Being adjacent to the capital city of Hanoi, the gateway to the Northwest, Hoa Binh Province has majestic natural landscapes with many historical - cultural relics and scenic spots. The province has 173 relic and tourist sites, many caves which are archaeological sites of the famous "Hoa Binh Culture".

The province has four nature reserves, namely Ngoc Son - Ngo Luong, Thuong Tien, Pu Canh, and Hang Kia - Pa Co with diverse ecosystems; and hot mineral water sources in Kim Boi, Lac Son, Yen Thuy districts. The Hoa Binh Lake with a water surface area of ​​8,000 hectares, containing 9.5 billion m3 with many islands, creating a charming landscape, is dubbed Hoa Binh’s “pearl”. Under the province’s plan, this area will be developed to become a national tourist site. The legendary Hoa Binh hydropower plant associated with Hoa Binh Lake is an attractive destination.

Especially, Hoa Binh is the home to unique culture of the Muong, Tay, Thai, Dao, Mong ethnic groups. Ethnic communities still retain their own identity. They are the owners of folk songs that are as sweet as honey, as clear as streams, of the epic "The birth of land – the birth of water", of nearly 10,000 gongs, traditional crafts and many festivals such as: Tien Pagoda Festival, Khai Ha Muong Bi Festival, Bo Temple Festival, and Xen Muong Mai Chau. The culinary culture of the ethnic groups in Hoa Binh is also very unique. Convenient location with diverse natural tourism resources, unique culture values are the great potential to develop cultural, ecological, convalescence, spiritual, sports - entertainment, adventure tourism in Hoa Binh.

With the above potential and advantages, the construction of an attractive destination, the image of beautiful, civilized, friendly and hospitable Hoa Binh people, making an impression on domestic visitors and the international community is the responsibility of the Party committees, authorities and people of Hoa Binh province.

In particular, implementing the Resolution of the Provincial Party Committee on building and developing Hoa Binh culture and people to meet the requirements of sustainable development in the cause of industrialization, modernization and the international integration tendency is identified by the Provincial People's Committee as an important task.

Regarding building and developing comprehensive of human personality, the Provincial People's Committee has directed agencies at all levels and socio-political organizations to pay attention to the propaganda of Marxism-Leninism and President Ho Chi Minh's thought, the viewpoints and guidelines of the Party, policies and laws of the State;

To organize cultural and educational activities on personality - aesthetics - knowledge in order to build people towards the values ​​of truth - goodness – beauty; effectively carry out the fight against "peaceful evolution" in the field of ideology and culture and fight against wrong views in literature and art in the province.

The Provincial People's Committee also asked relevant agencies to ensure the management and organization of belief and religious activities to be solem, compliance with regulations, security and order, with bold cultural identity and special contents, attracting people to visit and worship; to eliminate harmful cultural products, negative behaviors, bad and toxic information on social networks.

On November 4, 2019, the Hoa Binh Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 45/2019/QD-UBND stipulating the implementation of a civilized lifestyle in marriage and mourning in the province. In particular, it is stipulated that wedding ceremonies must be held in accordance with traditional customs. The organization of funerals must ensure security and order, gradually eliminating cumbersome, expensive and outdated customs. Festivals must be organized in accordance with regulations, preserving cultural identity of ethnic groups. The work of directing the implementation of a civilized lifestyle in organizing weddings, funerals and festivals in the province has made positive changes.

Regarding building a healthy cultural environment, the Provincial People's Committee has directed to promote the movement "All people unite to build a cultural life" in order to build a healthy cultural environment; improve the quality of implementation of the criteria of "Cultural family", "Cultural village", "Cultural agencies, units and enterprises" in association with the construction of new rural areas and civilized urban areas. 

The province also focuses on building cultural families, cultural hamlets, villages and cultural residential areas. Nearly 90% of households in Hoa Binh have been recognized with the title of "Cultural Family", over 90% of residential areas meet the standards of cultural residential areas, and over 90% of agencies, units and enterprises meet the cultural standards. There are 11 cultural houses at district level, 120 cultural houses in communes, 1,550 cultural houses in villages and hamlets, residential quarters and sports areas in villages, hamlets, and residential groups.

In addition to building a behavioral culture and a healthy cultural environment, the province also focuses on building culture in socio-economic development.

The building of corporate culture is directed on the basis of a sense of respecting the law, keeping credibility, fair and efficient competition, paying attention to employees' rights, obligations to the State and localities, maintaining prestige with partners for sustainable development of production and business. Developing brands for local products is identified as a strategic direction to increase competitiveness in trade and promote the exploitation of local economic development potential.

Tto effectively implement the "Strategy for development of Vietnam's cultural industries to 2020, with a vision to 2030", on April 12, 2017, the Provincial People's Committee issued Plan No. 39/KH-UBND on the Strategy for the development of Vietnam's cultural industries to 2020, with a vision to 2030 in Hoa Binh province. Accordingly, the plan sets out specific tasks for each field such as: advertising, handicrafts, fashion design, cinema, performing arts, fine arts, photography and exhibitions, with cultural tourism as a service-based economic sector that contributes to economic growth. 

The Provincial People's Committee also directed relevant agencies to continue renewing and improving the capacity of state management of culture and arts in the province; to associate the task of socio-economic development, national defense and security with the task of cultural construction and development; to focus on the conservation and promotion of traditional cultural values, management activities, and development of the cultural market in association with attracting investment in tourism development.

The province is inviting and attracting investment in tourism development projects to form high-quality tourist zones, particularly the Hoa Binh Lake National Tourist Area and localities with tourism potential such as Kim Boi, Lac Son, Lac Thuy...

The province also requested localities to implement regulations on management, protection and promotion of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage values ​​of ethnic minorities in Hoa Binh province. The province currently has 41 national-ranked relics, 61 provincial-level relics, and more than 102 protected relics.

The traditional cultural values ​​of ethnic minorities have been well preserved and promoted. Hoa Binh Province has 4 intangible cultural heritages awarded with the National Intangible Cultural Heritage certificate, including: Mo Muong Hoa Binh; Muong Gong Art of Hoa Binh; Khai Ha Festival; and the bamboo calendar of the Muong in Hoa Binh.

The Provincial People's Committee also issued and directed the implementation of the Plan No. 46/KH-UBND dated March 15, 2022 to implement the Strategy for Cultural Development to 2030 in Hoa Binh; Plan No. 66/KH-UBND dated April 19, 2022 to implement the Cultural Diplomacy Strategy to 2030 in Hoa Binh; Plan No. 79/KH-UBND dated May 5, 2022 to implement Hoa Binh province's foreign cultural strategy for the period of 2022 - 2026.

Quynh Nga