The decision was made at the 12th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Republic of Korea. The Committee says Bai Choi singing met all criteria needed to be a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. It is a folk art form that originated in the south central region of Vietnam and is popular in Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa. It features lessons about morality, stories about love for the homeland, community relationships and life experience. As a community heritage, the genre has been taught down the years to families, villages, associations, clubs and schools.

So far, Vietnam has 12 UNESCO-recognized Intangible Cultural Heritages, 10 of them are Representative Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity.