Cultural industry aspirations

Phu Tho after the merger is possessing a massive treasure with 2,778 relics and nearly 2,000 intangible heritages, of which Xoan singing and Hung King worship have been honored by UNESCO. Every year, tens of millions of people come to the Ancestral Land to pay tribute to their roots, to immerse themselves in the festival atmosphere... bringing in tens of thousands of billions of VND in revenue from tourism and services. From this pride, Phu Tho is nurturing a great aspiration to turn its heritage treasure into a cultural industry - a true economic sector, a lever for development. This is no longer a story of preserving old values, but a journey to awaken soft power to create new momentum for the Ancestral Land in the integration period.

Xoan singing is a special performance in the opening ceremony of the Hung Kings' death anniversary and the annual Hung Temple Festival.

Rich "ingredients"

In the ancient communal house in An Thai village (Van Phu ward), People's Artist Nguyen Thi Lich, her hair streaked with silver, is sitting among her young students. Her calloused hands still patiently hold the children's hands, guiding each beat and each melody. The young Xoan sounds are still hesitant, but full of clarity and excitement. From a heritage once classified as "in need of urgent protection", today Xoan is reviving and developing every day...

Not only stopping at teaching, Phu Tho has included Xoan in the tour "Xoan singing in ancient villages" when tourists are invited to sit on mats, listen to the women singing Xoan, then they themselves hold the clappers, try singing and dancing. When tourists also sing along enthusiastically in the dense Xoan space in the ancient villages, the value of the heritage has become closer, blended and turned into a unique tourism product, spreading, contributing to promoting culture and creating livelihoods for the community.

In Huong Canh craft village (Binh Xuyen commune), the pottery kilns are always red hot. On the turntable, the artisans' hands quickly turn lifeless blocks of clay into vases, cups... Each turn, each carving not only preserves the traditional appearance, but also adds a little new creativity. What is special is that visitors to Huong Canh not only watch, but also make pottery themselves. There are children struggling with a handful of clay, there are foreign tourists shyly trying to turn the table. The products they make are still clumsy but have their own mark, very unique in the joy that only they can have. It is not just a memory, but a cultural experience, where visitors can participate in creation, not just stand outside and admire. That is what has turned pottery from a traditional handicraft product into a commercial service - a clear piece of the forming cultural industry.

However, according to comrade Duong Hoang Huong - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (VH-TT&DL), besides the potential, Phu Tho still faces many difficulties: Some cultural institutions are degraded, heritage conservation work is not commensurate with the value; tourism products are still monotonous, visitor spending is low, the rate of international visitors is not high... Therefore, "awakening soft power" from the existing heritage treasure to turn it into a development resource becomes an urgent requirement requiring fundamental and scientific macro solutions.

Awakening soft power

In the period of 2021 - 2025 alone, nearly 250 relics have been restored with a total investment of more than 1,100 billion VND. These figures show the determination of Party committees, authorities and people at all levels to revive cultural and historical relics. Not only does it contribute to preserving memories and embellishing culture, but it also opens up space for tourism, festivals and services. When traditional festivals become tourism products, heritage has begun to confidently step out of the scope of villages, blending into the general development and creating unique values ​​to contribute to promoting and bringing many benefits to the community...

From that foundation, Phu Tho is taking bigger and bolder steps in its desire to shape the cultural industry to create a true economic sector. Not only simply preserving and developing culture, but also “getting rich from culture”.

The Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism informed: In the field of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in the 2020 - 2025 term alone, the Department has advised on the issuance of 6 resolutions, 2 action programs, 12 resolutions of the People's Council and hundreds of decisions and plans of the People's Committee, thereby creating a favorable legal corridor for the development of culture, sports and tourism.

Tourism - the field closest to the cultural industry has truly become a bright spot. Phu Tho currently has 2 national tourist areas (Hung Temple and Tam Dao), 15 provincial tourist attractions and more than 1,500 accommodation establishments with 20,000 rooms. In 2025, the province is expected to welcome 14.5 million visitors, with revenue reaching 14,800 billion VND, an average growth rate of more than 10%/year. These figures show that the heritage of the Ancestral Land has been creating a significant resource for the budget, and at the same time affirms that cultural tourism can absolutely become the "spearhead" in the macro orientation of the economic development task of the Ancestral Land with a clear direction: By 2030, tourism must truly become a spearhead economic sector, and the cultural industry must directly contribute to GRDP. This is not only a growth target but also affirms the aspiration to position the "cultural heart" of the whole country - a place where Vietnam's soft power converges and spreads from the Hung King's origin.

To materialize aspirations in the cultural field, many specific tasks have been implemented systematically and scientifically when Phu Tho is promoting the digitalization of heritage, building a UNESCO dossier for Mo Muong and Tay Thien Mother Worship, investing in the restoration of the Hung Temple Special Historical Relic and the system of revolutionary historical relics, while at the same time encouraging the promotion of socialization in the development and promotion of culture to form creative spaces, modern museums, cultural complexes... to connect heritage with technology, combine culture with tourism and sports to create a cultural industrial ecosystem.

The Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism emphasized: “We need to shift from a purely cultural mindset to a cultural economic mindset. We must identify the culture of the Ancestral Land as an economic sector with added value, both preserving the national soul and opening the door to integration. This is also the great aspiration for Phu Tho to confidently create a position and strength to step into the future through the path of cultural industry - where each Xoan song, each ceramic product, each traditional festival... is the vitality, livelihood and pride of an entire land - the land of the Hung King era, the cradle and origin of the Vietnamese people.

Phu Tho is possessing a rare cultural “treasure” with 2,778 historical and cultural relics, of which nearly 1,000 have been ranked, 6 are special national relics, 6 are national treasures and nearly 2,000 are intangible heritages. Most proudly, 2 heritages have been honored by UNESCO. These are important premises, the “capital” for Phu Tho to turn culture into economic strength.

Nguyen Yen

Source: https://baophutho.vn/khat-vong-cong-nghiep-van-nbsp-hoa-240171.htm