Current Status of Conservation of Historical and Cultural Relics

+ The district has 2 large hospitals: Mo Mao Khe Hospital and Dong Trieu Hospital. Each commune in the district has its own medical station.

- Accommodation, food and beverage, tourism services

+ According to the investigation results of the People's Committee of Dong Trieu district, currently in the district there are about more than 300 restaurant and hotel businesses operating in the district (in 2008 there were 24 accommodation businesses; in 2009 there were 57 accommodation businesses), mainly concentrated in 2 towns Mao Khe, Dong Trieu town, Yen Tho commune...

+ Many stops along Highway 18A from Hanoi to Ha Long have attracted international and domestic tourists such as: Thanh Dong Ceramic Company (Binh Duong); Dong Thanh Ceramic stop (Duc Chinh); tourist service product display points of Hoang Ha Group, Bao Ngoc Cruise, Phuc Gia Company Limited, Dong Trieu Ceramic Enterprise, Thanh Huu Ceramic Company (Kim Son Industrial Park); Long Hai Entertainment Area, Quang Vinh Company Limited, Quang and Export Handicraft Joint Stock Company (Mao Khe town); Thai Son 88 Joint Stock Company (Yen Tho) ...

+ In addition, investment in eco-tourism areas such as Khe Che Lake has also partly met the relaxation needs of tourists.

Maybe you are interested!

Besides the achieved results. The infrastructure serving tourism activities of the district still has many difficulties and weaknesses such as:

- The scale of operations at accommodation establishments, restaurants, hotels, and other types of services serving small tourism.

- Service quality at food and beverage establishments and accommodation facilities is not high.

- Lack of tourism services such as: reception rooms to welcome guests at historical and cultural relics, scenic spots, lack of souvenir shops serving guests at relic sites, and entertainment centers serving tourists.

- The communication network and electricity and water supply are not really complete, only meeting the needs of residents in the district. There are still many limitations in exploiting them for tourism development.

- Means of transport in the area have not really paid attention to exploiting tourist transport...

2.3.4. Number of guests

Although the tourist attractions of Dong Trieu district are very attractive, most of them have not been exploited for tourism activities, so the number of visitors to the tourist attractions is not much and only focuses on some main points such as: Quynh Lam Pagoda, Ho Thien Pagoda, My Cu Pagoda, Tran Kings Tomb Temple...

The number of visitors to historical and cultural sites in the district is mainly in the months of the first quarter and the first month of the second quarter (corresponding to the first months of the lunar year), which is commonly called the festival season. In the remaining months, the number of visitors to historical sites is very small. This clearly shows the seasonality in tourism of historical and cultural sites in Dong Trieu district.

Tourists come to the district's relic sites mainly for the purpose of worshiping, worshiping Buddha, and visiting pagodas, with little purpose of learning about the cultural, historical, and architectural values here.

Regarding the composition of visitors: Tourists coming to Dong Trieu district are mainly domestic tourists. They come from neighboring provinces and cities such as Hai Phong city, Hanoi city, Hai Duong, Hung Yen... and districts in Quang Ninh province. International visitors account for a small number, mainly from Europe, Japan, China...

According to the actual investigation results of the People's Committee of Dong Trieu district, from 2004 to 2009, the number of tourists coming to Dong Trieu was about 1.3 million people, of which international tourists passing through and stopping were about 400 thousand people; tourists and visitors from all over the country coming to festivals and historical sites in the area were an average of about 200 thousand people per year (in 2004, the number of tourists coming to festivals was 175 thousand people; in 2008, about 190 thousand people; in 2009, the number of tourists coming to festivals was about 200 thousand people).

2.3.5. Current status of conservation of historical and cultural relics

According to statistics from the People's Committee of Dong Trieu district, by the end of 2008, 46 relic sites had been newly built or renovated with a total investment of 49.3 billion VND, of which 18.6 billion VND was socialized capital. However, many other relic sites in Dong Trieu are currently in a state of disrepair, including important relic sites.

