Let's work together to protect our heritage.

Phu Tho – a land that embodies and preserves unique cultural heritage values, the ancestral land of the nation, where the Hung Kings founded the Van Lang Kingdom. As proud and honored citizens of the ancestral land, over the years, all levels of government, sectors, and the people of Phu Tho province have demonstrated profound respect for their ancestors and a great responsibility in preserving and promoting the value of historical and cultural relics through concrete and effective action programs.

In 2022, Hung Lo Temple (Viet Tri City) was renovated in accordance with conservation principles, without altering or distorting its original form.

A place that preserves traditional Vietnamese cultural festivals.

According to the 2023 inventory and review data, Phu Tho province has 967 relics and ruins; including 324 historical and cultural relics ranked by the State (1 special National Historical Relic Hung Temple, 73 National relics and 250 provincial relics); 345 relics dedicated to Hung Kings and figures from the Hung King era; 30 relics related to the Xoan singing heritage; and 5 National treasures.

Along with tangible cultural values ​​such as communal houses, pagodas, temples, and archaeological sites, Phu Tho also possesses unique intangible cultural heritage such as beliefs, festivals, performing arts, customs, folk songs, stories, folk poetry, fine arts, traditional crafts, folk medicine, folk cuisine ... all deeply rooted in the land's origins.

The traditional festivals in the area are rich and diverse, with historical origins dating back to ancient times. They recreate agricultural activities and historical events, with rituals and performances conducted as a commemorative ceremony, honoring the Hung Kings who founded the nation; historical figures who contributed to the people and the country; those who pioneered the land, established villages, and defended the nation; and expressing fertility beliefs, animism, the worship of tutelary deities, ancestors, and mother goddesses, etc.

Many festivals have become unique cultural and spiritual symbols, such as: Hung Temple Festival, Au Co Mother Temple Festival, Hung Lo Communal House, Lang Suong Temple, Tro Tram Festival, Phet Hien Quan Festival, Bach Hac boat race, Kim Duc Xoan singing, Phuong Lau, Van Luong net throwing, Dao Xa elephant procession, Mo Chu Ha rice cake pounding festival, Gia Du rice cooking competition,... There are many festivals whose influence has spread widely throughout the country and abroad, such as Hung Temple Festival, Au Co Mother Temple Festival, Bach Hac boat race...

Phu Tho also boasts other famous intangible cultural heritage forms such as: Hat Gheo (a type of folk singing), Trong Quan (a type of drum), Vi Ong (a type of folk singing), Trinh Nghe (a type of traditional craft), Cham Thau (a type of traditional craft), Dam Duong (a type of traditional dance), Tung Di dance, Moi dance, Chuong dance, Rua dance, Chim Gau dance, Xuc Tep dance,... The legends of Hung Vuong, the legend of the Trung Sisters, Van Lang humorous stories, and unique dishes such as: Five-colored sticky rice, roasted pork, grilled fish, banh tai (ear-shaped cake), banh chung (square sticky rice cake), banh giay (round sticky rice cake)... affirm the incredibly rich cultural traces, beliefs, life, customs and traditions of the ethnic groups living in the province.

A performance of Muong ethnic gong music from Kha Cuu commune, Thanh Son district.

Comrade Nguyen Dac Thuy, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: “All ranked relics are organized into protected zones according to regulations. Every year, the Department conducts a review and inventory, supplementing the list to better serve management and document retrieval. Many typical relics have become complete cultural tourism products with unique characteristics, creating attractive tourist destinations and routes that attract domestic and international tourists; contributing to the development of tourism and socio-economic development in the locality; creating jobs and improving the lives of people in areas where relics and festivals are located.”

Preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of the ancestral land.

Recognizing that cultural preservation is both an important immediate task and a fundamental long-term mission, Phu Tho province has consistently focused its resources and implemented numerous activities over the years to safeguard, conserve, and promote the value of cultural heritage in the area.

As of March 2023, the province had carried out restoration and preservation work on 273 historical sites, with a total capital of nearly 2,000 billion VND from the State budget (including 1,422 billion VND from the central budget and over 516 billion VND from the provincial budget) and nearly 685 billion VND from socialized capital.

All dilapidated historical sites are restored and renovated, meeting the requirements for construction quality, adhering to conservation principles and viewpoints, and ensuring that the original characteristics and constituent elements of the site are not altered or distorted.

Throughout the implementation process, there has been coordinated participation and supervision from the people and local authorities. This has contributed to preserving and promoting the cultural values ​​inherited from our ancestors, serving the cultural needs of the people; and at the same time, educating the younger generation about history and patriotic traditions, reminding them of the nation's origins.

However, funding for the restoration and preservation of historical sites is limited compared to actual needs. Currently, many historical sites are deteriorating but lack the necessary investment. Some sites receive financial support, but due to the low level of support, only immediate repairs to prevent further deterioration are carried out, lacking sustainability and posing a risk of collapse, endangering the safety of the public and the artifacts and relics within the sites.

Some representative artifacts in historical sites have not been preserved and maintained using proper techniques and scientific methods, in line with conservation principles, leading to deterioration and even decay, especially paper-based documents such as royal decrees and genealogical records.

Some localities have not paid sufficient attention to the restoration and preservation of historical relics, especially revolutionary historical relics and archaeological sites, and have not complied with the regulations of the Law on Cultural Heritage, affecting the promotion of the value of these relics within the community.

Restoring the traditional weaving craft of the Muong ethnic group in Kim Thuong commune, Tan Son district.

Furthermore, some provisions between the Law on Cultural Heritage and the Law on Construction overlap, leading to prolonged procedures for agreement, appraisal, and approval of restoration and preservation projects, causing difficulties in restoration and preservation work and in mobilizing investment funds. Research and promotion efforts are not diverse enough; the staff involved in management and preservation at the local level are insufficient and lacking in expertise...

Therefore, to protect and promote the value of historical and cultural relics in the province in accordance with the Law on Cultural Heritage and its implementing guidelines, in the coming time, functional agencies and local authorities need to continue reviewing and supplementing the inventory of relics; create scientific dossiers for ranking relics; strengthen the management of artifacts, antiques, and national treasures; do a good job of promoting and educating about culture; and at the same time, open training courses to improve the professional level and management capacity of projects for the preservation, restoration, and rehabilitation of relics for grassroots cultural officials, the community, and the creators and owners of cultural heritage. Priority should be given to preserving and promoting cultural heritage recognized internationally and nationally, and heritages that are characteristic and typical of Phu Tho province, creating the cultural identity of the ancestral land, attracting the attention of the people and tourists.

Thuy Hang

Source: https://baophutho.vn/chung-tay-bao-ve-di-san-216935.htm