A living heritage...

Choosing to rediscover traditional cultural values, young people in Da Nang actively participate in preservation, performance, and creative activities, transforming their ancestors' culture into a vibrant breath of life in contemporary society.

Báo Đà Nẵng•06/09/2025

Young traditional opera actor Tran Vu Quynh has been involved in traditional opera since his middle school years. Photo: HS

Persistently preserving heritage

As a national intangible cultural heritage, Quang Nam's traditional opera (Tuong) represents the unique identity and performance style of the people of Quang Nam. Built over centuries, these plays recount the history of land and village establishment, national heroes, and more, through their distinctive theatrical art. Because of these unique values, Quang Nam's traditional opera is a highly selective art form in terms of its successors.

However, fortunately, a generation of young people, born between 1996 and 2000, have become the successors, developing and preserving the traditional opera art of the region. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phuong, Deputy Director of the Nguyen Hien Dinh Traditional Opera Theatre, said that currently, about 20 young actors from the theatre have been discovered during talent searches for traditional opera in Quang Nam province organized by the Nguyen Hien Dinh Traditional Opera Theatre.

Tran Vu Quynh is a young woman discovered through the "Bringing Traditional Vietnamese Opera into Schools" project, implemented by the former Duy Xuyen district in collaboration with the Nguyen Hien Dinh Traditional Opera Theatre. In 2016, Quynh packed her bags and went to Hanoi with other young people from Quang Nam - Da Nang at that time to participate in a professional training environment for traditional Vietnamese opera.

Young actors from the Nguyen Hien Dinh Traditional Opera Theatre perform at a program introducing traditional opera to students. Photo: Students

After four years of study, Quynh returned and continued to hone her skills at the Nguyen Hien Dinh Traditional Opera Theatre. Currently, Quynh and her friends – also young actors and actresses of the Nguyen Hien Dinh Traditional Opera Theatre – continue to implement the program "Bringing Traditional Opera into Schools" in secondary schools throughout Da Nang city.

Not only in traditional theater, but also in cultural clubs in Da Nang, it's easy to find groups of young people passionately learning folk songs, performing Bài Chòi (a traditional Vietnamese folk game), and practicing folk dances. School cultural festivals and local cultural events become breeding grounds for a passion for traditional arts.

In particular, some youth groups even organize workshops to teach traditional Vietnamese musical instruments like the bầu lute, bamboo flute, drums, and gongs to students. Some young people continuously conduct tours that combine traditional music with tourism, allowing visitors to listen to music and learn more about Da Nang's culture.

"My Da Nang"

"My Da Nang" is a cultural and artistic exchange with modern technology, run by a group of young people from Da Nang born in the 1990s. Established in 2017, "My Da Nang" has organized numerous exhibitions, leaving a lasting impression on visitors. Nguyen Ngoc Thien Hieu (group leader) explains that modern technologies such as AR, 3D Mapping, and AI are utilized to provide a multi-sensory experience based on content that reflects the traditional cultural values of the region.

The projects of the "Da Nang Tui" group always attract a large audience. Photo: D.NT

From "Art Exhibition" to "Drifting," the city's most ordinary and simple stories are vividly recreated, offering a multifaceted perspective on Da Nang. In particular, the 2024 "Wandering" exhibition was highly praised for its content quality and interactive experiences.

The events and exhibitions of "My Da Nang" attract the participation of numerous artists from both within and outside the country, along with many volunteers. This is an opportunity to develop the creative industry, attract talent, and invest in this field in Da Nang city, starting from the ideas and perseverance of young people.

Recently, efforts to make young people an important part of the heritage transmission journey have been implemented through the "Hoi An Young Leaders Training" project. This is a key activity under the "Promoting Innovation for Youth and Communities" project, funded by UN-Habitat and Fondation Botnar, and implemented by Wemaster and HoiAnlife.

The digitization of heritage continues to be a focus of attention as the "Neo Chòi" project – a proposal for a digital library solution to store Bài Chòi lyrics and a research direction on interpreting traditional Bài Chòi lyrics into modern language, along with an additional promotional channel for the product – has been awarded a prize.

According to the organizers, the project involved over 50 young people participating in training courses using peer-to-peer teaching methods, empowerment, and teamwork. The training focused on equipping participants with a global citizen mindset combined with local knowledge through the Hoi An Creative City Handbook. The young people were also equipped with project management and community communication skills to transform ideas into practical operational solutions.

The journey of young people in embracing traditional culture is not easy. But overcoming these difficulties, more and more young people in Da Nang are choosing to walk alongside traditional culture. Heritage in the hands and hearts of the younger generation will be the foundation for the city's sustainable development and rich identity in the future...

Source: https://baodanang.vn/di-san-song-dong-3301157.html