After the merger, Ca Mau province currently has 111 relics, including 3 special national relics, 24 national relics, the rest are provincial relics. In addition to some effectively exploited locations, there are still many relics that are in a state of disrepair and abandonment, and have not yet promoted their inherent historical and cultural values.
saddened by national relics
The Ninh Thanh Loi historical event relic was ranked as a historical - cultural relic by the People's Committee of Bac Lieu province (old) in 2006. However, after the recognition, the relic has been abandoned for a long time, the exhibition house has no artifacts, the tomb of the army and the grass field are overgrown with weeds, the gate and fence are covered with moss, and there are no one to look after or protect it.
In 2021, the People's Committee of Bac Lieu province assigned the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to renovate many items such as building exhibition houses, fences, internal roads, upgrading graves... After acceptance, the relic was assigned to the People's Committee of Hong Dan district (old) for management according to decentralization. However, many items have been completed and left there, not exploited or used.
The event of Ninh Thanh Loi farmers rising up in 1927 against French colonialism and helping the wrong people is an important historical milestone, creating a great resonance, affecting French land policies in the South. This rebellion marks the tradition of struggle of Vietnamese farmers in general, and Bac Lieu farmers in particular.
With that value, in 2024, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ranked this place as a National Monument. However, after being upgraded, the relic is still almost "inactive", many areas are overgrown with grass, and have not been restored and exploited accordingly.
Similarly, the Hai Yen - Binh Hung Border Guard Station (Thanh Dam Hamlet, Tan Hai Commune, now Phu Tan Commune, Ca Mau Province) was recognized as a National Monument in 2000. In 2013, the relic was restored in phase 1 with a total cost of more than 46 billion VND, including 14 items such as monuments, exhibition houses,mission gates, prison houses, guardrails, mass graves, wharves, embankments, etc.
However, after this investment, the relic has almost fallen into a state of prolonged silence. Located on Cai Doi canal, Hai Yen - Binh Hung biological site is sparsely populated with visitors. The main entrance is just a concrete road about 2m wide, connecting to some invested items; many other areas are overgrown with weeds and have no access road. "I have not seen any more work in the past few years, many works have deteriorated," said Mr. Nguyen Thanh Men (Tan Hai commune).
Provincial relics also "call for help"
Ca Mau currently has 84 provincial-level relics, each relic is a part of historical memory. However, many relics are at risk of extinction.
A typical example is the Historical Site of the Provisional Provincial Party Committee Headquarters of Bac Lieu Province (1945-1946), associated with the August Revolution event in 1945. The house was built by the French in the 1920s, with Western villa architecture, and was ranked as a provincial historical relic in 2013.
Although located right in the center of the old Bac Lieu city, this relic was encroached upon and seriously degraded. By 2024, due to the impact of time and nature, the project could not be restored and had to be dismantled. Instead, the locality built a memorial stele to commemorate the historical event.
Another example is the Nguyen Long Phi Folk Artist Memorial Area (Uncle Ba Phi), which was recognized as a provincial-level monument in 2015. After the recognition, this memorial site is almost empty, because there are not many artifacts left by Mr. Ba Phi. Currently, the only remaining relic is the old scaffolding used by Mr. Ba Phi to hunt for wild boars and the doccious boat used to go hunting in the forest, which was kept and preserved by his family.
Or the ancient house No. 29 (Bac Lieu Provincial Governor's Palace), ranked as a provincial-level architectural and artistic relic in 2013. The house was built during the French colonial period, more than 100 years ago. This place is associated with a historic event that took place on August 23, 1945 marking the Party Committee, army and people of Bac Lieu's victory over the people. Bac Lieu province (old) also took August 23 as the province's traditional day.
Over time, this house is currently seriously deteriorating, with no one to manage it, many items have collapsed, the ropes have climbed, and grass is growing wildly. Previously, Bac Lieu city intended to restore but could not do so in time because it abandoned the district level.
The above situation shows that if conservation and exploitation are not given due attention, many relics in Ca Mau will continue to erode over time, even disappear, leaving an uncompromising void in local historical and cultural memories.
