(VOVworld)-Vinh Nghiem Pagoda in Bac Giang province has held a ceremony to honour the reception of a UNESCO certificate for its Buddhist woodblocks to be recognized as part of the world’s Asian-Pacific documentary heritage.

Vinh Nghiem Pagoda’s Buddhist woodblocks recognized by UNESCO

Vinh Nghiem Pagoda now preserves over 3,000 Buddhist woodblocks, carved from the 16th to 19th centuries to serve training of Truc Lam Zen Buddhist monks. Each woodblock has two sides, inscribed with reversed Han Nom script of various contents, including medicine, literature, spells, and Buddhist rules. On this occasion, the province has launched its cultural, sports and tourism festival. Speaking at the launching ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan urged Bac Giang to care more for the preservation of heritages for development: “I urge the provincial Party, government and people to strengthen unity and boost efficient utilization of human resources, land and culture, including the UNESCO recognition to ensure more rapid and sustainable development.”

In related news, Bac Giang, Lang Son and Hanoi have joined efforts to promote their tourism industry. Bac Giang City hosted a workshop on Sunday to map out solutions to foster links between authorities and travel agents to create new products for travellers. Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyen The Chinh: “Bac Giang has not been considered a tourist sport on the national tourism map despite its tourism potential. The workshop is an opportunity for the 3 provinces and city to promote tourism cooperation for more new products.”