Preservation should accompany development, experts agreed during a conference on protecting and promoting cultural heritage in Hà Nội.
Complicated treasure: The gate of Đường Lâm Village. There is a conflict between the aim of protecting old houses and the need to upgrade insfrastructure for the local people. — VNA/VNS Photo Vân Chi
The conference was held on Thursday at the Hà Nội Museum with the participation of many cultural managers and researchers. They delivered an overall view on the current situation of cultural and historical vestiges in Hà Nội, pointed out shortcomings in the management of relics in the city and discussed solutions to preserve and promote heritage sites in the city effectively.
Hà Nội is praised as a city of rich cultural heritage. Indeed, as a 1,000-year-old city, Hà Nội is the cradle of nearly 6,000 cultural and historical relics, counting to 2016. Over 2,000 relics have been recognised as national heritage and provincial heritage treasures, according to Ngô Văn Quý, vice chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Committee.
The heritage items and sites are diverse, including pre-historic military architecture (An Dương Vương, built before 208BC); key areas from the resistance wars against the French and Americans; imperial architecture and artefacts from the Lý Dynasty (the 10th century) to the Nguyễn Dynasty (1802-1945) and religious spaces, as Hà Nội is a centre of different religions including Buddhism, Mother Goddess worship and Catholicism.
There is huge potential to develop tourism and cultural research in Hà Nội. The heritage of the capital also provides inspiration for research and creativity.
"We acknowledge that cultural heritage is a foundation to develop socio-economy of the city," said Quý.
Lê Thị Minh Lý, from the Việt Nam Cultural Heritage Association, emphasised the importance of sustainable development, especially in the field of cultural heritage. She said that heritage preservation requires comprehensive social and economic development, protecting the environment, peace and security.
"According to UNESCO conventions, we need to focus on preserving and developing at the same time. That means that besides respecting and protecting cultural heritage, we are also concerned about the material and spiritual life of the people who live on the heritage sites, so we need to get the locals involved in all steps of projects to preserve and develop the sites and consult experts during the process," she said.
That the capital city boasts a huge number of heritage sites is both a point of pride and a challenge at the same time, according to expert Nguyễn Thế Hùng from the Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
“We face many difficulties to strike a balance and harmony between protecting heritage and developing the society,” he said.
“There is a conflict between protecting the archaeological sites and maintaining the rights of people living on the sites.”
He mentioned Đường Lâm Old Village in Hà Nội’s Sơn Tây Town as a prime example. The local people demanded the right to build new houses or repair their traditional houses because they can’t live in downgraded architecture that is hundreds of years old.
He offered some solutions, such as consulting domestic and foreign experts, raising people’s awareness of the value of heritage sites, developing more tourism products to bring profits for the local people, getting young people involved in protecting and developing the heritage sites, and improving the professionalism of people who work in managing and operating the heritage zones. — VNS