Removing obstacles for ranked relics of Ho Chi Minh City

Pointing to the wall where the Ho Chi Minh City-level relic ranking certificate was recently awarded to Tan Dinh market (HCMC), Deputy Head of Tan Dinh Market Management Board Quach Khanh Du confided: "I am very happy and proud, but I am also very worried because this project is nearly 100 years old and is deteriorating and needs to be repaired quickly. However, having been ranked as a relic, we have to comply with many regulations of the law, so we are stuck with financial regulations and have to wait for instructions, while up to now, Tan Dinh market has not undergone any large-scale repairs. The last time the floor was tiled was...more than 20 years ago."

Trung Vuong High School...

... and Tan Dinh market has just been honored to be ranked as an architectural and artistic relic of Ho Chi Minh City.

PHOTO: QUYNH TRAN

With proof, Mr. Du took Thanh Nien reporters around the entire market. Wherever he went, he pointed out many places where the corrugated iron roof was rotten, the walls were patchy and peeling. The paint had never been replaced. "There, when you walk across Hai Ba Trung Street and look back at the front of the market, you will see that the corrugated iron roofing is very rotten but cannot be repaired yet. If you want to invest in public, you have to wait for instructions, the procedures require surveys, inviting consulting units..., it's not easy," Mr. Du sighed.

Coming to Trung Vuong High School (District 1) - a relic that has just been ranked together with Tan Dinh market, Mariamman temple, An Khanh communal house, Long Binh communal house, Long Hoa communal house (Thu Duc city), Saigon University (District 5) this time, we met Vice Principal Luong Bich Nga. She said that the school had just held a ceremony to receive the ranking certificate and informed parents to join in the joy and also received many requests from tourists to visit. However, after the joy came... worry. "We have a plan to build a multi-purpose complex that has been approved by the Department of Construction worth nearly 100 billion VND, preparing to put it into the public listing plan, but now we have to stop, waiting for the approval of the Department of Culture and Sports of the city to implement it. Meanwhile, some items at the school are seriously degraded", Ms. Nga said and pointed to the room with many cracks running along the wall. "Other areas are even worse, but we don't know what to do because major repairs need permission," Ms. Nga added.

The facade architecture of Tan Dinh market is deteriorating.

PHOTO: QUYNH TRAN

WILL INVEST IN MONUMENTS PROFESSIONALLY

Bringing the above concerns and feelings to the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, Thanh Nien reporters received a lot of positive information from Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhut, Deputy Director of the Department. "Maybe according to the old way of thinking, some units are still worried, but when the new revised Heritage Law comes into effect, the problems will gradually be resolved. The State always allocates resources for public investment in each stage and has a cultural development strategy. Not to mention that in the past, socialized resources participating in the process of restoring and embellishing historical relics and architectural and artistic relics have accounted for a significant proportion. The upcoming ranked relics will be digitized and stored in many forms for the public to easily access, at the same time opening up a mechanism to restore many important historical relics without precedent...", Mr. Nhut emphasized.

Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has 200 works and locations that are historical and cultural relics that have been ranked; including 2 special national relics (historical relics); 58 national relics (including 2 archaeological relics, 32 architectural and artistic relics, 24 historical relics); 140 city-level relics (86 architectural and artistic relics, 54 historical relics) and 79 historical relics related to the process of national liberation and reunification.

In addition, the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City has just received a document requesting the ranking of 7 works and locations including: Giong Chua Mountain (Can Gio District), Vo Tien Su (Binh Thanh District), My Hoa Communal House, Tan Thoi Trung Communal House, Thoi Tam Dong Communal House, Tan Thoi Tam Communal House (Hoc Mon District) and Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden. "This demonstrates the awareness and responsibility for the heritage of individuals and management units. Because heritage does not belong to any individual or the state but to the entire people. Many works in the city still have human value, so the community needs to join hands to promote the value of the heritage and preserve and protect it for future generations," Mr. Nhut affirmed.

On the morning of May 6, Thanh Nien reporters were also invited to attend a very intense working session between the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports and the Center for Conservation and Promotion of Historical and Cultural Relics of Ho Chi Minh City. The Department directed the center to complete the documents to submit to the People's Council for approval of 8 new relics for early ranking: Red Areca Garden Memorial Area (District 12), Thom Garden Base (Binh Chanh District), Tan Phuoc Communal House (Tan Binh District), Binh Nhan Communal House (Hoc Mon District), Phu An Communal House (Binh Thanh District), Go Queo Ancient Tomb (Thu Duc City), Truong Family Temple (Go Vap District) and Ernst Thälmann High School (District 1).

CREATING CONDITIONS FOR CONSERVATION TO GO ALONG WITH DEVELOPMENT

Not only increasing the number of ranked relics, the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City continues to propagate to management units and owners of relics to see the importance and benefits when relics are ranked. We do not make it difficult, do not make it easy, but only do it right. Completely create the most favorable conditions for conservation to always go hand in hand with development. And from new research and discoveries, the Department has completed the dossier to propose upgrading relics from national level to special national relics, from city-level relics to national-level relics and adding many new relics to be ranked in preparation for the first Vietnam Heritage Festival of the City held in November this year.

Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Minh Nhut

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/go-vuong-cho-di-tich-duoc-xep-hang-cua-tphcm-185250507195913073.htm