The provincial relic of Nhue Ho Pagoda (Kim Son Commune) is the only place in the system of pagodas in Quang Ninh that still preserves a set of Buddha statues made of terracotta, intact and unique. The set of statues was made during the Le Dynasty, including 15 statues, meticulously carved in various postures, shapes, and facial expressions, expressing different inner feelings. However, currently the Amitabha Buddha statue, 145cm high, 60cm wide shoulder, considered the largest in size among Amitabha statues in Quang Ninh, has damaged head and right shoulder. Other statues such as the Four Heavenly Kings, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Tuyet Son, infant Sakyamuni, Dharma Protector, Tam The statue, etc. are all cracked, many parts are soaked with water, blistering, causing the soil to fall out. The pagoda and the district People's Committee have issued many documents requesting the restoration of these statues, and recently the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has also agreed to support part of the cost. However, for some unknown reason this work has not yet been done.

Xuan Quang Communal House (Yen Tho Commune) is highly appreciated by experts for its ancient sculpture architecture, with unique aesthetic value. The rafters are structured in the style of "tilted price, overlapping beams and two-tiered beams". Carved in the shape of lotus petals and heads.

dragons, tigers, eagles with cloud patterns... very skillfully. The beams, the ends of the beams, the ends of the trusses are all embossed or carved with dragon and cloud patterns with elaborate strokes on the rafters, the ends of the knives... Even after hundreds of years, all the beams and mortises are still tightly packed together and carved to match, creating a picture of a dragon playing with clouds, a dragon spitting out a pearl, a running unicorn, a chrysanthemum with beautiful and harmonious floating clouds. On the armpit beams, there are also carved large, soft cloud patterns, bamboo turning into a dragon and a magpie in a flower garden...

However, the communal house is facing the risk of collapse in the near future because the system of trusses, purlins, pillars, rafters, etc. is water-permeable, termite-eaten, some are broken and rotten, not strong enough to support the roof, causing the roof to sag because the system of wooden pillars and braces is too weak. The tiles in the 5 front rooms and 3 back rooms are broken and leaky in many places; when it rains, water flows down to the floor. Many wooden sculptures are damaged by termites and can no longer maintain their soft carvings...

In An Sinh commune, the Yen Tu heritage system, Ho Thien pagoda and Ngoa Van hermitage were historically a large Buddhist architectural complex, including 4 large areas with 12 relic sites spread over a majestic mountainous area with beautiful terrain. Ho Thien and Ngoa Van have connected the system of pagodas and towers of the Truc Lam Zen sect along the length of the Yen Tu range. Professor Phan Khanh once commented that Tran Nhan Tong had completed a closed cycle: Yen Tu was a place for practice, Ngoa Van was a place for death, Ho Thien was a place for Buddha. Yet up to now, Ho Thien pagoda and Ngoa Van hermitage are only deserted ruins with no one visiting. The precious relics have all been stolen, broken or buried deep underground. Of the 12 precious pine trees in the Thong Dan area, only 3 remain and are also at risk of being illegally cut down.

The main hall of Bac Ma pagoda and the exhibition house of artifacts of the Fourth War Zone of Dong Trieu in the relic of Bac Ma pagoda (Binh Duong commune) are newly built items. However, many parts of these two structures have been damaged. The roofing system

The Exhibition House is dilapidated and majestic, and when it rains, a lot of water accumulates on the porch. In addition, the scale of the Exhibition House is quite narrow, not enough space to display all the artifacts. Currently, many valuable artifacts are piled up in a rusty and termite-infested warehouse... The new main hall was built in 2005 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Fourth Dong Trieu War Zone. However, the quality of this project is not guaranteed, the roof of the temple including tiles and braces is damaged, the concrete frames in the braces are broken, causing the tiles to fall down, and when it rains, water flows down to the chanting area and the altar...

In addition to the above-mentioned relics, some communal houses, temples, pagodas, and village shrines in Dong Trieu are also at risk of disappearing due to degradation and desolation. It is thought that this situation needs to be urgently remedied by the authorities to preserve the unique values left by our ancestors.

