Inspiration from Dong Nai cultural heritage

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​Deputy Secretary Quan Minh Cuong of the Provincial Party Committee visits Dong Nai Museum

Massive heritage system

Dong Nai is an open land, in the process of its formation and development, the province has always been a place of exchange and convergence of many great cultures. As a result, Dong Nai retains many unique cultural values, characterized by many relics and cultural heritages. According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, by the end of March 2022, the province has more than 1.5 thousand popular relics and 65 ranked relics, including 2 special national monuments, 29 national monuments and 34 provincial monuments.

Since 2018, Dong Nai has decentralized management of monuments in order to preserve and promote the value of monuments and landscapes in the area. Since then, the whole province has 8 monuments restored and embellished (5 national monuments, 3 provincial monuments) with a total budget of VND142 billion. In addition to the budget, many monuments have been invested and restored by socialization, ensuring the science, integrity and accuracy of the monuments. In the Provincial Museum alone, more than 20,000 precious artifacts of archeology, ethnology, fauna - flora, and revolutionary artifacts are kept; in which there are 2 national treasures: Long Giao bronze and Vishnu Binh Hoa statue.

According to the Provincial Museum, in 2022, the Provincial Museum has a plan to prepare a dossier to request the recognition of a national treasure for the collection of Binh Da lithophone (36 specimens) and artifacts of the male God statue (made of rock). In addition, Dong Nai has many intangible cultural heritages, such as the Southern art of Traditional Folk Songs, which was honored by UNESCO as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Every year, the whole province has more than 350 festivals (traditions, professions and cultures) organized and connected to develop tourism. Some relics are destinations attracting domestic and international tourists such as: Cat Tien National Park, War Zone D, Chua Chan Mountain, etc.

Visitors to applied art products (fashion design) displayed and introduced at Dong Nai College of Decorative Arts

Art and applied arts develop

Along with Traditional Folk Songs (don ca tai tu), another Traditional type of Folk Songs named “Cai Luong” is also one of the unique cultural products. Over the past time, the British Council (under the Connecting Heritage project) has chosen Cai Luong of Dong Nai to make documentaries and introduce them to the public. In addition, Dong Nai's Cai Luong also participates in international festivals; Applying 4.0 technology to refresh the stage, put plays, and excerpts from Cai Luong to serve domestic and foreign audiences. In addition to music, the province's fine arts and photography have been reaching regional and international levels by selling works through a number of websites, or participating in international competitions.

With more than 320 years of establishment and development, the land of Bien Hoa - Dong Nai has abundant natural materials to develop traditional crafts. Dr. Le Quang Can, a researcher of Dong Nai culture and history, said that after forming, handicrafts gradually specialized in activities; Among them are: carpentry, pottery, mat weaving, cloth weaving, bronze casting, stone making, iron forging, etc. Currently, many craft villages are being preserved and promoted their values ​​in life. In particular, some Bien Hoa handicrafts and ceramic products of craft villages are not only consumed domestically but also exported to foreign countries.

Applied arts has now penetrated all fields of life, contributing to promoting the development of the cultural industry. Most consumer products have artistic design elements. According to Dr. Truong Duc Cuong, Rector of Dong Nai College of Decorative Arts, this field has contributed significantly to the development of not only economy and culture but also tourism. Therefore, in the training process, the school focuses on experiential activities for students; at the same time, strengthen linkages with businesses related to the field so that students can have internships, step by step establish a relationship between schools and businesses, helping students have the opportunity to find jobs after graduation.