SEMINAR AND EXHIBITION "HO CHI MINH CITY ARCHEOLOGY IN THE URBANIZATION PROCESS"

On November 26, 2010, on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh signing the decree on the preservation of national cultural heritage (November 23, 1945 - November 23, 2010) and implementing the unit's 2010 action plan, Ho Chi Minh City Museum coordinated with the Vietnam History Museum - Ho Chi Minh City, the Center for Archaeology - Institute for Sustainable Development of the Southern Region, the Museum of History - Southern Culture under the University of Social Sciences and Humanities of Ho Chi Minh City and the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies to organize a seminar combined with the exhibition "Archaeology of Ho Chi Minh City in the process of urbanization" .

According to the statement of Ms. Vu Thi Kim Anh - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism: "

Ho Chi Minh City is in the process of strong urbanization, the urbanization process is affecting every aspect of urban residents' lives every day and every hour, from the economy to lifestyle, cultural activities also have multi-faceted approaches to world culture in the integration period. More high-rise buildings are gradually replacing slums, the quality of life of people is gradually improving. However, like the urban development law of countries in the region, the urbanization process is not necessarily a straight line development process with a positive trend but also exists many internal contradictions that require urban managers to have visions and directions for strategic activities to ensure that urban development does not conflict with the preservation of cultural heritage values?

A series of questions arise that need to be resolved: what to do with the heritages that are still hidden underground, the heritages that have been discovered and recorded by archaeologists, and how to preserve the city's archaeological relics and sites after excavation so that they do not become ruins?

For religious, artistic, and architectural heritages associated with famous people, how should we plan and preserve them to avoid conflicts between social and civic issues in preserving these real estate relics?

How to create harmony between the old and the new , harmony between modern thinking and nostalgic past , relictizing each individual part or preserving by area with existing landscape or criteria for evaluating architectural works as cultural heritage are still not unified... and the most obvious weakness of urban managers is the lack of common ground and consistency in views on heritage conservation.

From that, it can be seen that, although certain achievements have been made, the role of Ho Chi Minh City archaeology - one of the scientific fields that has contributed to the issue of social criticism of the city - is still limited. The awareness of the values from tangible and intangible heritage through its research works has not really created in the thinking of the citizens a respect and love for the land they live on; there have not been necessary and sufficient actions to get the necessary attention for urban managers in planning appropriate policies to preserve a beautiful, modern city with a long cultural history so that Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City will always be admired as a " Pearl of the Far East " with the mindset of a city with a civilized life, strong national identity and full of humanity. " - With these goals, Ho Chi Minh City Museum and the Institute for Urban Development Studies jointly organized a scientific seminar: " Archaeology of Ho Chi Minh City in the process of urbanization"

The seminar has 12 presentations:

A review of archaeological activities in Ho Chi Minh City over three decades.- Ho Chi Minh City Museum. – page 4.
2. Ho Chi Minh City Archaeology: Journeys of Discovery - Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Chi Hoang - Director of the Archaeological Center, Institute for Sustainable Development of the Southern Region. - page 10
3. Looking back at the Rong Bang (Hoc Mon) site on the topographic map of Ho Chi Minh City. Do Nhu Kiem - HCM City Historical Museum - page 15
Hung Loi ancient pottery kiln (District 8) - Current situation and solutions to protect national relics. Dr. Phi Ngoc Tuyen - University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City - page 21
5. Looking back at archaeological discoveries on the Saigon River. Dr. Pham Huu Cong, Luong Chanh Tong - Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History - page 27
6. Some thoughts on preserving the historical heritage of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City. Dr. Nguyen Thi Hau - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies - page 36.
7. Maintaining the identity and urban soul of Ho Chi Minh City in the whirlwind of urbanization - Architect Nguyen Huu Thai - page 47.
8. Urban heritage archaeology associated with conservation and museums for present and future Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City - Dr. Architect Luu Quang Ninh - page 53.
9. French colonial architectural heritage in Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City-initial approach to urban archaeology- Luong Chanh Tong (Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History), Vu Ngoc Thanh (Center for Urban and Development Research)- page 58
Preserving and promoting the value of archaeological relics in Ho Chi Minh City - Dr. Pham Huu My - Director of the Center for Preservation and Promotion of Historical and Cultural Values of Ho Chi Minh City - page 73
The relationship between archaeology and museums in preserving and promoting the value of ancient cultural history (Approach from Vietnam's practice to Ho Chi Minh City) - Associate Professor Le Xuan Diem - page 77.