DULICH

NATURAL PATRIMONIES

Ha Long Bay

A beautiful imposing natural scenery situated in Gulf of Tonkin, including 1969 big and small islands stretching over 120 km of coast, total area of 1553km2 . The world-recognized zone has area of 434km2, including 775 islands.

Those islands vary in shapes-unique, lively and changing according to visitors’ angle eyes: La Vong (a fisherman in Chinese legend), Canh Buom (sail), Cap Ga (couple of chickens), Lu Huong (incense-burner)… Concealed in the islands are beautiful, wondrous caverns as: Thien Cung (Celestial Palace), Sung Sot (startled), Dau Go… This place is one of the cradle of human with Ha Long civilization, since the Post-Neolithic area, also assembling various forest and sea ecological systems with thousands of species of animals and trees, especially rare and precious ones. Ha Long Bay was listed into world natural patrimonies on December 17, 1994 in Thailand by UNESCO.

Phong Nha - Ke Bang Cavern

At the 27th meeting of World Patrimony Committee held in Paris (June 30 - July 5, 2003), Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park was acknowledged as world natural patrimony. Situated in Ke Bang primeval forest and limestone mountain - Quang Binh Province, Phong Nha cavern is a system of caves with splendid, sparkling, fanciful colors of stalactites reflecting on the longest underground river in Vietnam. Phong Nha cavern has many branches, length up to 20km, its mouth is 20m long, 10m high. Main cave consists of 14 chambers linking by a water gallery 1500m long; further into it still places of calcifying.

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CULTURAL-HISTORICAL PATRIMONIES

Hue Ancient Capital

The old architecture community of Hue’s imperial palaces was acknowledged as world cultural patrimony in December 1993. This is a community of citadels and ramparts (imperial city, royal citadel, Purple Forbidden City) and hundreds of palaces, mausoleums, government offices, garden houses, temples, pagodas, etc. spreading over 20,000 ha on the northern bank of Huong River. It recorded traces of an ancient capital of Vietnamese feudal state throughout 400 years before the country stood French domination. This precious work included over 100 pieces of architecture, the most famous were four mausoleums with private manners of their kings and owners: Gia Long-majestic, Minh Mang-imposing, Tu Duc-poetic, Khai Dinh-magnificent.

Hoi An Ancient Town

A busy commercial port by Thu Bon River from 16-17th century, trading with many countries in the world: Japan, China, Portugal, Italy, etc. Hoi An ancient town once was a prosperous trading centre in the South East Asia, also a main station of merchant ships of the Far East area. Therefore, Hoi An had special cultural interference, traditional ethnic aspect in ancient wooden houses plus imported cultural trait as decorative multi-colored lanterns… from China, Japan… Hardly finding somewhere in Vietnam such a calm, nostalgic atmosphere like this.

Hoi An ancient town is also famous for thousands of shops selling souvenirs and special foods of Quang area: Bo cakes, Vac cakes, Cao lau, etc. With such unique value, Hoi An ancient town was acknowledged world cultural patrimony in December 1999 by UNESCO.

My Son Holy Land

Covered in a secret valley in Duy Phu Village, Duy Xuyen District, Quang Nam Province, My Son Holy Land is a community of 70 towers built according to Hindu school by refined bricks and sandstones throughout 1,000 years worshipping deities protecting Cham kings. Each tower worshiped different deities, kings, bearing various architectural mark and historical period, however generally built on a four-cornered space, divided into three parts: the base representing stable earthly world, the body representing mysterious divine world and the top with image of people making religious rituals, trees and leaves, birds… The main temple worships Linga-Yoni, representing creative power. Although passing time and war, My Son ruins still attracts visitors for sculpture, architectural masterpieces of a magnificent era in artistic history of Cham people.

My Son Holy Land was acknowledged world cultural patrimony in December 1999 by UNESCO.

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IMMATERIAL CULTURAL PATRIMONIES

Hue’s Court Music

Acknowledged as immaterial cultural patrimony in November 2003 by UNESCO, Hue’s Court Music is a unique traditional kind of Vietnam, played at Court serving in rituals, meetings, however now kept grand and small music. Hue’s Court Music bears private trait: boisterous, lissome but strong, moving and solemn. Spending ups and downs in the history, Hue’s Court Music still keeps significant value: various musical instruments, sophisticated band arrangement, unique songs, plentiful method, profound aesthetic viewpoints …

Western Highland’s Gong Instrumental

On November 25, 2005, the “culture of gongs of Western Highland’s peoples-Vietnam” was respectfully acknowledged as a masterpiece of world immaterial patrimony. Gong instrumental is a unique kind of art of ethnic peoples in the Western Highland, born and linked with community life of the peoples. According to research documents, gong instrumental was born so long, maybe parallel with Dong Son culture 3,000 years ago. Almost Highland peoples play these traditional instruments in festivals, New Year welcome, new home celebration, harvest praying … of villages. All gongs have round shape, the ones have knobs called “cong”, the knobless -“ching”, radius about 20-65 cm. A set of gongs consists 6 pieces from big to small named Vang, Rdom, Don, Thoong, Tho and Ne. In Highland peoples’bands, each musician plays a note and a rhythm model combining into part, melody. The Highland gong instrumental atmosphere now are not bound within people’s villages, but spread into the world as an immaterial unwritten masterpiece of mankind.