The document is considered important to paving the way for sustainably developing the city’s culture. 

Great potential

There is a dense system of nearly 6,000 places of cultural and historical interest in Hanoi (former name Thang Long) and the surrounding neighbourhood, as well as hundreds of traditional festivals representing different local communities.

Hoa Phong Tower, a remnant of Bao An Pagoda built in 1842 by Hoan Kiem Lake in downtown Hanoi. VNS Photo Truong Vi

According to the Chairman of the Vietnam Archaeologists’ Association, Tong Trung Tin, the Thăng Long Imperial Relic Complex deserves the World Culture Heritage title, as it is a treasure in the middle of the city, representing the valuable heritage of the former royal capital city of Thang Long.

Hanoi is teeming with a vast array of culture, including large numbers of traditional handicraft villages, which are core to the local Vietnamese culture, not to mention the famed Old Quarter with its iconic 36 guild streets.

“The city has 292 handicraft villages ranging from lacquer, embroidery, silk weaving and pottery to bamboo and rattan basketry, metal casting and statue carving,” said Ha Thi Vinh, chairwoman of Hanoi Fine Arts and Handicraft Villages Association.

Nguyen Phuong Hung, the last blacksmith, follows his father's footsteps to keep the traditional craft in Lo Ren (Blacksmith) Street in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. VNS Photo Truong Vi

Many artisans of the villages have huge revenues and have joined the billionaire’s club such as in Son Dong Sculpture Village, Bat Trang Pottery Village and Van Phuc Silk Village.

The city’s architecture heritage gathers diversified styles, including European and Vietnamese. Typical buildings include the State Bank, the Post Office, St Joseph Cathedral, Ham Long Church, the President’s Palace, the Metropole Hotel and many more.

Indochinese architecture appears in various central streets and villages on the outskirts such as Cuu Village in Van Tu Commune of Phu Xuyen District, and Cu Da Village in Cu Khe Commune of Thanh Oai District.

Tran Duc Cuong, PhD, chairman of Vietnam History Science Association, said the city could be compared with many other famed cities across the world.

“Guild streets and handicraft village as well as other cultural and historical heritage sites, both urban and rural spaces, are all cultural products, and show the creativity of the cultural industry,” he said. 

Current times

The cultural and creative industries account for some 3 per cent of national GDP, while the city’s portion is 3.7 per cent of GRDP.

Le Thi Minh Ly, deputy chairperson of Vietnam Culture Heritage Association, noted that the city had many strong points in developing its cultural industry.

People enjoy the Japan Cherry Blossoms Festival in September 2019 in downtown Hanoi. VNS Photo Truong Vi

“The city possesses a rich and diversified stock of heritage, which is an important source of cultural industry,” she said. “The region gathers talent and creative people, who are both hosts and consumers of cultural goods and services."

Associate Professor Bui Hoai Son, a permanent member of the National Assembly’s Culture and Education Committee, said Hanoi had the most potential in culture when compared to any other city in the country.

“The city’s cultural source if being effectively used will not only create cultural products but also offer an advantage in developing the economy, to make the city more alluring,” he said. “It will be a pity if we don’t know how to use this for the city’s development.”

Hanoi has nearly 6,000 historical relic sites; over 1,700 elements of intangible cultural heritage; over 1,300 handicraft villages; over 1,170 festivals and cultural and art events; as well as 115 multi-purpose creative spaces.

The authorities have issued policies for the creation of cultural products and services and paid more attention to investing in cultural heritage.

The city has been listed among 66 creative cities recognised by UNESCO.

There have appeared many new cultural and art events such as the Hanoi International Film Festival; a contest for designing the city’s fine arts products; the Hanoi March Connecting international fine arts exhibition; the Hanoi International Fine Arts and Gift Fair; the South Korean Culture Festival; the French Culture & Cuisine Festival; the Contemporary Folk Arts Festival; and the RMIT Creative Design Festival to name just a few.

