Hue relic site

Binh Thuan province on the south-central coast of Vietnam, has long been a popular destination for its seaside resorts and its cultural and historical relic sites. The province is now seeking to unlock its agricultural tourism potential to add the value of local products.

Tourists watch dragon fruit trees. Photo: VOV

Binh Thuan has the largest acreage of dragon fruit tree cultivation in Vietnam. It also grows many other fruit trees, including apple, grape, and durian.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Truc’s family in Ham Minh commune, Ham Thuan Nam district, considered Binh Thuan’s dragon fruit capital, grows dragon fruit on 4 ha of land. In between the dragon fruit trees, he grows grapefruit, coconut, jackfruit, and mango. His orchard is frequented by his friends and relatives on weekends. As the word has spread, an increasing number of tourists also visit the orchard, giving Truc the idea of offering hospitality services. He renovated his lotus pond, opened a fishing service, and created photo zones.

Truc said, “Because of the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of visitors decreased over the past year. People from the city used to visit my coconut and grapefruit operation, usually on Saturday or Sunday.”

In Ham Thuan Nam district, orchard visitors can observe the tending, harvesting and processing of dragon fruit and enjoy juice and dishes made from dragon fruit. Nguyen Thi Kim Thoa is excited to pick grapefruits and coconuts at Nguyen Thanh Truc’s orchard.
“This is the first time I have visited an orchard. I like the fresh, cool air and the fruit is delicious. The orchard owner is very hospitable and friendly. I’ve toured the orchard, I think it will attract many tourists,” said Thoa.

Other districts in Binh Thuan province also grow a lot of fruit trees. Ho Cong Tien, head of Tuy Phong district’s Culture and Information Department, said, “In recent years, Tuy Phong has focused on growing yellow grapefruits, yellow apples, chili, lemon, and banana to sell to tourists.”

Vo Xuan Nghia, Director of the Binh Thuan Tourism Promotion Information Center, is optimistic about orchard tourism.

“Agricultural tourism is becoming popular. We have introduced it through media outlets and travel companies. Hopefully, when the COVID-19 epidemic subsides, the Binh Thuan tourism market will revive. Fruit orchards are a new attraction that helps to diversify tourism in our province,” said Nghia.

Binh Thuan now has about 44,300 ha of fruit trees of all kinds in orchards that both produce fruit and offer tourism services.

On February 26, the first shot of the Nano Covax vaccine pilot programme, phase 2 was administered both at the Military Medical Academy (Hanoi) and the Ben Luc District Medical Centre (Long An province). The total number of participants in the phase 2 trial in both units was 560.

In the second phase of the trial, volunteers only stayed at the injection site for 60 minutes after injection to have their health monitored, instead of 48 hours. Volunteers then went home and were supervised by local medical forces.

Experts have said Nano Covax has proven safe and effective against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, even its new variants.

Most of the volunteers are in a stable condition after vaccination. Only a few had light injection site pain or fever, both of which disappeared after one to two days.

The third phase will see the engagement of more than 10,000 volunteers, beginning in August. If the results are good, Vietnam would administer the vaccine to the public in early 2022.

HCM City needs new laws to protect heritage buildings Ho Chi Minh City’s 300-year History HCM City allocates millions for preservation of historic buildings

Speakers at a recent conference on preservation of the city’s built heritage held in HCM City. VNS Photo Bo Xuan Hiep

Speaking at a conference on architectural heritage held by Thanh Niên (Youth) newspaper recently, experts said the master plan must ensure balance between urbanisation and preservation of the city’s remaining heritage.

Nguyen Quang Thong, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, emphasised the great value that architectural heritage can bring to the city’s economy. “Our architectural legacy is a symbol here and around the world. Some of these have become national brands.”

According to Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the HCM City Tourism Department, architectural heritage greatly contributes to the city’s tourism industry. However, the number of tourism heritage sites in the city is a relatively modest 258, of which only 111 are potential tourist attractions.

The city has a total of 172 historic relics but only 30 per cent of them can be promoted as tourist attractions. Among the 10 must-see landmarks in the city are all historic buildings.

Economic value

Tran Van Khai, of the HCM City University of Architecture, said that most people were unaware of the economic value of built heritage.

Many foreign tourists believe HCM City today is not considered a city of culture or heritage. For them, the city is just a stopover.

Most city tours today include only a few attractions such as the Post Office, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Independence Palace, Ben Thanh Market and the War Remnants Museum.

Architectural heritage must be credited for its potential economic value, they said.

In other countries, historic buildings are preserved for aesthetic reasons as well as for the huge economic benefits they offer.

Destruction of historic heritage could result in a drop in the number of cultural tourists who are believed to stay longer, take part in more cultural activities, and spend more money.

The number of tourists to the city has continued to increase annually, reaching 6.4 million in 2017, a rise of nearly 23 per cent over the previous year. However, the average visitor stay is only 2.6 days.

Worse still, only a small number of first-time visitors ever return to the city.

HCM City People’s Committee in District 1. VNA/VNS Photo Manh Linh

Recommendations

Nguyen Thi Hau, an archaeologist who is secretary general of HCM City History Science Association, told Việt Nam News: “The government, property developers, researchers and the entire community all play a decisive role in preserving the city’s architectural heritage.”

Architect Nguyen Hanh Nguyen, of the HCM City University of Architecture, said it was important to help the historic buildings’ owners understand the economic value of their properties so they will be willing to spend money to preserve them.

Architect Cao Thanh Nghiep, a member of the HCM City Architects Association, said that businesses can preserve and promote the value of a land lot where a built heritage is located.

Experts also recommended the city conduct a comprehensive inventory of the city’s historic buildings.

They said legal protection should be extended to all historic and architectural buildings, and that enforcement and punishment of violators should be strengthened.

In addition, the city should provide economic incentives for the conservation of privately owned historic buildings, to ensure owners have benefits when protecting the buildings.

HCM City has about 3,000 valuable old houses and villas that could be preserved properly, but are likely to be demolished, according to the Architecture Research Centre at the city’s Department of Planning and Architecture.

Of that number, nearly 1,300 houses were built before 1975. About 168 of them are under State management and receive funds from the city’s budget for repair and preservation.

However, only eight buildings remain in good conditions, according to the Urban Research and Development Centre.

Valuable old buildings, mostly built during the French colonial period, include the HCM City People’s Court (built in 1881), King’s Palace or Revolutionary Museum (1885), Majestic Hotel and Notre Dame Cathedral (1887), Sài Gòn Post Office (1886-1891), HCM City’s People’s Committee (1907), Opera House (1900) and Bến Thành Market (1912-1914).

Many colonial villas have been renovated and now house schools, restaurants and coffee shops, most of which are located in District 3 on Tu Xuong, Vo Van Tan, Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Le Quy Don and Tran Quoc Thao streets.

In recent years, however, many old houses and villas have been demolished or have fallen into disrepair.

A large number that are private properties have not been taken care of properly. Some of the villas are so dilapidated they are no longer habitable.

It is estimated that more than a third of the city’s historic buildings have been destroyed over the past two decades.

HCM City authorities are putting some 1,000 historic buildings into three classifications: class one (must be protected); class two (owner can build on the lot but cannot destroy the old building); and class three (can be demolished).

Experts say that people are not aware that when they destroy historic buildings they are in fact losing a potential economic value.

VNS