Thua Thien Hue celebrates 30th anniversary of Complex of Hue Monuments acknowledged as World Heritage

The event drew the participation of Politburo Member, President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theory Council Nguyen Xuan Thang; Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang, and acting head of UNESCO Viet Nam Office Miki Nozawa among others.

Addressing the event, Chairman of the Thua Thien Hue provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van Phuong said: Thua Thien Hue is one of the country-wide major culture - tourism centers - where Vietnamese quintessence and culture converge, holding an extremely rich and diverse treasure of cultural heritage as a crystallization of the effort, wisdom and talent of the whole country.

Thirty years ago, at the 17^th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, the Complex of Hue Monuments was recognized as a World Cultural Heritage; and exactly 10 years later, Nha Nhac -  the Vietnamese Court Music was also proclaimed as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

These are the first tangible and intangible cultural heritages of Viet Nam to be inscribed on the list by UNESCO, Nguyen noted

Throughout the history of Hue ancient capital, many cultural heritages of outstanding universal value have been created; however, but due to the wars and natural disasters, Hue's cultural heritages have been seriously affected: many important monuments have been damaged and, in some sense, destroyed; the intangible cultural forms such as royal festivals, royal court music, royal classical opera - Tuong, royal dance are falling into oblivion.

In 1981, after a visit to Hue, Mr. M'Bow - Director-General of UNESCO at that time, in Ha Noi, made a global appeal to save Hue cultural heritage: "Hue heritages are in danger and on the edge of the abyss of doom and oblivion" and only "an urgent rescue" with the efforts of the Vietnamese Government together with the international community could help them out of this reality, he recalled.

The Central Government's directions on culture and the appeal of the UNESCO Director-General marked a turning point in the safeguarding and preservation of Hue heritages; Hundreds of monuments have been restored and refurbished, many of which are ranked as outstanding value. Intangible cultural heritages were also focused on methodical conservation research and effective promotion.

The face of Hue Heritage has been constantly changing, resurrecting from the ruins, gradually returning to its inherent appearance in history and reaching out with increasingly intense vitality, helping Thua Thien Hue step out to become the first locality in the country to have the first two tangible and intangible heritages honored by UNESCO.

Up to now, Thua Thien Hue has seven heritages recognized by UNESCO, of which five are owned by Hue and 2 are shared by other localities.

In order to orient and improve the stature and position of Hue Heritage towards the general development trend of the country in the context of deeper and more intensive international integration, the Politburo issued the Conclusion No. 48-KL/TW in 2009 and the Resolution No. 54-NQ/BCT in 2019 on building and development of Thua Thien Hue Province, in which emphasized investment in the cause of conservation and promotion of heritages and building Thua Thien Hue into one of the regional and country- wide culture tourism centers; affirming the very important role of Hue Heritage in the socio-economic development of the country and the province itself, especially the fundamental role of building Hue into a municipality.

Along with that, the Central Government has also paid great attention and promptly promulgated many specific conservation mechanisms, policies and strategies to help create an important legal basis for the strategy of conserving and promoting the values of Hue cultural heritages comprehensively, both tangible and intangible, landscape and environment, and expand international exchange and cooperation relations.

Nguyen said this year's anniversary is an opportunity for us to objectively and comprehensively review and evaluate the conservation and promotion of the cultural heritage values of Hue Ancient Capital.

The provincial leaders highly appreciate the outstanding achievements, efforts and endeavors of the local cultural sector, especially the Hue Monuments Conservation Center - the unit directly implementing the conservation and promotion for the cultural heritage values of Hue Ancient Capital.

Besides the achievements that have been gained, there are many unresolved difficulties and many typical monuments that have not been restored, traces of ruins in many relics have not been erased yet; the Hue relics have not lived up to their potentials and strengths, the comparative advantages of Hue Ancient Capital have not been fully harnessed, according to the provincial chairman.

Although intangible cultural values are prioritized for investment, the results achieved are still limited compared to the requirements. Solving the dilemma between "conservation and development" is a great challenge for Thua Thien Hue Province. Therefore, all government employees and local people need to join hands to actively and effectively participate in the conservation and promotion of the cultural heritage values of Hue Ancient Capital.

He took the occasion to expressed thank the Politburo, the National Assembly, the Government for their attention and direction, the Central committees, ministries and agencies, localities and international organizations for their support and assistance.

