The UNESCO Council appraised Vietnamese royal music in the following terms: “Vietnamese royal music represents an elegant and refined music. It deals with the music performed in the imperial courts and on different anniversaries, religious festivals, and on such particular occasions. Of the different categories developed in Vietnam, only the royal music was national.”
The Royal Refined Music was first introduced in the 13th century, but only reached its peak under the Nguyen Dynasty. The Royal Refined Music had long enjoyed a preference as an official form of royal music. It was recognized as the symbol of a powerful and long-lasting monarchy and as an indispensable part of all ceremonies. Each year, the Royal Refined Music was played in nearly 100 different ceremonies.
Varied in its themes, the Royal Refined Music is considered a means of communication to express the respect to gods and kings.
Compared to other forms of art, the Royal Refined Music boasted high artistic value, first and foremost because the court had enough political power and finance to bring together talented composers and players from around the country. Given favourable conditions to practice and improve performance skills, they became professional artists in composing and performance.
After being recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, the Royal Refined Music performances have been held in France and Belgium, etc. and was highly valued by the audience and art-culture researchers.
The former harbour town of the Cham at the estuary of the Thu Bon River was an important Vietnamese trading centre in the 16th and 17th centuries, where Chinese from various provinces as well as Japanese, Dutch and Indians settled. During this period of the China trade, the town was called Hai Pho (Seaside Town) in Vietnamese. Originally, Hai Pho was a divided town with the Japanese settlement across the "Japanese Bridge"(16th-17th century). The bridge termple is a unique covered structure built by the Japanese, the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist pagoda attached to one side.
In 1999, the old town was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, with buildings that display a unique blend of local and foreign influences.
Hoi An attracts a fair number of tourists, also being a well-established place on the backpacker trail. Many visit for the numerous art and craft shops and tailors, who produce made-to-measure clothes for a fraction of the Western price.[4] Several Internet cafés, bars and restaurants have opened along the riverfront. Hoi An is famed for its centuries old cao lau noodle.The town is also famed for its unique lanterns.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the BO Trach and Minh Hóa districts of central Quang Binh Province, in north-central Vietnam, about 500 km south of the nation's capital, Hanoi. The park borders the Hin Namno Nature Reserve in the province of Khammouan, Laos by the west, 42 km east of South China Sea from its borderline point. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is situated in a limestone zone of 2,000 km2 in Vietnamese territory and borders another limestone zone of 2,000 km2 of Hin Namno in Laotian territory. The core zone of this national park covers 857.54 km2 and a buffer zone of 1,954 km2.[1] The park was created to protect one of the world's two largest karst regions with 300 caves and grottoes and also protects the ecosystem of limestone forest of the Annamite Range region in north central coast of Vietnam.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang area is noted for its cave and grotto systems as it is composed of 300 caves and grottos with a total length of about 70 km, of which only 20 have been surveyed by Vietnamese and British scientists; 17 of these are in located in the Phong Nha area and three in the Ke Bang area. After April 2009, total length of caves and grottoes are 126 km.[4] Before discovery of Son Doong Cave, Phong Nha held several world cave records, as it has the longest underground river, as well as the largest caverns and passageways.
The park derives it name from Phong Nha cave, the most beautiful of all, containing many fascinating rock formations, and Ke Bang forest.[5] The plateau on which the park is situated is probably one of the finest and most distinctive examples of a complex karst landform in Southeast Asia.
This national park was listed in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites in 2003 for its geological values as defined in its criteria viii.[6]
In April 2009, the world's largest cave Son Doong Cave, was discovered by a team of British cave explorers of British Caving Association.
Ha Long Bay (literally: "Descending Dragon Bay"),is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Ha Long City, Cam Pha town, and part of Van Don district. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tu Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. These larger zones share similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate, and cultural characters.
Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistorical human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago. The successive ancient cultures are the Soi Nhu culture around 18,000-7,000 BC, the Cái Bèo culture 7,000-5,000 BC[6] and the H? Long culture 5,000-3,500 years ago.[7] Ha Long Bay also marked important events in the history of Vietnam with many artifacts found in Bài Tho Mout, Đau Ga Cave, Băi Cháy.[7]
