Positive changes

(Baonghean) -The Law on Cultural Heritage was promulgated and took effect from January 1, 2002. After more than 10 years of implementation, the work of protecting and promoting cultural heritage in the province has changed positively. However, there are still shortcomings that need to be adjusted...

Transformation from awareness

Quy Linh Temple is located on Quy Linh Mountain, with its back leaning against the mountain and its face facing the sea. It has long been a sacred place in the spiritual life of the residents of Quynh Luong fishing village (Quynh Luu). The temple was built during the Tran Dynasty, as a place to worship and commemorate those who have contributed to the people and the country; it is the place where the worship of the "Four Holy Ladies" originated. After hundreds of years of existence, the ancient architecture of the temple has been damaged.

Singing folk songs. Photo: Xuan Nhuong

In 2006, with the local budget combined with calling on children far from home and businesses to support nearly 4 billion VND, Quynh Luong commune renovated, embellished and restored this temple, focusing on protecting and preserving the old origin, ensuring compliance with the Heritage Law. After completion, the temple still retains its ancient architecture, including the upper hall, lower hall, and sanctuary... Along with the renovation and embellishment, the locality has also paid attention to promoting the value of the relic through propaganda and promotion. On the first and fifteenth day of every month, especially on the occasion of Lunar New Year, people in the commune and neighboring areas, children far from home all come to the temple to pray for peace and fortune, and contribute to the restoration of the temple.

Not only Quy Linh Temple, but also in Quynh Luu District, in recent times, many historical and cultural relics have been restored, renovated and preserved in the direction of "The State and the people do it together", in which mobilizing social resources from the people plays a key role. Mr. Tran Duc Dung - Head of the Department of Culture of Quynh Luu District affirmed: Historical and cultural relics that have been or are being restored, renovated and embellished have all been fully documented and processed, consulted with the Provincial Monuments and Landscapes Management Board and implemented in accordance with the Heritage Law. Regarding the funding source for restoration and renovation, it mostly depends on the people's strength, mobilizing human and material resources from the people. Thanks to the good work of socializing resources for restoration, renovation and embellishment, up to now, the whole district of Quynh Luu has had 23 relics ranked and currently there are 8 more relics submitting dossiers to be ranked.

Along with Quynh Luu, the localities of Yen Thanh, Thanh Chuong, Nghi Loc, Dien Chau... are also interested in the work of restoring, renovating, preserving, embellishing and promoting the value of historical and scenic relics in the area to ensure the Heritage Law.

From 2003 to present, the number of relics repaired, restored and embellished in our province is 184 relics. Socialization in the restoration and embellishment of relics has been effective. The whole province has mobilized nearly 60 billion VND from socialized sources. This source has been effectively used to restore and embellish 135 relics. Many relics have been restored thanks to 100% socialized capital, contributions of descendants, individuals and charitable groups such as Dien Co temple, Khanh Due temple, Yen Luong temple...

The work of preserving intangible cultural heritage has also received investment attention with many programs and projects being implemented to help many heritages escape the risk of being lost due to both subjective and objective impacts. From the province down to the district and commune levels, all have established an Inventory Committee and developed their own inventory plans. Many valuable and typical heritages have been inventoried such as: Vi Dam folk songs, Thai Lai Pao script, Nhuon singing, Xuoi singing...

Regarding museum work, after many years of active research and collection, up to now, there have been over 300,000 documents and artifacts being preserved, displayed and put into use at museums and relics. Among them, there are many valuable artifacts such as: Collection of red self-defense weapons, Soviet drums, hiding objects to protect the Party, Uncle Ho with Nghe - Tinh Soviets... Not only displaying on site, museums have coordinated with localities in the province to organize mobile exhibitions, scientific seminars, cultural exchanges among students with historical witnesses, organize competitions to learn about famous people, about the history of the homeland... contributing to educating the public, especially students, about historical and cultural traditions. The progress of building records and ranking relics is increasingly accelerated. On average, 17 - 18 relics are ranked each year. The system of relics - scenic spots, museums in the province are attractive cultural - historical tourist destinations, welcoming tens of thousands of visitors every year.

Need a synchronous solution

However, the implementation of the Heritage Law is still facing many difficulties. According to Mr. Doan Van Nam - Head of Heritage Management Department, Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism: Many intangible cultural heritages, especially those of ethnic minorities in mountainous areas, have been and are being lost, making it difficult to restore. The encroachment and violation of relics and scenic spots have not been completely overcome. Currently, the Tran family temple relic (Tran Quy Khoang) in Duc Thinh hamlet, Hung Loc commune, Vinh city and the house relic of Mr. Nguyen Sy Huyen, belonging to the relic cluster of Lang Do, Hung Dung ward, Vinh city, are still being encroached and violated. The reason for the deterioration of many relics is that the local budget for preventing the degradation of relics is still limited, while the state budget investment is too little compared to the actual requirements. In 2014, the whole province was only allocated 900 million VND for relic restoration (from the provincial budget and the national target program). Compared to the total number of relics and restorations in the province, this amount is too small.

According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Canh, an officer of the Department of Culture and Information of Hung Nguyen district, currently some degraded relics are still waiting for funding such as the national relic of Ram temple (Hung Nhan commune), the relic of the Central Party Committee (Hung Chau commune), Thanh Liet temple (Hung Lam commune), King Le temple (Hung Khanh commune)... In addition, currently the space of some relics is encroached upon to make shops, too many people gather, too much votive paper is burned during the festival season without necessary management and protection measures. The conditions of technical facilities, staff quality, and policies in the heritage sector have not been met in a timely manner. Regarding policies for those participating in heritage protection activities, there are still shortcomings, there are no specific policies for relic caretakers and folk artisans, so they have not been encouraged to devote their efforts and enthusiasm to their work. The number of people who hold intangible cultural heritage is decreasing because most of them are old...

In order to preserve and promote the value of relics in accordance with the Law on Heritage, and at the same time exploit it as a tourism resource, becoming a driving force for socio-economic development, it is necessary to first promote propaganda, mobilization, and raise awareness for officials and people about their roles and responsibilities in protecting and promoting cultural heritage. It is necessary to pay attention to planning key relics and planning relics associated with tourism planning. Linking relics and scenic spots with tourism and service development planning, considering tangible cultural heritage as a tourism resource, forming tours and tourist routes to attract domestic and foreign visitors, for example: linking Cua Lo - Ngu Island - Mat Island - Lam River tourism; Cua Lo - Vinh - Uncle Ho's hometown tourism; Cua Lo - Vinh - Pu Mat tourism; Nguyen Xi - Quang Trung - Hoang Muoi - Bach Ma - Qua Son - An Duong Vuong Temple;...

Along with that, it is necessary to prioritize investment from the provincial budget and central support sources; actively attract contributions from businesses, philanthropists, and people to have funds to restore relics. On the other hand, it is necessary to train and foster a team of cultural cadres who are both capable, qualified, and passionate about the heritage sector. Strengthen the role and responsibility of localities in the work of protecting relics. Strengthen inspection and examination to strictly handle violations in management and acts of vandalism and encroachment on relics.

Quang An