Summary

Historical and cultural relics are the bridge between the past, present and future, are precious cultural heritages, are the spiritual motivation of each nation, each country. In the treasure trove of cultural heritages, relics are considered a typical part of traditional material cultural values, are living evidence of sacrifice, dedication and creativity in many fields of many predecessors left for posterity. Besides the spiritual values for community life, historical and cultural relics also play a very important role in the development of tourism activities of a locality.

Dong Trieu is a locality with a dense number of historical and cultural relics with more than 130 relics, of which 22 relics are ranked at national and provincial levels. The system of historical and cultural relics in the district is not only large in quantity but also rich in types and diverse in expression. Communal houses, pagodas, temples, shrines... are always interwoven throughout the villages with all kinds of archaeological relics, historical relics including revolutionary relics and architectural and artistic relics, not only that, the intangible relics of Dong Trieu are also difficult to count. These are the genealogies, royal decrees, royal couplets... showing quite complete and vivid historical periods of this land.

Despite such great potential, the exploitation of relics for cultural tourism activities of the district has not received due attention: the system of facilities and infrastructure for tourism is weak, the management organization at the relics still has many limitations, especially the work of preserving relics still has many shortcomings... Therefore, the achieved results are not high. In the coming time, Dong Trieu district needs to have more active measures to overcome difficulties and promote its inherent potential.

Chapter III: SOME SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1. Solution

3.1.1. Preservation and restoration of relics

Cultural tourism is closely related to human tourism resources, including historical and cultural relics. Therefore, if tourism development is not based on sustainable principles, it will cause great damage to resources, leading to a decline in resources and a decline in tourism development. Therefore, the exploitation of human tourism resources in general and historical and cultural relics in particular must go hand in hand with conservation and restoration work.

* Orientation in preserving and embellishing historical and cultural relics.

When renovating and preventing degradation of relics, projects must be established based on research, survey, and comprehensive assessment of the original relics.

Respect and preserve by all means the original elements of the monument, minimizing all replacements, especially replacements with new materials and finishes. The priority solution is to preserve, reinforce and restore the monument.

Restoration of lost monuments must be based on authentic scientific documents and only carried out in cases of real necessity. The use of sustainable materials to replace damaged materials in monument restoration must be carefully studied, must ensure the authenticity of the monument and must be clearly distinguished from the original material.

In the restoration and prevention of deterioration of relics, priority is given to the application of traditional construction processes and techniques; using traditional materials and constructions suitable for the relics. New materials, constructions and structures are mainly used in conservation and reinforcement.

The restoration and prevention of degradation of relics must comply with the following process: research of documents and survey of current status - project development and aesthetic design - estimate - appraisal - approval - construction under the supervision of experts and maintenance of construction diary - acceptance - completion of restoration records.

Restoration of relics aims to highlight the values of the relics and create a landscape environment in harmony with that relic.

Planning of sightseeing and travel routes in the relic site must be consistent with the historical nature of the relic. Using traditional lighting forms suitable for the relic and only creating modern lighting systems when really necessary so as not to affect the aesthetic value of the relic.

Ancillary structures are permitted to be built but must be located outside the protected area of the relic, including the exhibition house around the relic, the reception house, the management board house, the power station, the fire prevention system, and the waste collection system. The location of these structures must not affect the landscape of the relic site. It is forbidden to build additional exhibition houses at the relic site. In case it is necessary, the display content is limited to the scope of events and documents directly related to the relic site.

Service facilities such as parking lots, boat docks, restaurants, refreshment stalls, restrooms, souvenir shops, etc. must be arranged separately from the protected areas of the relic, must not cause pollution, and must be in harmony with the general landscape of the relic site.

Monuments can be built at historical revolutionary sites to mark the victory event in the form of grandiose architecture and sculpture combining architectural shapes - reliefs - round statues - flower gardens... The location of the monument must be in a large relic site, placed in a suitable area and not affect the original relic.

Comment