There have been more and more high quality creative spaces for the local community such as Sword Lake pedestrian zone; Phung Hung Graffiti Street; Phuc Tan Culture & Art Space; Hanoi Book Street; and many, many more. 

Obstacles

However, despite the burgeoning of the capital as an up-and-coming creative space, there have been many challenges.

People watch a film at Ở Kìa Hà Nội creative space. Photo from Facebook of the space

The creative space Ơ Kìa Hà Nội run by film director Nguyen Hoang Diep has had to move three times since it first opened in 2017 as the landlord no longer wanted to rent the property.

For the same reason, 60S Tho Quan creative complex has stopped operation. Dozens of brands had to end their operation after three years of running in the complex, which hosts various youth-inspired events.

“Creative spaces have been considered as pure enterprises, and have not been supported in the rental of properties or other favourable policies,” said Cao Trung Hieu, co-initiator of 60S Tho Quan Creative Complex. “Many spaces cannot run for a long time as the rental price is too high for them or the landlords do not appreciate creative cultural values.”

Le Quang Binh, coordinator of network ‘For a Hanoi Worth Living in’, said: “Because they don’t have proper legal capacity, owners of creative spaces have found it hard to ask for permissions to operate spaces. All the existing creative spaces are running under the Law of Enterprise.”

Doan Ky Thanh, who initiated the Hanoi Creative City, said that it had no right to host cultural events as a real estate enterprise owner would.

Hanoi’s film industry has lagged behind other cities, and playwright Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat believes that the authorities have neglected cinema.

“There have been no proper unified policies to encourage cinema enterprises to develop,” she said.

The performing arts field has the same problem.

Tran Ly Ly, director of Vietnam National Opera and Ballet Theatre, said that a high quality art project should be cared for in various angles and could take 10 to 20 years to attract tourist attention.

“We often run short and high-priced projects with improper investment, resulting in low quality products and reduced attraction to the public,” she said.

Composer Nguyen Quoc Trung said that there had been no proper outline for developing cultural spaces in the city.

“Cultural products have been interfered too much from too many agencies before being published,” he said. “The censorship sometimes is imposing, strict and backward, which has hindered the creativity of artists.”

Many experts say that folk culture and handicraft products have not been properly developed as a tourist magnet.

Women visit the Thang Long Citadel Complex in downtown Hanoi. VNS Photo Truong Vi

Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, PhD, from the Vietnam National Culture and Arts Institute, said in the past few years though there had been a much improved environment, the city had not created any breakthrough to liberate creativity and promote cultural expression.

“The city has not brought into full play the soft power of culture though the cultural industry to develop the city’s whole strength,” she said.

The Rector of the Le Hong Phong Public Employees Training School, Pham Minh Anh, raised her voice on copyright issues, which have been a challenge to developing the culture industry in the city.

“Copyright violation happens in every field, which has not only hindered creators but also harmed the competitiveness of the market and is a big obstacle for the forming of a cultural industry," she said.

Ly also suggested that there had been a lack of proper legal regulations for enterprises of culture and creativity.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, deputy secretary of the city’s Party Committee, said the city considered enterprises, artists, artisans and ordinary people as the hosts for developing the culture industry.

Trang Tien Street in downtown Hanoi gathers many French buildings, dating back to the period when France ruled Indochina. VNS Photo Truong Vi

“The State will create a legal corridor for creative authors to make contributions and enjoy their creative process,” he said. “In our legal framework, the Hanoi authorities will spare no efforts to create an environment for the cultural sector to develop. Hanoi pledges to actively seek valuable creative agencies, organisations and models to invite them to develop for mutual benefit.”

Despite the numerous challenges, with its incredible sweep of history, handicrafts, art and tradition, the capital's cultural industry is well placed to go from strength to strength.

Source: Vietnam News

Hanoi seeks ideas for cultural industry development

 The capital city identifies that culture is the key role for sustainable growth.