Promoting the cultural heritage value of Hue Ancient Capital for sustainable development

In particular, 2023 is the 30th anniversary of the Complex of Hue Monuments (1993 - 2023) and the 20th anniversary of the recognition of Vietnamese Royal Court Music (2003 - 2023) as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Exploiting tourism and services based on the promotion of values from cultural heritage, especially after the recognition, has contributed positively to local economic development.

Hue heritage has become an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists. Photo: Tuong Vi/VNA

Promoting the heritage value of the Ancient Capital and Hue cultural identity

History has placed Hue in the cultural and political center of the land of Dang Trong during the Nguyen Lords (1558 - 1777), the Tay Son Dynasty (1778 - 1802) and then the capital of the whole country during the Nguyen Kings (1802 - 1945). Over time, with the inheritance of unique values of indigenous culture combined with the cultural quintessence of the monarchies, a huge treasure of heritage has crystallized in the heart of the ancient capital of Hue. Including tangible, intangible and documentary heritages that have been honored by UNESCO:

Complex of Hue Monuments (1993); Vietnamese Royal Music - Nha Nhac (2003), Woodblocks of the Nguyen Dynasty (2009), Royal Records of the Nguyen Dynasty (2014), Poetry on Hue Royal Architecture (2016), Practice of Mother Goddess Worship in the Three Palaces (2016), Central Vietnam's Bai Choi Art (2017). In addition, the whole province has nearly 1,000 works and locations inventoried, including 3 special national relics, 89 national relics, 94 provincial relics and 3 heritages that have been included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In particular, the Complex of Hue Monuments was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage in 1993. The event not only raised Vietnam's position in the world but also honored the value of our country's cultural heritage to a new level; opening up prospects in preserving and promoting the value of this special resource.

Thua Thien - Hue always affirms that the value of the heritage of the Ancient Capital and Hue's cultural identity is the foundation for development, contributing to socio-economic growth, so that the Ancient Capital of Hue can develop quickly and sustainably from its own strengths and characteristics.

Therefore, most of the main relics in the Complex of Hue Monuments have been invested in, renovated, and the system of gardens, landscapes, and additional tree planting in buffer areas, upgraded infrastructure, roads in Hue city, in the citadel, and roads to some relic sites. In addition, the renovation and embellishment of both banks of the Perfume River, dredging of the Ngu Ha River, and the restoration of the Ho Thanh Hao embankment have gradually restored the inherent landscape value of the Hue Imperial City. The collection of Nguyen Dynasty antiques has also received attention. From 2002 to present, the Hue Royal Antiquities Museum has received nearly 350 artifacts from individuals at home and abroad, enriching the Museum's collection and serving the display work, increasing the attractiveness...

Up to now, the conservation of Hue monuments has entered a phase of stability and sustainable development. Hue is evaluated by domestic and foreign individuals and organizations, especially UNESCO, as a leading locality in heritage conservation, with the potential to become a standard center for conservation technology transfer in the Asia-Pacific region.

The preservation of cultural heritage values has always been closely linked to the process of exploiting and promoting values, serving as an important lever in the socio-economic development strategy of Thua Thien - Hue province and the Central region.

Dr. Phan Thanh Hai, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Thua Thien - Hue province, said: After 20 years with 10 Hue Festivals and 7 Hue Traditional Craft Festivals, now with the addition of the Four Seasons Festival, the Festival model has been confirmed, becoming a notable Festival in the world Festival system. The successfully organized Festivals have contributed to affirming the position in politics, culture and tourism, expanding diplomatic relations and international cooperation, enhancing the position of Vietnamese culture and Hue culture. At the same time, Hue also owns many titles such as "Vietnam's typical Festival City", "ASEAN Cultural City", "ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City", "National Green City" ...

