Since its liberation in 1975, Da Nang has paid special attention to promoting the development of the cultural sector.

The entrance gate to the Museum of Da Nang

In particular, late leaders of the Quang Nam-Da Nang Province namely Ho Nghinh, Pham Duc Nam and Hoang Minh Thang initiatively invited famous architects Huynh Tan Phat and Nguyen Truc Luyen to the city to give advice in building the Museum of Da Nang despite the current economic difficulties.

In the 1980s, the city’s leaders approved to move a flower market out of a section of Hung Vuong between its intersections with Yen Bai and Phan Chau Trinh in order to build the Trung Vuong Theatre, a Cultural Square and Centre, and an arts exhibition area.

Mr Nguyen Hoang Long, former Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee during the 1994 - 2004 period, said that heed was paid to rebuilding the Trung Vuong Theatre, constructing the new Nguyen Hien Dinh Tuong Theatre on the former site of the Hoa Binh Theatre, building the Museum of Da Nang incorporating the reconstructed walls of the Dien Hai Citadel, and upgrading the Museum of Cham Sculpture.

Between 1975 and 2014, the 29 March, East Sea and Asia parks were built.

From 2014 until now, the Ngu Hanh Son Cultural and Spiritual Park in the namesake district’s Hoa Hai Ward, and a park on the site of a delayed project with facades onto Nguyen Chi Thanh, Hung Vuong, Nguyen Thai Hoc and Yen Bai streets, have been constructed.

However, some key cultural and sports projects have been delayed for a long time, including the Thanh Nien (Youth) Park.

In late 2004, Da Nang earmarked 35.2ha of land in Hai Chau and Cam Le districts for developing the project. Since 2005, the municipal authorities have also approved the implementation of other projects on this park site. Included are a driving range, a national centre for circus and synthetic arts, the Nguyen Khuyen Junior High School for Gifted Pupils, relocation areas for displaced families affected by the city’s development projects, and the expansion of the Hoa Cuong wastewater treatment plant. However, the construction of the park has yet to be deployed.

Especially, the total funding to develop the cultural sector is much lower than other sectors.  

In detail, during the 2005 - 2014 period, a total of over 5,000 billion VND from the city budget was spent on the development projects every year. However, only just 42.5 billion VND went to fund the construction of cultural works.

Between 2011 and 2013 saw a significantly decreased funding for the cultural works.

In detail, 51.7 billion VND out of 6,553 billion VND, 20.9 billion VND out of 7,525 billion VND, and 15.2 billion VND out of 5,009 billion VND, from the city budget were put into the construction of cultural works in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively.

In 2013, Da Nang ranked 61^st amongst 63 localities nationwide for the total investment poured into the local cultural sector.

Since 2014, the city has seen an increasing number of cultural and sports facilities at ward, commune and district levels. However, most of them have yet to be adequate with the city’s economic development targets.