(VOVWORLD) -An event was held in Paris on Monday to promote the historical, cultural, and spiritual significance of the Yen Tu–Vinh Nghiem–Con Son–Kiep Bac complex.
 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) |
The event was part of Vietnam’s ongoing campaign to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the complex at the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, scheduled to take place in Paris in July.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu said the nomination dossier is the result of 13 years of research, conservation, and collaboration by heritage experts, scholars, and local authorities from Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, and Hai Duong province. The complex is a historical site that embodies profound spiritual values and connects humanity with nature – a fundamental element of Vietnamese identity, Mr. Vu said.
 An exhibition on Truc Lam – the Vietnamese Zen Buddhism takes place at the Paris event (Photo: VNA) |
Vu, who is also Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, said Vietnam has taken into account feedback and recommendations from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in clarifying the site’s universal value and its management and conservation efforts.
The complex consists of four clusters of special national historical relics: the Yen Tu historical relic and landscape area and the Tran Dynasty historical relic area in Quang Ninh province, the Western Yen Tu relic and landscape area in Bac Giang province, and the Con Son–Kiep Bac complex in Hai Duong province. The site has great historical importance as the birthplace of Truc Lam – the Vietnamese Zen Buddhism founded by King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong in the 13th century.