The Law on Cultural Heritages has served as a legal basis to facilitate the preservation of cultural heritages, both tangible and intangible, within the country, said participants at a conference to review five-year implementation of the law held in Hanoi on December 5.

Thanks to the enactment of the law , the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage has been carried out scientifically, remarkably reducing desecrations of relics, and activities of museums have been flourishing, drawing a large number of people.

To date, five historical relics and scenic sites in Vietnam have been recognised as the world cultural and natural heritages. The country has put 2,888 relic sites under State protection and 4,286 others under provincial safeguards.

Relic sites are drawing the crowds of local and foreign visitors, including the historical complex of Hue imperial city, Hoi An ancient town, Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park and Cu Chi tunnel.

This was mainly owing to the restoration and preservation work, which has been partly covered by the State, while individuals and organisations inside and outside the country contributed a total of VND 500 billion so far.

In the past five years, 22 new museums have been built and six private museums were established.

The preservation of intangible cultural heritage has also been accelerated under the cultural heritage law. Hue Court Music and the Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands were recognised by the UNESCO as the Intangible and Oral Masterpieces of Humanity.

Since the promulgation of the law, more than 100 projects have been carried out to survey, study, collect and document the country's intangible cultural heritages.

Apart from supporting the protection and preservation of cultural heritage in the country, the Law on Cultural Heritage has paved the way for international cooperation in the field.

Many foreign individuals and organisations have made commitments to and taken part in the conservation of Viet Nam's cultural heritage. Noteworthy was a Japanese-assisted programme to survey the conditions of more than 4,000 ancient houses, of which six had been repaired, and co-operation programmes with the Hanoi UNESCO office, Ford foundation, and Sweden's SIDA to protect and develop traditional handicraft villages. (VNA)