During a national conference on the development of Vietnamese cultural industries held December 22, 2023, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated that the country’s cultural development strategies until 2030 took Da Nang in the spotlight, in which, the city was named one of three major cultural hubs of Viet Nam (including Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City) while it would become  an innovative hub of the country. This proves that Da Nang doesn’t have to start from scratch to develop a cultural industry.

A scene featuring Da Nang’s Dragon Bridge in the South Korean movie ‘Taxi Driver 2’ was released in early 2023. Photo: S.T

Each particular cultural industry offers opportunities for each locality to participate in three levels. The highest level allows the locality to create its own special cultural products, and make these goods more competitive in domestic and international markets. The intermediate level allows the locality to join forces with other localities or countries to create cultural goods which serve as indoor or outdoor filming locations (as seen with the Dragon Bridge and its surroundings featured prominently in the American action movie 'The Protégé' which was released in 2021, and South Korean movie 'Taxi Driver 2', which made its debut early in 2023). The lowest level simply offers opportunities for the locality to serve as a consumption market for cultural products.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism foresees that by 2030, six out of twelve cultural industrial sectors will be chosen for concentrated investment and growth support, namely: cinema, performing arts, cultural tourism, handicrafts, entertainment and gaming software, and design.

Da Nang possesses great potential in four of these proposed areas: cinema, performing arts, cultural tourism, and handicrafts.

For instance, in the field of cinema, the first-ever Da Nang Asian Film Festival (DANAFF) held in May 2023 showcased Da Nang's ability and its confidence to develop the film industry referred to as 'the seventh art'. This means even at the highest level, Da Nang can use its strengths to make documentaries, heralded by such famous filmmakers as Doan Hong Le, Duong Mong Thu, and Truong Vu Quynh who have already gained international recognition for their films made in the Varan style, or “direct cinema documentaries” style.

As for performing arts field, Da Nang was chosen by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) to host the first-ever ITI World Performing Arts Festival in 2018 to celebrate ITI's 70^th birthday. However, due to various reasons, the much-awaited event didn't take place in Da Nang as expected, and it took place in Binh Thuan Province in December 2023.

Da Nang’s two performing arts namely Quang region's Tuong (classical drama) art form, and Bai Choi (singing while acting as playing cards) were recognized as national intangible cultural heritage in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

These recognized performing arts not only highlight the city's unique features but underscore the local performing artists' mission to preserve and promote the traditional performing arts of their hometown, thereby facilitating Da Nang to build a sustainable performing arts sector, and develop its cultural industry as a whole.

To flourish the city’s performing arts sector, local artists must broaden their horizons by learning about theatrical genres from traditional to contemporary of other Vietnamese localities.

Da Nang's stages present not only dramas written by Nguyen Hien Dinh and Tong Phuoc Pho but also plays written by Luu Quang Vu. A highlight of Da Nang’s performing arts is Chau Van or Hat Van which is a form of ritual singing in Vietnamese spiritual culture, coming from Northern Viet Nam. As part of the weekly traditional arts program performed by Nguyen Hien Dinh Tuong (Classical Drama) Theatre's artists, this folk art performance has been introduced at the Da Nang Airport since late December 2022.

When it comes to cultural tourism, Da Nang boasts several strengths, including the magnificent Marble Mountains and the historical Dien Hai Citadel. The city is also known for the unparalleled Museum of Cham Sculpture with plans for the second campus of this museum expected to be built in the Phong Le Village.

Cultural tourism also involves tours to traditional craft villages such as Cam Ne sedge mat-making village, Nam O fish sauce village, Tuy Loan rice paper making village, and Quan Chau's seven-fire sesame cake village, along with national intangible cultural heritage including festivals, the 'Cau Ngu' (Fish Worshipping) and the Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara).

The art of craftsmanship also thrives in Da Nang, with the Non Nuoc Stone Carving Village being recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2014. Among the city's outstanding talents is Artisan Nguyen Long Buu, the first Vietnamese stone sculpture artisan honoured by the Vietnamese State President with the People's Artisan title in 2016. His sculptures have been exhibited in Ha Noi City’s sculpture garden during the APEC Economic Leaders' Week in Ha Noi in 2006 and in Da Nang in 2017, showcasing Da Nang's rich contribution to the nation's cultural tapestry.

Certainly, on the city’s path to the development of cultural industry in the field of handicraft and fine arts, the Non Nuoc stone carving village must continue to overcome the situation of mass-producing stone statue products that are commercialized or industrially producing sandstone statue products - instead of true stone statues - leading to a decreasing number of handcrafted products that depict the process of "breathing life into stone" by the artisans.

Despite having potential and strengths in the four aforementioned areas, the city’s journey to the development of cultural industry is still just a proposition and not yet a solution. Even on a national scale, concluding the first national conference on the development of Vietnamese cultural industries, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also acknowledged that the country’s cultural industry has yet to tap its full potential, as well make it more competitive in the international market. Therefore, Da Nang still has to make significant efforts to be worthy of being one of three major cultural hubs of Viet Nam, especially in seeking investment resources which is extremely challenging for the city’s culture sector.

Reported by BUI VAN TIENG – Translated by THAO TRANG