Statistics from 1990 to 2019 show that tourism has continuously grown in all indicators. The number of visitors to Thua Thien - Hue has increased from 81,500 (1990) to 4.817 million (2019); revenue from 154 billion VND (1990) has increased to 12,000 billion VND (2019); contribution from 7% of the province's GDP (1995) has increased to over 12% (2019). It is worth noting that 85% of Hue tourism is cultural heritage tourism. This shows that Hue's cultural heritage plays a particularly important role in socio-economic development, specifically in the tourism and service sectors. Thanks to that, the ancient capital of Hue has preserved quite intact the cultural heritage values of its ancestors. The cultural heritage of the ancient capital of Hue has become the foundation, driving force, and provision for the province to develop sustainably.

For many years, Thua Thien - Hue has always been voted as a safe and friendly destination. In March 2023, Canada's The Travel newspaper voted Hue as one of the 10 most beautiful cities in Vietnam that tourists need to explore and experience.

Royal music - precious capital, asset of the nation

According to the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, on November 7, 2003, Hue Royal Court Music was listed by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, along with 27 other masterpieces. This is the first intangible heritage of Vietnam to be recognized in this list, recognizing the results of a 10-year journey of striving and preparing documents.

In 2004, the Hue Royal Theatre of Arts performed Royal Court Music in cities of the French Republic and the capital Brussels (Belgium). During this tour, at the UNESCO office (France), the certificate of Vietnamese Royal Court Music Heritage as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was awarded to Hue by UNESCO.

After Nha Nhac was honored by UNESCO, activities of collecting, researching and archiving related documents were carried out and deployed systematically.

The work of collecting and storing scientific records and documents related to Nha Nhac is carried out seriously and built into scientific records. The work of training young Nha Nhac musicians and training to improve performance skills is focused on. Famous artisans have been invited to teach performance skills and impart professional secrets. With the aim of raising public awareness of the values of intangible cultural heritage, the work of performing and promoting to promote the value of Hue Royal Nha Nhac heritage is also focused on.

In addition, many Nha Nhac performances have taken place in many provinces and cities across the country on the occasion of major events; participating in festivals and art exchange programs in a number of countries, leaving many good impressions on international friends. In particular, Nha Nhac performances have also contributed to the success of Hue Festivals.

Student awareness raising activities are also focused on to facilitate students to directly participate in training sessions on Royal Court Music and other types of court performances.

Activities to preserve and promote the value of Nha Nhac have been actively promoted and widely publicized to the public at home and abroad; including the production of documentaries and short reports to be broadcast on television. In 2008, the Ministry of Information and Communications issued a set of Hue Royal Nhac stamps, including 3 designs and a block stamp introducing an overview of the Royal Nhac.

Currently, the performance of Hue Royal Music for tourists has been carried out quite diversely outdoors, in palaces, temples and Duyet Thi Duong Royal Theatre. Thus, tourists can approach Royal Music at different levels. During the visit to the royal palace, visitors can stop for a few minutes at Ngo Mon or The Mieu to see what Royal Music is. If they want to know more, visitors can watch a performance lasting about 30 minutes in Duyet Thi Duong Royal Theatre...

Hue Royal Court Music is a genre of royal court music in the feudal period, performed on festive occasions (coronation, death, other solemn festivals) during the year of the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam. Hue Royal Court Music was recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003.

The Hue Monuments Conservation Center stated: It can be seen that after 20 years, the preservation and promotion of Nha Nhac in Thua Thien - Hue has achieved very proud results. Not only is it a valuable asset of the nation, it is also a typical example, representing the Southeast Asian region in terms of the remaining ancient music form.

Preserving and promoting the values of the nation's cultural heritage, including the Complex of Hue Monuments and Nha Nhac - Royal Court Music, along with promoting Hue's cultural values, are truly becoming an endogenous resource and a breakthrough driving force for the sustainable development of Thua Thien - Hue. Thereby, Thua Thien - Hue contributes to the whole country in building a unified, diverse, advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity; diversifying types of tourism products, especially key products with high representativeness and branding.

According to VNA

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