He would also like to recognize and appreciate the positive contributions of domestic and foreign collectives and individuals who have directly or indirectly participated in the restoration, protection and promotion of Hue cultural heritage values, not only with spiritual, material, mental and intellectual support, but also with their own lives.

Nguyen expressed his hope to continuously receive more attention and guidance from the Politburo, the National Assembly, the Government, central committees, ministries, agencies, localities, and international organizations, friends from near and far.

Preserving and promoting the heritage values of Hue Ancient Capital will reach a new height, contributing to turning Thua Thien Hue Province into a municipality with unique characteristics of culture, heritage, ecology, landscape, environmental friendliness and smart city, Nguyen stressed.

In his remarks, Politburo Member, President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theory Council Nguyen Xuan Thang highlighted: Over a history of more than 700 years since the opening of the realm, the predecessors have constantly devoted their efforts and wisdom to build a "romantically picturesque, peaceful and culturally rich land" of Hue and to forge valuable qualities of the Hue people: the patriotism, loyalty, solidarity, harmony, fondness for learning, sophistication, humility and hospitality.

Hue is proud to be the home of many talented patriots, revolutionaries, writers and artists; the place where many Vietnamese intellectuals marked important milestones in their lives and careers; and is the land where many affections are kept for our dear President Ho Chi Minh.

Hue culture is a unique culture in the overall culture of Viet Nam. The interweaving and blending of many rich cultural nuances with the dreamy beauty of the Huong River, Ngu Binh Mountain, Tam Giang Lagoon, Lang Co Bay, Bach Ma National Park and many other magnificent natural landscapes has created its own characteristics and charm, which cannot be found in anywhere else. Over time, such characteristics and charm have been blended in the tangible and intangible cultural heritages, from architecture, music, beliefs, rituals, to our cuisine, traditional crafts… making them shine and become the pridefulness of Vietnamese culture and are honored and recognized by the world.

With the Complex of Hue Monuments – Vietnam's first Cultural Heritage recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage and 10 years later, the Nha Nhac - Vietnamese Court Music paved the way for Vietnamese cultural heritages to the world, gradually integrating deeply and extensively into the region and the world, affirming to the world that: Vietnamese culture is an advanced culture imbued with national identity; Viet Nam is a country that is rich in culture and has great potentials to develop cultural industries and services.

Today, Thua Thien Hue is conserving nearly 1,000 historical and cultural relics and more than 500 festivals of all kinds, deeply reflecting an important historical and cultural period of the Vietnamese nation.

This is also the only province in Viet Nam as well as in Southeast Asia that has five UNESCO heritage sites. Hue heritages, carrying the diversity and uniqueness of the culture and the good qualities of Hue people, clearly represent the stature and values and become a great driving force for socio-economic development of Thua Thien Hue Province.

In particular, Hue heritage is also unique cultural diplomatic channel, a critical bridge in promoting diplomatic relations, friendly cooperation and enhancing mutual understanding between Viet Nam and other countries.

Hue heritage sites, which are considered meeting places for leaders, and presidents of other nations, domestic and foreign partners when they come to Hue and Viet Nam, leave many deep impressions on visitors. This is really a great pride of the local residents, Vietnamese citizens across the country and abroad, a vivid demonstration of the proper policy of our Party, that is: Culture is the spiritual foundation of society, an objective and an internal strength as well as a key driving force for the rapid and sustainable development of the country.

On behalf of the leadership of the Party and State, Nguyen warmly commended the efforts and achievements that the Party Committee, government and people of Thua Thien Hue province, who have been successfully carrying out the missions of protecting, conserving and promoting the invaluable cultural assets of the nation.

He urged local authorities to keep raising awareness of the position and role of cultural values and human strength in the development of Thua Thien Hue Province, and promote the work of conservation and promotion of heritage values of Hue Ancient Capital.

The local authorities also need to stick to the principle of ensuring the harmonious relationship amongst preservation, conservation, promotion and development, the harness and promotion to create economic values of cultural heritages must always go hand in hand with conservation and embellishment for sustainable development.

Other immediate and long-term tasks include promoting communication and promotion to spread the symbolic values of the Heritages of Hue Ancient Capital; increasing investment resources for cultural and human development, developing with focus and objectives to create a breakthrough in a number of cultural industries and services with great potential and strength of Thua Thien Hue Province./.