My Son Sanctuary World Heritage Site

Vietnam has 27 world cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO and at least 5 others are expected to be added to the list by 2025.

Vietnam has also identified more than 3,400 national relics, more than 100 special national relics, more than 160 national treasures, nearly 290 national intangible heritages and around 8,000 festivals,

Head of the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association, Professor Doctor Luu Tran Tieu, said preserving and promoting cultural heritage is a way of ensuring Vietnam’s sustainable national development: “We preserve cultural heritages to serve national development which will in return serve cultural preservation. Culture, economics, and society are intertwined. We need to improve the values of cultural heritages to turn them into resources for national growth. Cultural heritages are invaluable treasures connecting communities and serving as a foundation to create new cultural values and boost cultural exchanges. It’s important to preserve authenticity and values of historical, cultural, and natural heritages.”

The vitality of heritages must be closely associated with the community, and preserved, handed down and revitalized by the community, said Doctor Phan Thanh Hai of the National Heritage Council: “It’s important to return the heritages back to the people because they belong to them. They will be the ones who give us advice on what to do to preserve and join our efforts to preserve and benefit from heritages.”

Preservation approaches vary depending on the type of heritage. It’s more difficult to preserve intangible cultural heritage, like drama, stage shows, folk festivals, customs, and traditions because they are the most vulnerable. Doctor Nguyen The Hung of the National Heritage Council said: “We need continue incentives for artisans who plays an important role in preserving and promoting tangible and intangible cultural heritages. It’s not always necessarily to preserve heritages intact but we need to make cautious preservation toward ensuring sustainable growth.”

Vietnam has paid special attention to preserving and promoting cultural heritage which has had a direct impact on tourism. Le Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Culture Heritage Department, said: “It’s necessary to strengthen communications and advertisement, promote cultural heritages in tourism development, and develop world heritages into major tourist attractions. We need to boost international cooperation and mobilize public engagement in protecting and promoting cultural heritages. Coordinated actions will make preservation and promotion work more effective.”