Inspired by President Ho Chi Minh's words, "Culture illuminates the path for the nation to follow."

BAC NINH - During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: "Culture illuminates the path for the nation to follow." Imbued with his teachings, Bac Ninh has always given special attention to preserving and promoting national cultural values, transforming heritage into a force for socio-economic development.

Preserving the cultural essence of Kinh Bac

Bac Ninh is the homeland of the melodious and profound Quan Ho folk songs, the birthplace of the famous Dong Ho folk paintings, and home to a system of unique historical and cultural relics. Despite undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization, this region has retained its distinct identity, allowing culture to remain a persistent undercurrent in community life.

One of the outstanding achievements demonstrating Bac Ninh's "cultural-based development" philosophy is the preservation and promotion of Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs - a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity recognized by UNESCO in 2009.

The Quan Ho folk singers offer betel nuts during the festival.

Quan Ho folk songs are a unique cultural form that reflects the rich and refined spiritual life of the people of Bac Ninh. However, due to the impact of war and the upheavals of the times, there was a period when Quan Ho declined, and performances almost disappeared from daily life.

Recognizing the importance of culture, since the 1960s, despite challenging economic conditions, the Ha Bac Department of Culture has been determined to collect Quan Ho folk songs and record them directly in Quan Ho villages with the voices of folk artists.

Later, musician and researcher Pham Hong Thao transcribed and compiled thousands of ancient Quan Ho songs, with many valuable variations, into valuable collections, preserving the precious heritage of our ancestors for future generations.

Currently, Bac Ninh has nearly 4,000 historical and cultural relics (1,415 of which are classified); 1,383 traditional festivals; 8 cultural heritage sites recognized by UNESCO; 24 artifacts and groups of artifacts that are national treasures; 33 intangible cultural heritage items on the National Cultural Heritage List; 246 artisans in the field of intangible cultural heritage; and nearly 200 traditional craft villages.

After 2009, Bac Ninh continued to boost investment in the preservation, transmission, and promotion of heritage values. The province opened classes to teach Quan Ho folk songs in many localities, for various age groups, especially young people.

The entire province currently has hundreds of Quan Ho villages practicing the art, along with numerous Quan Ho clubs. Some localities have developed models of Quan Ho clubs for young people and introduced Quan Ho folk songs into schools to foster a love for this heritage.

With a focus on preserving the Quan Ho cultural space, many "Quan Ho performance houses" in original Quan Ho villages such as Viem Xa, Duong Xa, Thi Cau, Lung Giang, etc., have been restored or rebuilt according to traditional architecture.

Quan Ho folk singers are awarded titles and receive preferential treatment to encourage their spirit and create conditions for them to continue teaching the younger generation. Festivals associated with promoting cultural heritage are unique cultural activities that attract a large number of people and tourists from near and far, affirming the cultural brand of Bac Ninh.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quan (from Cung Kiem Quan Ho village, Que Vo ward) expressed: "The festivals attract a large number of people and tourists from all over. Every time I sing a song during the festival and see the audience listening attentively, I feel even more proud and want to continue preserving and spreading the value of this heritage in life."

Besides Quan Ho folk songs, Bac Ninh also focuses on preserving and promoting the value of Dong Ho folk paintings, a style deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture. The province has implemented solutions to support artisans, preserve traditional craft villages, and promote the value of Dong Ho paintings in conjunction with the development of cultural tourism .

In December 2025, UNESCO inscribed the Dong Ho folk painting craft on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent safeguarding. In addition, the province is focusing on restoring and preserving many typical historical and cultural relics such as Dau Pagoda, But Thap Pagoda, Do Temple, Bac Ninh Confucian Temple, Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, Bo Da Pagoda, etc.

Brand affirmation

In the process of transforming the province into one of the country's major industrial centers, Bac Ninh has consistently pursued a harmonious development between economy and culture. Culture has become the spiritual foundation, creating a unique identity and appeal for the locality in the process of international integration.

While the attention of the Party committee and government is a crucial foundation, it is the people's love for their homeland and their awareness of preserving heritage that has created the enduring vitality of Bac Ninh's culture today.

In Quan Ho villages, many elderly artisans still diligently pass on each song, tradition, and custom to the younger generation. From the male and female singers to the young children in Quan Ho clubs, everyone is contributing to keeping Quan Ho songs resonating.

The Đồng Kỵ firecracker procession (Đồng Nguyên ward) attracts a large number of visitors from near and far.

The spirit of preserving and spreading the culture of their homeland is also vividly demonstrated through the way people from Bac Ninh bring images of their hometown closer to the public. The collaboration between artists Tuan Cry, Hoa Minzy, and Xuan Hinh in the music product "Bac Bling" recently created a strong effect on social media and in popular culture.

More than just an entertainment product, "Bac Bling" skillfully brings the image, language, music, and spirit of Kinh Bac to a wide audience both domestically and internationally. Drawing on traditional cultural elements, the artists have created a musical product that breathes modern life while retaining the rich identity of their homeland, refreshing the image of Bac Ninh culture in the digital world both domestically and globally.

Bearing in mind President Ho Chi Minh's teachings, the people of Bac Ninh preserve their culture not only by maintaining its original state but also by making it alive in contemporary life, instilling it in the hearts of the younger generation and reaching out to the world.

Recently, at the first session of the 16th National Assembly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Quy (also known as Ms. Thanh Quy) from Bac Ninh province, participating in the discussion on the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on some breakthrough mechanisms and policies for the development of Vietnamese culture, proudly affirmed: “Before the merger, both Bac Ninh and Bac Giang were localities that paid great attention to and invested in culture, especially traditional culture. Immediately after the merger, Bac Ninh province issued policies on cultural development based on inheriting and selecting the best policies of the two localities.”

The melodies of Quan Ho folk songs still resonate along the Cau River, the Dong Ho paintings still preserve the soul of Vietnamese countryside, and traditional values ​​are continued with the fresh creativity of today's youth. Bac Ninh is becoming an attractive destination for investors and tourists from near and far. All of this contributes to affirming that culture leads the way, creating a solid foundation and a powerful driving force for Bac Ninh and the whole country to develop rapidly and sustainably.

Van Giang

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/tham-nhuan-loi-bac-van-hoa-soi-duong-cho-quoc-dan-di--postid445917.bbg