Committee a number of contents related to regulations on the level of funding support for those directly looking after and protecting historical and cultural relics ranked by the State in the province; regulations on the mechanism for support, investment in restoration, embellishment and prevention of degradation of historical and cultural relics ranked by the State in the province; building a dossier on the Tay Thien Mother Goddess Worship to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity; recommendations on the management model of a number of special national relics that will be directly managed by localities...

The preservation and promotion of cultural heritage values ​​associated with socio-economic development is a major and consistent policy of our Party and State. Therefore, it is necessary to have the attention of the whole society, including the leadership role of Party committees and authorities at all levels, so that Phu Tho cultural heritage continues to converge and shine, holding an important position in the treasure of Vietnamese cultural heritage, making a worthy contribution to educating love for the homeland and country, preserving national cultural identity and improving people's lives.

Huong Lan

Source: https://baophutho.vn/phat-huy-gia-tri-nang-tam-di-san-van-hoa-vung-dat-to-238426.htm