Cultural heritage - after honor comes responsibility.

From December 2024 to the present, Khanh Hoa province has received much good news as many tangible and intangible cultural heritage sites have been ranked and honored at the national level. While being recognized is difficult, preserving and promoting the values ​​of these cultural heritage sites is even more challenging.

Many cultural heritage sites are being celebrated.

On the evening of June 4th, Khanh Hoa Swiftlet Nest Company Limited (Khanh Hoa Swiftlet Nest Company), in coordination with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, organized a ceremony to honor the Khanh Hoa Swiftlet Nest as a national cultural heritage. The ceremony was held solemnly, attracting the attention of provincial leaders, a large number of people, and those directly involved in the swiftlet nest harvesting and processing industry. The inclusion of two cultural heritage items related to the swiftlet nest industry in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage demonstrates the concern and efforts of cultural workers, Khanh Hoa Swiftlet Nest Company, and the local community. According to Mr. Nguyen Tan Tuan, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, and Secretary of the Party Committee of the Provincial People's Committee, at the ceremony: “The knowledge of exploiting and processing bird's nests; the Khanh Hoa Bird's Nest Festival being included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is a great honor and source of pride, affirming the increasingly solid role and position of the traditional Khanh Hoa Bird's Nest brand, worthy of being a distinctive cultural heritage of the land of agarwood and bird's nests. Along with the national brand values ​​and socio -economic potential of the Khanh Hoa bird's nest industry, the Khanh Hoa Bird's Nest Festival, held annually, reflects the traditional cultural identity and history of the Khanh Hoa region…”

Mr. Nghiem Xuan Thanh - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, along with representatives of the National Cultural Heritage Council, presented certificates of knowledge on exploiting and processing swiftlet nests to representatives of Khanh Hoa Swiftlet Nest Company and the local community.

Along with two intangible cultural heritage sites related to swallow's nests, Khanh Hoa province also has four other cultural heritage sites included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage: the Po Nagar Cham Tower Festival; the Raglai people's funeral ceremony; the Fishing Festival; and the knowledge of exploiting and processing agarwood in Khanh Hoa. In addition, the province has 16 historical and cultural sites and scenic spots that have been classified as national historical and cultural relics and scenic spots; one site classified as a special national relic, namely the Po Nagar Cham Tower; and one national treasure, the Khanh Son stone musical instrument collection. Khanh Hoa is also one of the provinces and cities in the Central region where the art of Bài Chòi (a traditional Vietnamese folk game) has been recognized by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Currently, provincial authorities are coordinating with central and provincial agencies and units to prepare a dossier on the intangible cultural heritage "Practices of the Mother Goddess Thien YA Na worship in Khanh Hoa province" for submission to UNESCO for inscription; and to prepare a dossier requesting the Prime Minister to classify Dien Khanh Citadel and one other national-level historical site as special national monuments. In addition, the province has hundreds of historical sites and scenic spots that have been classified at the provincial level; many other historical sites and scenic spots have been included in the inventory (for those that have not yet been classified).

Heavy responsibility

With efforts to honor tangible and intangible cultural heritage in recent times, many have recognized "Khanh Hoa as a region of diverse cultural heritage." However, after the joy of having cultural heritage recognized, we see the responsibilities and challenges ahead in preserving and promoting the value of heritage in today's and the future. According to the "Vietnam Provincial Tourism Development Index (VTDI) 2024" report published by the Advisory Council on Administrative Procedure Reform of the Prime Minister, Khanh Hoa province ranks 30th out of 30 provinces and cities selected for evaluation in the cultural resource assessment pillar. This includes all indicators related to cultural resources such as: the number of national monuments; the number of world cultural heritage sites; the number of national intangible cultural heritage sites; and the attractiveness of cultural resources. The level of protection for tangible and intangible cultural heritage… all scored below average and ranked among the lowest of the provinces and cities participating in the assessment. Looking at Khanh Hoa province's overall ranking in terms of cultural resources – 12th out of 30 provinces and cities – the fact that its cultural resources index is at the bottom of the list is truly concerning and requires solutions, as the Advisory Council noted: "The pillars with low results are revealing significant challenges."