One of the things that makes Da Nang attractive to domestic and foreign tourists is “secular” tourist attractions imbued with historical and spiritual meaning ​​which have made it onto the list of protected sites under national and international levels. Therefore, preservation of the city’s heritage sites for future generations is of great importance to local relevant agencies and cultural workers.

Gajasimha culture and other five artifacts which are on display at the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture have been added to the list of national treasures in Viet Nam. Photo: KHANH HOA

Huge efforts made to preserve heritage sites

The Marble Mountains special national relic site has become a must-visit destination in Da Nang as each precious one in this area boasts its own character. This tourist spot is very inviting to tourists as it is imbued with historical and spiritual meaning.

This scenic spot is known for its thriller and mystery stories that help increase its uniqueness and sacredness. Especially, ‘ma nhai’, inscriptions on rocks, which was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a documentary heritage under the UNESCO Memory of the World for the Asia-Pacific Region Programme on November 26, 2022. Hence, the preservation of this sacred site has become more important to the Da Nang authorities.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hien, the Head of the Management Board of the Marble Mountains tourist site, said that Decision No. 882 by the Prime Minister on preservation, embellishment, and restoration of the Marble Mountains special national relic site with a focus on 7 project groups expected to be carried out from 2023 to 2030, with a vision to 2050 is considered to be an important legal basis for the management and protection of this heritage site while ensuring harmony between socio-economic development and tourism development in a sustainable way. Besides, the Management Board of the Marble Mountains tourist site has been actively coordinating with local relevant agencies in efforts to speed up the completion of part 1 of the 3-part roadmap as part of a project to promote and preserve the values ​​of the Marble Mountains’ “ma nhai” steles. Focus is on using digitized data and technologies through digitizing the heritage-related documents and images in a bid to facilitate domestic and foreign tourists to explore this must-see heritage site.

“Creating QR codes and a website for the Marble Mountains special national relic site allows tourists to scan the QR Code and search for information with their smartphones to get full, detailed and visual information about the places where they visit. In addition, we has put in place visitation guidelines and deploy its personnel to this site in order to prevent visitors from touching the stone stele. Furthermore, heed has been paid to keeping this heritage site clean, protecting this site from harmful plants, and placing posters to introduce information about the stele. Moreover, we regularly carry out appropriate dissemination activities, and launch awareness-raising campaigns for the tourist site’s staff, its security personnel, and tour guides in order to educate them on practising appropriate behavior and showing respect to cultural and historic relics under city and state- level protection, " Mr. Hien said.

Moreover, awareness-raising campaigns have been launched for traders at this scenic spot in an attempt to increase their awareness about preserving and protecting this site. Hence, they are showing best practices to keep this site green, clean and beautiful by arranging neat and clean their stores while ensuring the security of their venues and selling their products at the displayed price.

Sixty year- old Ngo Thi My Trinh, a trader at this scenic spot, remarked: “Since this stone stele made it to UNESCO's World Heritage Site list in 2022, we have been active in joining hands with local authorities to preserve and promote this heritage site by practicing our trading behavior in a polite and civilized manner."

Leaving a Lasting Legacy

Ensuring the absolute safety of the six national treasures, and artifacts as a whole, which are on display at the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture is a top priority of the Museum.

These artifacts are preserved to not wear out and retain their current conditions while the most effective measures are being taken to protect them from theft and vandalism.

Situated on the western side of the Han River, the Dien Hai Citadel, one of the most important fortresses in Viet Nam in the 19^th century, was recognized as a special national historical relic in 2017 following approval by the Prime Minister.

The over 160-year-old citadel is vivid evidence of the undaunted courage and indomitable fighting spirit of Da Nang’s soldiers and its residents during their historic battles against the French-Spanish coalition forces in the 1858 - 1860 period.

This historic relic underwent a major restoration in March 2018 during the first phase of the city’s restoration project, and it is moving to the next phase of restoration during the 2019-2024 period.

Once the restoration and embellishment project is completed, the citadel will become one of very inviting places in the city and a must-visit site for visitors to explore the culture and history of Da Nang, emerging as the highlight of the landscape in the downtown square, and vividly recreating the old citadel with a heroic historical story as well.

The restoration of this relic has caught great attention and received active support of local people and management bodies. It has also shown the municipal government's right care and effective investment given to historic relics in a timely manner.

Cultural and historic heritage, especially precious heritage and documents, have been honored as priceless assets to the city, and the country at large, as well as the quintessence of Vietnamese culture, and the crystallization of traditional culture as cultural heritage are inherited and passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, preservation and protection of tourist attractions and cultural heritage is to show our gratitude to our ancestors, as well as to preserve our ancestors' legacy for future generations.

Reporting by KHANH HOA – translating by H.L