Multi-regional heritage value system and requirements for creating new strategies
At the recent Cultural Heritage Conference, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City Tran The Thuan emphasized: Ho Chi Minh City is now a supercity with a long cultural and historical space. The intersection of many heritages forces us to innovate our thinking, considering heritage as a development resource, not just for preservation".
Ho Chi Minh City currently has 321 historical - cultural relics and scenic spots, including 4 special national relics, 99 national relics and 218 city-level relics. In the period of 2021 - 2025, 83 relics and works have been restored with a total capital of 1,422 billion VND; a significant part comes from socialized sources. Many typical projects such as the restoration of Con Dao prison, revolutionary relics, resistance, archaeological relics of Giong Ca Vo... prove the trend of combining cultural tourism conservation and exploitation.
In the museum sector, Ho Chi Minh City has 25 institutions, including 13 public museums and 12 non-public museums. Of which, 7/9 museums under the department are ranked I and are ICOM members. On average, each year, the museum system collects about 18,000 documents and artifacts; attracting more than 3.5 million visitors, including 1.1 million international visitors. The development of Ao Dai museums, pottery museums, traditional medicine museums, etc. shows that socialization is playing an increasingly large role in conservation work.
Regarding intangible heritage, the number of heritages in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List increased to 15.5 times the previous period. Ho Chi Minh City also owns 3 heritages recognized by UNESCO: the Song of the Rich, Ca Tru and the worship of the Three Government Mother; along with a system of 284 festivals and a network of artisans and folk art clubs. Intangible heritage therefore still retains strong vitality in the context of rapid urbanization.
However, there are still many limitations such as the preparation of an inventory and classification dossier for relics not being on schedule; the dossier submitted to UNESCO to recognize Cu Chi Site as a World Heritage is still slow; the Cultural Heritage Conservation Fund has not been put into operation; the social resources are not stable.
Dr. Le Thi Minh Ly - Member of the National Cultural Heritage Council - commented: "Many museums do not have a clear identity. Without good human resources, there cannot be a good museum. To preserve efficiency, we must invest properly in the craft team".
Heritage - a soft pillar for creative urban areas towards 2045
Ho Chi Minh City sets a target for the period of 2026 - 2030, with a vision to 2045 with a consistent viewpoint: Concretizing "Ho Chi Minh cultural space" and making heritage a core value that nurtures the city's people.
The goal by 2030 includes: Completing the dossier to submit to UNESCO for recognizing Cu Chi Ge drainage as a World Heritage Site; Ranking about 70% of works in the inventory list; At least 50% of intangible heritages are indexed to be included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List; Restoring 100% of special national relics, 70% of national relics and city-level relics to deteriorate; Putting about 40% of relics into tourism - experience exploitation, shaping "cultural destinations" for each area.
One of the strategic pillars is digital transformation. The city is oriented to digitize all heritage data, from artifacts, drawings, documents to relic spaces; develop 3D/360 virtual sightseeing; build a digital map of heritage and a multilingual explanation system. Some museums such as War Relics, Southern Women, Ba Ria - Vung Tau... have deployed digital exhibitions, creating the premise for replicating the model.
The city is studying the establishment of the Ho Chi Minh City Heritage Center - an institution connecting public museums to coordinate the work of exhibition, research, digitalization and human resource training. Public-private cooperation models in relic restoration, museum management, and development of cultural and tourism products will be piloted with a transparent mechanism, in accordance with reality. Along with that is the requirement to expand international cooperation, continue to implement professional support programs from European, Japanese and Korean partners. With the vision of 2045, Ho Chi Minh City aims to build a sustainable heritage ecosystem...
