The persistent journey to bring Yen Tu to be recognized as a World Cultural Heritage

Everyone's faces were radiant, because after many years of perseverance, the spiritual, historical, landscape and ideological values of Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong and the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect were honored by the world .

Meeting us again in joy, Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ninh province, said with emotion: "I am so happy, guys! There were times when it seemed like the Yen Tu heritage dossier was eliminated and had to be redone from the beginning. But thanks to the perseverance, persistence and consensus of the members, Yen Tu heritage was recognized by UNESCO."

Crowds of people and tourists welcome Buddha's relics to Yen Tu relic and scenic complex, May 2025. Photo: NGOC SON

For 13 years since the start of the Yen Tu heritage dossier, Quang Ninh has presided over and coordinated with Bac Giang (now Bac Ninh), Hai Duong (now Hai Phong), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and many related agencies to organize 8 domestic and international conferences and seminars, 11 inter-sectoral meetings, and more than 100 working sessions between the dossier management board. There was a period when the Yen Tu heritage dossier seemed to have reached a dead end, especially when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

By the end of 2024, the Yen Tu dossier was submitted to UNESCO, but in April 2025, the result was level 3, the level "not meeting requirements". According to regulations, UNESCO's assessment of heritage dossiers has 4 levels, including: Level 1 - approved; level 2 - meeting requirements; level 3 - return dossier; level 4 - dossier cannot be submitted in the next 5 years. 3 points that UNESCO noted about the Yen Tu heritage dossier are: The global value of the heritage has not been clarified; authenticity has not been confirmed; and there is a lack of continuity in the heritage. “At that time, we thought that 12 years of effort might have to return to the starting point. The biggest worry was that if it was assessed at level 4, Vietnam would not be able to re-submit the Yen Tu heritage dossier in the next 5 years. At that time, the leadership of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and members of the World Heritage Committee would change and we would almost have to start from scratch,” Mr. Dung recalled.

Right when the Yen Tu heritage dossier was at a standstill, an opportunity arose. At the end of May 2025, Mr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, visited and worked in Quang Ninh. On this occasion, Most Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet, Vice President of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Head of the Central Buddhist Education Committee, Rector of the Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Hanoi, Head of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Quang Ninh province attended and directly presented the thoughts of King Tran Nhan Tong and the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect. After listening, Mr. Lazare was moved: "It is a pity that your Yen Tu heritage dossier does not have the sayings of this monk."

Since then, the submission of the Yen Tu heritage dossier has changed. With the accompaniment of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, the dossier has been supplemented with more authentic and profound arguments about the philosophy of "three harmonies" - reconciliation, harmony, peace - which has shone since more than 700 years ago, founded by Buddhist King Tran Nhan Tong. Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet still remembers clearly the trip to Paris (France) in July 2025 to attend the 47th Session of the World Heritage Committee to protect the Yen Tu heritage dossier. "Before the departure, an ICOMOS leader said that the Vietnamese delegation to protect the Yen Tu heritage dossier should go ahead, but going would not change anything. However, we were still determined to go, because this is a responsibility to our ancestors and the nation," Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet recalled.

During the 5 days in Paris, the Vietnamese delegation had 37 meetings, many working until midnight. In a private meeting with the Vietnamese delegation, the Japanese Ambassador was moved and appreciated the "three harmonies" ideology of Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Ambassador also expressed: "I wish we had a king like Tran Nhan Tong so that the country would no longer have to suffer from conflict."

In particular, when talking privately with the President of ICOMOS, Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet emphasized: “In the world, there has never been an emperor at the peak of his glory who left the throne to live a simple monastic life, founding a Buddhist sect for the people, for the nation, for world peace like King Tran Nhan Tong. 700 years later, the ideology of Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong and the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect has not changed, but has been enriched with positive values. Right in Paris, we also have Truc Lam Zen Monastery Paris, creating a harmonious, concordant, and peaceful scene between Vietnamese Buddhism and the people of Paris.” That argument created a turning point, making the Yen Tu dossier the focus of the 47th Session of the World Heritage Committee.

While other dossiers only took 40 minutes to review, the Yen Tu dossier lasted nearly 2 hours with 20 ambassadors/21 permanent members of the World Heritage Committee speaking - something that had never happened in previous meetings. All of them supported the Yen Tu heritage and hoped that the idea of "three harmonies" would be spread strongly around the world.

In the process of receiving recommendations from ICOMOS, Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh provinces and Hai Phong city have proactively developed and submitted explanatory reports and supplemented information four times in November 2024, February 2025, April 2025 and June 2025. This perseverance, steadfastness and open-mindedness have contributed significantly to convincing international organizations to recognize the special, globally outstanding value of the heritage. Yen Tu Heritage is recognized according to criteria (iii) and (vi), which is both a unique testament to the combination of the state, religion and people in forming the Vietnamese national identity; and a symbol of an ethical system towards peace, humanity, and harmony between humans and nature.

After the joy of Yen Tu becoming a world cultural heritage, the issue is not new: how will the levels, sectors and localities take action to turn the heritage into a real asset. On behalf of the Party Committee, government and people of Quang Ninh, Bac Ninh and Hai Phong provinces, comrade Pham Duc An, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province affirmed: In the coming time, we will coordinate closely and synchronously in building and organizing the implementation of heritage management plans in accordance with legal regulations and the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Cultural Heritage; ensuring both the preservation of intact values and the promotion of creativity and harmony in the context of sustainable development; turning traditional values into strong endogenous resources.

“The Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son, Kiep Bac relic and landscape complex, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, has contributed to enriching the culture imbued with Vietnamese identity. This is soft power, the internal force for culture to truly become a breakthrough driving force for development, for Vietnamese civilization to be forever famous, and for the country to firmly step into a new era of wealth, civilization, and prosperity.” (Speech by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Ceremony to announce the outstanding global value of the Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son, Kiep Bac World Cultural Heritage, August 17, 2025).

Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/van-hoa/doi-song/hanh-trinh-ben-bi-dua-yen-tu-ghi-danh-di-san-van-hoa-the-gioi-846377