In order to turn folk cultural values into real tourism products, Quang Ninh Community Tourism Club is implementing a model of bringing mountainous and ethnic minority culture to major tourism centers.
This method not only contributes to preserving heritage but also creates livelihoods for local people.
From the actual survey process at mountainous tourist destinations in Quang Ninh, the Club found that many unique cultural values of ethnic minorities have not been fully exploited.
The folk songs, Then singing - Tinh luong of the Tay people, and Soong Co singing of the San Dau people, along with traditional professions such as brocade weaving, incense making, weaving, and leafy wine cooking... are considered a cultural "treasure trove", which needs to be awakened by modern tourism language but still retain its identity.
From there, the Club built the idea of recreating a "small highland" space at key tourist destinations in the province.
Each cultural element is designed into a specific experience product: a souvenir market with handicraft stalls, local products; craft village space for visitors to directly make banh mi, secua, fabric weaving; a folk song and dance performance area with thorns, dan thanh, Khen, flute, singing with a voice...
Mr. Le Minh Thu, Chairman of Quang Ninh Community Tourism Club, said that the Club is researching and building a cultural space for ethnic minorities in Quang Ninh in the Duc Duong Hill area ( Bai Chay) with an area of about 600m2.
Here, people and artisans from ethnic villages will directly participate in the performance and introduce the cultural heritage of their community.
According to Mr. Thu, the activities have been organized into mini shows lasting 30-45 minutes, creating conditions for visitors to not only watch but also directly experience and interact, thereby forming deep memories of indigenous culture.
In reality, linking cultural preservation with tourism is opening a new direction for many ethnic minority communities.
In Binh Dan area, Van Don special area, where about 93% of the population is San Duu people, the female singing melody was once at risk of falling apart as the number of people who could sing became less and less. Faced with that situation, in January 2016, the Binh Dan Song Club was established with 23 members. To date, the Club has 3 people recognized as Vietnam People's Artists.
Ms. Tu Thi kem, President of the Binh Danuraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluraluralural Club, said that despite their age, the members are still enthusiastically participating in performing and teaching theiruraluraluraluraluraluralural. Because the songs are transmitted mainly through word of mouth, the risk of transmission is very high. Therefore, many elderly artisans have hand-copyed the lyrics to preserve them.
According to her, it is necessary to promote teaching for the younger generation in the community, while introducing singing her voice to extracurricular activities at school. Combining with tourism will help heritage be sustainably preserved, while creating more revenue for artisans to feel secure in sticking with and passing on their craft.
When people can live on their own cultural heritage, when tourists leave with deep memories of folk melodies, customs, and practices of the highlands, that is the measure of the success of community tourism.
Bringing folk culture to the center of tourism is not only a creative way of Quang Ninh, but also a sustainable direction, where heritage conservation is associated with economic development and livelihoods for local people.
