Bac Ninh: A place to preserve and honor the quintessence of national cultural heritage

Bac Ninh - Kinh Bac is known as the cradle of many traditional cultural forms with thousands of ranked relics.

With a rich heritage system, Bac Ninh is considered a “living museum” of Vietnamese culture, where the core values that make up the Vietnamese national identity are preserved. This is a unique cultural treasure that the province is promoting and developing its value.

Highlights of heritage discovery experience

On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23, 2005 - November 23, 2025), from November 19-30, at Bac Ninh Provincial Museum No. 2, Kinh Bac Ward, there will be a program of exhibition of typical culture of Bac Ninh province and educational activities, experience and discovery of heritage.

Here, many attractive experiential activities are organized such as: Visiting the exhibition "Typical Cultural Heritage of Bac Ninh Province"; performing and introducing the cultural heritage of Then singing, Quan Ho folk songs of Bac Ninh. In particular, the program also organizes intellectual games "Touching Heritage" to learn about Bac Ninh cultural heritage; printing Dong Ho folk paintings and woodblock printing; making rice cakes of the Nung ethnic group; five-color sticky rice of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups; Diem village's banh khuc... The program is attracting a large number of students from schools in the area to visit and experience.

Teacher Nguyen The Anh, head of the Youth Union, Suoi Hoa Primary School, Kinh Bac Ward, said that participating in experiential activities at Bac Ninh Provincial Museum No. 2, teachers and students were explained and introduced to the heritages by museum staff; participating in the experience and "touching" the heritages themselves helped teachers and students of the school understand more about the rich heritage treasure of Bac Ninh province, helping to foster patriotism and national pride.

Participating in a meaningful cultural experience program for the first time, Nguyen Ngoc Hai, an 8th grade student at Tran Quoc Toan Primary and Secondary School, Kinh Bac Ward, said that he was born and raised in Bac Ninh and is very familiar with the smooth and soulful Quan Ho folk songs, but this is the first time he has seen artists perform Then singing and Tinh lute.

In particular, I was able to print Dong Ho folk paintings myself, which I had previously learned in local history lessons in class. I found the local culture of the province very rich. The more I explore, the more interesting I find it. I hope to participate in more such experiences to better understand my country and homeland. This experience will greatly support my lessons in class.

Vietnam is preparing a dossier to nominate the Dong Ho folk painting craft in Bac Ninh province for UNESCO recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. (Photo: Thanh Thuong/VNA)

Mr. Nguyen Huu Chien, an officer of the Museum and Tourism Promotion, Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Ninh province, said that in his direct duty of explaining and guiding groups to visit and experience the Museum, he is always responsible and dedicated, introducing values, contributing to spreading the love of heritage to the public and students. Not only introducing the heritages displayed at the program, he also integrates the relics, the origin of heritage or the policies of the province and the state with the preservation and promotion of heritage values. Every time, he finds his job more meaningful, telling himself that he needs to make more efforts to make Bac Ninh's cultural heritage shine.

Along with the bustling activities at Bac Ninh Museum No. 2, Bac Ninh Museum No. 1 also took place with many rich and diverse activities. Ms. Phung Thi Mai Anh, Director of Bac Ninh Museum No. 1, said that from November 21 to December 10, Bac Ninh Museum No. 1 organized a thematic exhibition "Commemorating Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day November 23 and the results of survey, inventory, collection, and documentation of traditional cultural heritage of San Diu ethnic group in Bac Ninh province."

The exhibition includes more than 200 typical images of the San Diu ethnic group, over 50 artifacts collected directly from households and artisans, and nearly 90 images of the culture of the Dao, San Chi, and Cao Lan ethnic groups.

These documents contribute to recreating the daily life, beliefs, folk songs, folk dances and traditional costumes of the people, creating a diverse cultural picture of ethnic minorities living in Bac Ninh.

The exhibition also organizes live performances of art forms such as San Diu folk songs, Dao bell dance, San Chi harvest dance, handicraft demonstrations and introduction of traditional cuisine.

This is the first time Bac Ninh Museum No. 1 has organized a comprehensive performance of many cultural forms, bringing visitors a realistic and vivid experience of ethnic minority culture.

Efforts to preserve and promote values

Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Ninh province Nguyen Van Dap said that currently, Bac Ninh has nearly 4,000 historical and cultural relics inventoried, 1,415 relics ranked. The province is the land of 1,383 traditional festivals held annually; there are 7 cultural heritages listed and recognized by UNESCO.

Bac Ninh is one of three localities with relics belonging to the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac complex, a world heritage recognized by UNESCO; 24 artifacts and groups of artifacts recognized as national treasures; 33 intangible cultural heritages included in the List of National Cultural Heritage; 246 artisans in the field of intangible cultural heritage and nearly 200 traditional craft villages...

With a rich heritage system, Bac Ninh is considered a "living museum" of Vietnamese culture, where the core values that make up the Vietnamese national identity are preserved.

Performing Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs on a boat, the beauty of Quan Ho culture, a form of preserving and promoting unique values. (Photo: Thanh Thuong/VNA)

In Bac Ninh, the work of preserving and promoting the value of heritage is deeply ingrained in the awareness and actions of the Party Committee, the government and all classes of people. Bac Ninh always identifies heritage as an invaluable asset, the foundation for sustainable development.

With thousands of years of history, this land preserves one of the richest heritages in the country, from tangible to intangible heritage, from architectural, archaeological and religious relics to folk songs and traditional crafts imbued with national identity.

The province always adheres to the viewpoint that conservation must go hand in hand with development, preserving but not "freezing", promoting but not distorting heritage. Many relics have been restored and embellished according to scientific processes, ensuring the principle of preserving the original elements to the maximum.

Traditional festivals are restored with proper rituals, creating space for the community to participate, enjoy and pass on cultural values. At the same time, Bac Ninh focuses on inventorying tangible and intangible cultural heritage, building databases and promoting digitalization for long-term preservation and facilitating research and promotion.

Regarding Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs, the province has built a policy mechanism to support the original Quan Ho villages, practicing Quan Ho villages, artisans and the Quan Ho movement in the community. Many forms of Quan Ho teaching have been widely deployed, from clubs to schools; many professional art programs have been staged; many Quan Ho living spaces have been preserved or restored. Thanks to that, Quan Ho is not only sustainably protected but also becomes a cultural and tourism symbol of the province.

Bac Ninh is also a typical locality in preserving and promoting traditional crafts, not only as economic products but also as cultural crystallizations of Kinh Bac people over many generations. In particular, with Dong Ho paintings - a unique heritage that Vietnam is building a dossier to nominate UNESCO for recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Protection, with a meeting scheduled to be held in December 2025 in New Delhi, India, Bac Ninh province is making efforts to create a favorable environment for the painting profession to continue to be passed on and developed in contemporary life.

Cultural tourism has also become the main direction of Bac Ninh in recent years. Tours and routes such as "Journey to the land of Quan Ho", "Return to Luy Lau - the ancient capital of Buddhism", "Experience Kinh Bac craft villages" or "Explore Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem complex" are increasingly attracting a large number of tourists...

The Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Ninh province emphasized that with Bac Ninh aiming to become a centrally-run city, the work of preserving cultural heritage is of even more strategic significance.

The province continues to promote the role of the community in heritage conservation; accelerate digital transformation, form a creative ecosystem based on traditional culture; perfect the system of cultural institutions; and raise people's awareness and spiritual life./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/bac-ninh-noi-luu-giu-ton-vinh-tinh-hoa-di-san-van-hoa-dan-toc-post1078744.vnp