Binh Lieu is a mountainous, border district, with the highest proportion of ethnic minorities in Quang Ninh province. With ethnic minority groups accounting for over 96% of its population, Binh Lieu is also one of the districts with the highest proportion of ethnic minorities in the country. Preserving and promoting the value of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in Binh Lieu has received increasing attention and investment from the local authorities.

With over 96% of the population being ethnic minorities living together such as Tay, Dao, San Chi... Binh Lieu district has a diverse traditional culture, rich in national identity with customs, practices, festivals, colorful costumes, musical instruments, and folk dances. This diversity has given the district a valuable resource of unique tangible and intangible culture that needs to be preserved and developed.

On June 29, 2016, Binh Lieu District Party Executive Committee issued Resolution No. 06-NQ/HU and after that, on September 15, 2016, the District People's Committee issued Plan No. 1412/KH-UBND on preserving and promoting the unique traditional cultural values of Binh Lieu district's ethnic communities. This shows that the work of preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage of ethnic minorities in the area is highly valued by the local authorities.

The tangible and intangible cultural heritage of each ethnic group is a spiritual product associated with the community, expressing identity and constantly regenerating, passed down from generation to generation by mouth and profession, performance. Tangible and intangible cultural heritage includes forms of speech, writing, folk literature, folk performing arts, customs and beliefs, traditional festivals, traditional crafts, and folk knowledge.

Entering a new phase, the district builds a project to preserve and promote the cultural values of ethnic groups in Binh Lieu district for the period 2020-2030. It focuses on prioritizing the cultural development of ethnic minorities, creating conditions for the community to protect and promote national cultural heritage.

The restoration, maintenance and development of unique festivals of ethnic minorities, such as Luc Na communal house festival of the Tay ethnic group, Soong co festival of the San Chi ethnic group (San Chay), Wind Abstinence Festival of the Dao Thanh Phan ethnic group receives attention. Especially since 2015, the district has organized the Hoa So Festival. In addition to promoting and developing tourism, this is also an opportunity to introduce to tourists from near and far the cultural beauty of the district's ethnic minority community.

Along with that, preserving traditional folk songs of ethnic groups, such as: Soong co song of San Chi ethnic group (San Chay); Pa Dung melody of the Dao ethnic group; Then singing and Tinh music of the Tay ethnic group are also highly respected by the locality.

Binh Lieu district currently has 7 commune-level arts clubs and 28 village-level clubs. The district allocates funds to carry out cultural preservation activities according to annual budget periods, and provides professional support and operating expenses for folk art clubs (50 million VND/club). The district has encouraged the wearing of national costumes in administrative agencies, offices, schools..., spreading awareness and actions to preserve and promote cultural beauty in the community.

Women of the Dao Thanh Y ethnic group in Ha Lau commune (Tien Yen district) sell traditional brocade products. Photo: Chu Tuan

Tien Yen district also has a large number of ethnic minorities, so promoting the cultural values of ethnic minorities is of local interest through investing in a system of cultural institutions. The district has built the Tay ethnic cultural village in Dong Dinh village, Phong Du commune; planning to expand and invest in upgrading the Temple of Ong Hoang Can, associated with the construction of San Diu Ethnic Cultural Village in Hai Lang commune; and maintaining the Ha Lau mountainous cultural market.

From now until 2025, the district strives for each commune and town to build and maintain at least one typical model of preserving and promoting the value of local cultural heritage. Along with that is increasing the scale and quality of festivals of the Dao, Tay, San Chi, San Diu ethnic groups, traditional boat racing and the art of typical ceremonies such as lau then, praying for good harvest, dai phan, associated with tourism development...

Thanks to the proactive and positive participation of sectors and authorities in Quang Ninh province, most of the cultural heritages of ethnic minorities, such as customs, festivals, folk arts, and traditional crafts, have been preserve well, positively contributing to the economic, cultural and social development of the province.

To build a rich Quang Ninh culture, in the coming time the province will focus on preserving culture in general and traditional culture, tangible and intangible culture in particular; preserving and promoting the good characteristics of ethnic minorities; deeply engraving and replicating the good cultural traditions of ethnic groups; investing in and embellish relics and scenic spots; restoring traditional craft villages, especially the cultural heritage of ethnic minority communities that are in danger of disappearing.

Yen Minh