Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac are facing the opportunity to become World Heritage.

Relentless efforts

After many years of research and evaluation by scientists and the consensus and joint efforts through the leadership periods of the three provinces of Quang Ninh, Bac Giang and Hai Duong, on September 29, 2023, the Government Office announced the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on sending the nomination dossier of the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac Monuments and Landscape Complex to UNESCO for recognition and listing on the list of World Heritage.

Yen Tu yellow apricot   blooming every spring. Photo: Hoang Duong.

Carrying special cultural and historical values, 12 years ago, on December 20, 2013, the Government Office issued Official Dispatch No. 10766/VPCP-KGVX announcing the opinion of the Deputy Prime Minister "Assigning the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to preside over, guide, and coordinate with the People's Committees of Quang Ninh and Bac Giang provinces to prepare a dossier on "Yen Tu Complex of Monuments and Landscapes", submitting it to the Prime Minister for permission to submit it to UNESCO for consideration and recognition as a World Heritage Site".

On January 30, 2021, the Government Office issued Official Dispatch No. 768/VPCP-KGVX notifying the Deputy Prime Minister's opinion on assigning the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to preside over and coordinate with the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO to send a summary report on the nomination of the Complex of Monuments.   and Yen Tu scenic spot, located in the provinces of Quang Ninh, Bac Giang and Hai Duong" to the UNESCO World Heritage Center to request consideration and inclusion in the list of proposed world heritage dossiers...

Since then, the People's Committees of the three provinces have held hundreds of meetings with central ministries and international organizations to collect opinions and develop the dossier. After many name changes, the dossier is now officially called the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac Monuments and Landscape Complex.

Dong Yen Tu Pagoda is located at the highest position at 1068 m above sea level.

The nomination dossier of the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac Monuments and Landscape Complex has selected 20 relic clusters/sites out of a total of more than 200 relics in the three provinces of Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, and Hai Duong to be included in the nominated Heritage. The nomination dossier was chaired by the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province, in coordination with the People's Committees of Bac Giang and Hai Duong provinces, completed and submitted to UNESCO in accordance with the correct procedures, with 3 times of sending additional reports as required by the UNESCO World Heritage Center and ICOMOS. This is the result of the dedication and efforts of the government and people of Quang Ninh province as the chair, the coordination of Bac Giang and Hai Duong provinces, and the dedicated and responsible contributions of experts and scientists.

Recently, in the Republic of France, Vice Chairwoman of Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hanh and leaders of Bac Giang and Hai Duong provinces joined the Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ngo Le Van to attend the 221st Session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The Ancestral Tower, where legends about Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong are preserved. Photo: Hoang Duong.

At the meeting, the Vice Chairman of the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee discussed and clarified the outstanding global values ​​of the nominated heritage of the Complex of Monuments and Landscapes of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac, and the efforts in building, preserving and promoting the values ​​of the relics of the three provinces of Quang Ninh, Bac Giang and Hai Duong. Ms. Hanh hopes that the Director General of UNESCO, Deputy Director General of UNESCO, Assistant Director General of UNESCO, Director of the Center, Director General of ICOMOS and Ambassadors of the World Heritage Committee will pay attention, support and recognize the Complex of Monuments and Landscapes of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac as a World Heritage.

Timeless cultural values

The Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac relic and scenic complex includes 5 relic areas: Yen Tu scenic spot, Tran Dong Trieu dynasty, Con Son Kiep Bac, Bach Dang victory, An Phu - Kinh Chu - Nham Duong relic complex, 3 other relics are also on the nomination list: Bo Da pagoda, Vinh Nghiem pagoda and Thanh Mai pagoda.

Overall, the nominated heritage site is located in the Dong Trieu arc area with an average altitude of over 600 m, the highest peak is Yen Tu mountain with an altitude of 1,068 m above sea level. Dong Trieu arc is considered the "fence" of the Northeast of Vietnam. This mountain area is not only a natural beauty spot but also the homeland of the Tran Dynasty in history, the "Ancestral Land of Truc Lam Buddhism in Vietnam".

Con Son Temple - Hai Duong, one of the historical and scenic sites selected as inter-regional heritage.

In 1299, Tran Nhan Tong officially established the Truc Lam Zen sect with a system of theories and actions that combined religion with life. He is considered the first Patriarch of the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect, with the Buddhist name Dieu Ngu Giac Hoang. His successors were Patriarch Phap Loa and Huyen Quang Ton Gia. All three were called the Truc Lam Tam To. Since then, Yen Tu has become the ideological capital of the Truc Lam Buddhist sect, marking the development of philosophy and thought of the Vietnamese people in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Associated with the history of the development of the Truc Lam Zen sect in Yen Tu is the construction and formation of a complex of architectural works including many pagodas and hundreds of hermitages, towers, tombs, steles, and statues. This architectural complex is located in a majestic landscape, stretching for dozens of kilometers, forming the Yen Tu Monuments and Landscape Complex.

The Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac relic and scenic complex is the place where the pure Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Center was formed, born and developed, directly founded by the Vietnamese. It is a convergence of ancient architectural works built, restored and embellished by monks, nuns, Buddhists and feudal dynasties of the Ly, Tran, Le, Nguyen dynasties. These works have clearly reflected the development of architecture, fine arts, sculpture, representing the creative artistic talent of the Vietnamese people. This is a very large relic complex and was born early in Vietnam.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/yen-tu-vinh-nghiem-con-son-kiep-bac-dang-dung-truoc-co-hoi-tro-thanh-di-san-the-gioi-post1732851.tpo