World Heritage in Vietnam has been recognized by UNESCO with three types: world natural heritage, world cultural heritage and world cultural and natural mixed heritage. In the UNESCO system of titles, world heritage is the most prestigious and oldest title. Tourism in our country is increasingly developing and attracting domestic and foreign tourists. Especially the tourist destinations recognized by UNESCO. In this article, let’s learn about the world cultural heritages in Vietnam.
Ha Long Bay
Among the heritages of Vietnam, we cannot forget Halong Bay. The spectacular landscape on the bay is created by more than 1600 large and small limestone islands on the characteristic emerald green water of Ha Long Bay. This is also the place to witness changes in the development history of the Earth. Limestone columns are covered with rows of deep green tropical trees, along with a system of magnificent limestone caves. Ha Long Bay was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage for the first time in 1994 thanks to its unique and aesthetically important natural landscape values. In 2000, Ha Long Bay was honored to be recognized for the second time by its unique geological and geomorphological values.
Many tourists did not expect that Ha Long is a Heritage of such great value to humanity because of its rare biodiversity, culture and history. Thanks to those unique values, Ha Long Bay has become an attractive destination for tourists, where they can get closer to the vibrant and interesting Vietnamese country and people.
Complex of relics of the ancient Capital of Hue
Among the heritages of Vietnam, Hue bears extraordinary beauty and value. Hue was once the capital of our country. Famous for a vast system of temples, pagodas, citadels, magnificent mausoleums mixed with the romantic Perfume River. Located in the North of the Perfume River, the overall architecture of the ancient capital of Hue covers an area of more than 500 hectares and is built in three large outer rings and small inner rings, respectively: Kinh Thanh, Hoang Thanh and the Forbidden Citadel (Tu Cam Thanh). These three citadels are integrated together, arranged oppositely along a vertical axis from the South to the North. The system of citadels is a harmonious and subtle blend of East-West architecture.
At the 17th session of the World Heritage Committee, Colombia from December 6 to 11, 1993, UNESCO decided to recognize the complex of Hue Monuments as a cultural heritage of humanity. This is an important event in Vietnam’s cultural history, Hue capital is the first property of Vietnam to be inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites, affirming the global value of the complex of Hue Monuments.
My Son sanctuary
My Son is the Hindu holy place of Champa Kingdom. Each King, after ascending the throne, would come to My Son to perform baptism, give offerings and build temples. My Son is the only point of Cham art that has a continuous development process from the 7th to the 13th centuries. At the beginning of the 7th century, King Sambhuvarman built the temple with very sustainable materials to this day. Later dynasties all repaired the old temples and built new temples to dedicate to their Gods. The main temples in My Son worship a Linga or an image of the God Siva – the protector of the Champa kings. The God worshiped in My Son is Bhadrésvara, the King who founded the first King line of Amaravati at the end of the 4th century, combined with the name of the God Siva, becoming the main religion of worshiping the God – King and royal ancestors. .
Of the 225 Cham relics discovered in Vietnam, My Son alone has about 70 temples, 32 inscriptions that exist in one form or another. Although the temples here are not intact, they are still the best evidence for understanding the development process of Cham art. Cham sculpture art deeply absorbed the influence of India, but in the process of development, the indigenous character is increasingly bold and the national character is increasingly asserted, creating a unique look and strange attraction. Cham sculpture also has images of stoic and hedonistic monks and dancers, but the outstanding feature is the intense vitality of people with the inner spirit of joy, at times of calm and concern, at times of anxiety, become tormented… In 1999, My Son was classified as one of the heritages of Viet Nam.
Hoi An ancient town
Hoi An Ancient Town – an ancient town recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage in 1999. Hoi An Ancient Town is located in the lower Thu Bon River, in the coastal delta of Quang Nam Province.
With a favorable geographical position, during the 17th and 18th centuries, Hoi An was once a busy international trading port, a place to trade and exchange goods of merchant ships from Japan, China merchants from Western countries. Moreover, this place also used to carry traces of the Cham Pa trading port or often mentioned along the Silk Road at sea. But by the 19th century, when waterway traffic here was no longer convenient, the bustling Hoi An port was now degraded, giving way to Da Nang, which was being built by the French at that time. During the first and second World Wars, along with the urbanization process, fortunately Hoi An was not destroyed, still retaining its unique architecture. Up to now, it has become an extremely attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists.
Coming to Hoi An ancient town, you will be able to walk around to see the old houses, the street vendors, the mossy green walls and enjoy countless wonderful dishes. Not only that, you can also admire the scenery of Thu Bon River and walk around the traditional craft villages. Especially on the 14th day of the lunar calendar every month, you will enjoy the scene of lantern lighting, along with the festival of releasing lanterns, folk singing.
Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park
Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park located in the North of Truong Son mountain range, belonging to the communes of Phong Nha Ke Bang, Tan Trach, Thuong Trach, Phuc Trach, Xuan Trach and Son Trach in Bo Trach district, Quang Binh province, were recognized by UNESCO for the first time as a world natural heritage according to geological and geomorphological criteria in 2003, and the second time as a World Natural Heritage site with biodiversity and ecological criteria on July 3, 2015. It is about 50 km Northwest of Dong Hoi city, about 500 km South of Hanoi capital. This national park borders the Hin Namno nature reserve in Khammouan province, Laos to the West, 42 km East of the East Sea from the border of the two countries.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang is a fresh, cool climate all year round, with an average of only 20-24 degree Cel, which is considered one of the two largest limestone regions in the world, with an area of over 200,000 hectares. The feature of this national park is millions of years old karst formations with more than 300 caves and underground rivers. Hundreds of rare and precious flora and fauna species exist, many of which are listed in the Red Book of Vietnam and the world, which are an inspiration for tourists and scientists to come here to explore.
Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex
Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex is an integrated tourist area including world cultural and natural heritages recognized by UNESCO in Ninh Binh, Vietnam. Previously, many scenic relics here have been ranked as particularly important national monuments by the Vietnamese Government such as Trang An eco-tourism area, Tam Coc – Bich Dong area, Bai Dinh pagoda, and the ancient capital Hoa Lu… The link between these areas is the Hoa Lu special-use forest ecosystem on limestone mountains, wetlands and a system of rivers, lakes and lagoons with an area of 12,252 hectares. Trang An World Heritage Complex brings with it unique natural scenery from mountains, rocks, ecosystems, forests, vegetation, rice fields, lakes and lagoons and cruises on Ngo Dong River and Tien Stream. , Voc River, Sao Khe River, Den Voi River, Ben Dang River. This place owns beautiful caves such as Thien Ha cave, Thien Thanh cave, Tien cave, Tien Ca cave, Vai Gioi cave, Thuy Cung cave, But cave, Tam Coc cave, Trang An cave, Sinh Duoc cave; valuable archaeological sites such as Moi cave, Boi cave, Trong cave, Hoa Lu citadel; Famous historical sites associated with 4 dynasties Dinh – Le – Ly – Tran such as Hoa Lu palace, King Dinh-King Le temple, Bich Dong pagoda, Bai Dinh pagoda, Vu Lam palace, Thai Vi temple, Tran temple, Suoi Tien Temple or other landscapes such as Thung Nham bird garden, Thung Nang, Mua cave, Hoa Lu special-use forest…
The outstanding global value of Trang An is recognized based on 3 main pillars specified in the guidelines for the implementation of the Convention on the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, namely: Trang An contains evidences on the interaction between humans and the environment, demonstrating human adaptation to the most varied geographical and environmental conditions in Earth’s history, especially climate changes took place at the end and immediately after the last Ice Age. Trang An contains beautiful natural landscapes with majestic mountains, mysterious caves, tranquil rivers, dotted with sacred temples, pagodas and shrines. The Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex demonstrates the final stages of karst evolution in a humid tropical climate.
Imperial Citadel of Thang Long
Experiencing many changes and ups and downs of history, Thang Long – Hanoi still retains in itself precious cultural and historical relics, unique cultural values, ancient villages, bold traditional craft villages. In particular, the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long is an extremely valuable heritage of the nation, a testament to the heroic history of Thang Long – Hanoi.
Right on the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi, Thang Long Imperial Citadel has become the property of mankind. Looking back on the heritage journey of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, we are even more grateful to the previous generations who worked so hard to cultivate the civilization, leaving posterity a human legacy today. According to tourist reviews, Trang An is one of the most beautiful places in Vietnam.
Citadel of the Ho Dynasty
Tay Do citadel was built in 1397 under the Tran dynasty under the command of Ho Quy Ly, who soon (1400) founded the Ho Dynasty. According to history books, the construction of the citadel began in the spring of January, the Dinh Suu year, the 10th year of Quang Thai’s name, of the reign of King Thuan Tong of the Tran dynasty. The person who decided on the construction policy was Ho Quy Ly, who at that time held the position of Patriarch, who was in charge of the military and national affairs, and held all the powers of the dynasty.
The Citadel of the Ho Dynasty with its beautiful landscape value of an ancient, mossy capital, has been recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage in the joy and happy tears of the whole nation! The citadel is a testament to the development of Confucianism in the modern era and has met the following criteria to be recognized:
– Criterion II: showing human values and their important influence over a period of national history or in a region of the world. These contributions are developmental in architecture, technology, sculpture, and city planning.
– Criterion IV: The citadel of the Ho Dynasty becomes a typical example of an ancient building type, revealing an architectural, technical or landscape ensemble that illustrates the value of one or more periods in human history.
