Discovering “Agarwood forest, bird’s nest sea” at the 80-year National Achievement Exhibition

VHO - Khanh Hoa, known as the land of "agarwood forests - bird's nest seas", proudly brought these two intangible cultural heritages to the 80-year National Achievements Exhibition.

Mr. Le Van Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Khanh Hoa province shared: Khanh Hoa has many National Intangible Cultural Heritages, however, there are 2 outstanding Intangible Cultural Heritages nationwide, bringing high economic value, which are Khanh Hoa Agarwood Exploitation and Processing Knowledge and Khanh Hoa Bird's Nest Exploitation and Processing Knowledge, which are currently being introduced and displayed at the 80-year National Achievements Exhibition.

Khanh Hoa province's exhibition space at the 80th Anniversary of the Country's Achievements Exhibition

Agarwood forest

Chairman of Khanh Hoa Agarwood Association, Mr. Bien Quoc Dung affirmed: Khanh Hoa Agarwood has long been known as "The number one Agarwood in Vietnam" with The highest essential oil content and the most diverse aromatic compounds of all specimens in Vietnam.

Khanh Hoa has the elements considered as gifts of nature suitable for the growth of Aquilaria trees and the creation of agarwood. Therefore, many traditional craft villages of agarwood crafting have also been born, the most famous of which is Van Thang agarwood crafting village. Coming here, we can easily see the image of diligent artisans diligently carving agarwood, carving, and scraping each piece of wood to create many products from agarwood such as: agarwood incense, essential oils, bracelets, agarwood statues, high-class handicrafts... meeting the criteria of the region and the whole country in terms of quality.

For a long time, Khanh Hoa people have honored agarwood as a symbol of deep gratitude to Goddess Thien YA Na - the Mother Goddess honored as the Mother of the Land. Each wisp of incense smoke is a prayer, a word of thanks sent to the sacred being who has blessed this land. It is from that sincere heart that the Khanh Hoa agarwood festival was born. It has become an opportunity for people to immerse themselves in a meaningful cultural and spiritual space.

Mr. Le Van Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Khanh Hoa province shared about "agarwood forest - bird's nest sea"

Agarwood is associated with Khanh Hoa land, containing great values ​​of culture, religion, and beliefs of many generations of residents, and is also a very good medicinal herb for human health. In addition, Khanh Hoa agarwood is a staple handicraft product present in most businesses throughout the province, region, and country. The product is attracting the most fans, selling the most, contributing to the economic growth of the province, contributing to promoting the brand and position of Khanh Hoa land to domestic and international tourists.

Model of bird's nest caves at Hon Ngoai Island in Khanh Hoa

Sea bird's nest

According to historical records, in 1328, Navy Admiral Le Van Dat (during the Tran Dynasty) discovered islands with nesting swiftlets in the Binh Khang sea area (present-day Khanh Hoa province) during a business trip to the South and was determined to stay and govern this land. With the strategic vision of a general, he established naval teams to protect, exploit and develop this precious resource. The bird's nest industry was born from that time and he was honored by later generations as the founder of the Vietnamese bird's nest industry.

To harvest bird's nests on steep, precarious cliffs, the worker must be truly resilient, experienced and courageous. Depending on the terrain of each cave, the rig is designed to be both safe and effective. The rig is made of bamboo and rattan. The worker harvests the bird's nests using specialized tools, completely by hand. After harvesting, the bird's nests must be intact, not broken or cracked.

Bird's nests are harvested twice a year (March-April and July-August of the lunar calendar) and the birds are cared for after harvesting to ensure the development of the bird's nest flock, increase the yield and quality of Khanh Hoa's natural bird's nests. Based on size and color, bird's nests are classified into the following categories: blood nests, pink nests, bright nests, heavenly nests, white nests, ground nests, strong nests, and broken nests.

Thanks to the geochemical origin, rich chemical and mineral composition in the steep cliffs, caves under the waves all year round are the foundation for enriching the trace elements in bird's nests, creating a particularly high nutritional value and the characteristic flavor of Khanh Hoa natural island bird's nests. In particular, only a few natural island caves in Khanh Hoa's bird's nest islands have blood nests and pink nests with very high nutritional content. It is from the crystallization of the sea, sky and mountains that creates the rare flavor of Khanh Hoa natural island bird's nests.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/kham-pha-rung-tram-bien-yen-tai-trien-lam-thanh-tuu-dat-nuoc-80-nam-164507.html