Promoting the value of world heritage

Panorama of Kiep Bac Temple. Photo: THANH CHUNG

Spreading values

These days, the Con Son - Kiep Bac relic site (Tran Hung Dao ward) is bustling with preparations for the 2025 Autumn Festival. This year's festival is being organized on a larger scale by the city. Traditional rituals are still maintained, such as the sacrificial ceremony, the procession, and the memorial ceremony. In addition, there are many cultural and artistic activities to enrich the festival space.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Lien, Head of the Con Son - Kiep Bac Relic Management Board, the new feature of this year's festival is that the rituals and festival activities have been upgraded in scale, and the rituals have been standardized to match the world cultural heritage. At the Kiep Bac relic site, the ceremonial space has been expanded from the Kiep Bac Temple gate to the Luc Dau River. The art program is staged using the live-scene technique combining performing arts, music and dance, and modern, magnificent 3D Mapping visual art to recreate the glorious feats of arms and people of the Tran Dynasty, especially of the National Duke, Commander-in-Chief Hung Dao Dai Vuong on the land of Van Kiep. At the same time, it propagates and promotes the outstanding global values of the 5 component relics in the world cultural heritage in the West Hai Phong area as well as the typical cultural values of the city.

“This year’s festival not only commemorates Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan and World Cultural Celebrity Nguyen Trai, but also affirms the new position of Con Son - Kiep Bac in the flow of human heritage. We hope to create a festival space that is both solemn and influential, helping people and tourists feel proud and more attached to their homeland’s heritage,” said Ms. Lien.

Cat Ba archipelago has long been an impressive destination for both domestic and foreign tourists. When becoming a part of the World Natural Heritage, Cat Ba has received more attention and gradually become an attractive destination. Ms. Oliver Brown, a British tourist who has been to Cat Ba many times, expressed: "I have been to many places in the world but Cat Ba has a very different beauty, that is the purity, helping me to immerse myself in nature. I will tell my relatives and friends about Hai Phong, about Cat Ba". This spread does not stop at emotions, but also opens up great potential for promoting the image, attracting international tourists .

Cat Ba archipelago has become an interesting destination attracting domestic and foreign tourists.
Photo: PHAN TUAN

Let world heritage be the driving force

Currently, Hai Phong is the first locality in the country to own two inter-provincial world heritages, including both natural and cultural ones. This is not only a great source of pride, but also a legal foundation and a "golden opportunity" to promote the image of the land and people of the "seaport", "sacred land", to the world.

In order for world heritages to fully promote their value and "live" in contemporary life, Hai Phong needs synchronous solutions and the participation of the entire political system. That is the city's policy, the strong participation of functional sectors and the consensus of the people. First of all, the City People's Committee directs functional sectors to research and build tours connecting relics and scenic spots within the same heritage and the connection between cultural heritage and world natural heritage. At the same time, there are many more policies to support tourism businesses, such as: tax incentives, loans for tourism service investment projects associated with heritage; encouraging creative startups in the field of culture - tourism.

The city should also take advantage of opportunities from diplomatic events such as APEC to promote the image of heritage, call for investment in tourism infrastructure, learn conservation experiences from successful countries such as Japan, Korea... Local authorities need to strengthen the role of the community by encouraging traditional craft villages of wood carving and souvenir making to directly participate in festival and tourism activities, so that people can benefit and be attached to the heritage.

As the governing sector, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism further promotes the application of digital technology such as building virtual museums, automatic multi-language guides, and digital heritage maps, helping international visitors easily access information. "With this prestigious title, we hope that the heritage will receive attention and investment from all levels, creating momentum for tourism development and related sectors, thereby promoting sustainable local socio-economic development, bringing great benefits to the community," emphasized Ms. Tran Thi Hoang Mai, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

It can be said that promoting heritage values does not stop at preserving rituals and customs, but more importantly, turning heritage into a driving force for sustainable development, bringing practical benefits to the community.

CONFIDANT

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/phat-huy-gia-tri-cac-di-san-the-gioi-521916.html