Historical Prof. Le Van Lan is one of famous Vietnamese scholars. He is now in his seventies, but he still dedicates his life to many studies and spends time travelling everywhere to link the understanding of history with tourism. Coming to the central province of Binh Dinh, he expressed concern for the land of martial arts.
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Prof. Le Van Lan studies patterns carved on statues and relievos at Duong Long Towers. Photo M.H
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Tourism could play a role in education
Coming to Binh Dinh to do a study on the “Journey through Viet Nam’s ancient kingdoms” tour, prof. Le Van Lan was really interested in the province’s historical and cultural relics. His simple style and specialist knowledge of history left a good impression on anybody seeing him for the first time.
Is this the first time you’ve come to Binh Dinh?
I once visited Binh Dinh in 1975 and I was impressed with the 12-year-old girl beating the Tay Son war drums at the Quang Trung Museum. She now becomes a middle-aged woman, but her art of drumming is still attractive. This is one of my unforgettable experiences in Binh Dinh.
Coming here for the second time with a new task in the tourism sector, I do believe that I will contribute to the tourism of the land of martial arts.
Being an expert in history, why are you interested in the role as a tourism consultant?
Like any fields, the tourism sector also requires particular understanding for development. As for me, a historian who is very knowledgeable about Viet Nam’s history, that’s my mission.
Also, the combination between tourism and history is expected to enhance the beauty of Vietnamese culture. Such tourism programmes will help us feel proud of the national history.
The Hoang De (Emperor) citadel is a second-to-none heritage
Prof. Le Van Lan is the father of the “Journey through Viet Nam’s ancient kingdoms” tour.
Why was Binh Dinh selected to be the final destination of the journey?
Initially, we had only selected six kingdoms in Phu Tho, Ha Noi, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Hue. However, basing on historical studies, we decided to add Phuong Hoang Trung Do and Van An imperial city in Nghe An and the Emperor citadel in Binh Dinh.
All historians know the citadel, but not many have come here and it hasn’t been given special attention.
What do you think about the Emperor citadel?
It has a special historical role. Moreover, the citadel is located on the site of the prior Do Ban citadel in the Champa Kingdom. Such a heritage exists nowhere. I’m ashamed that I couldn’t find it sooner.
I believe in what I found and I’m sure that Binh Dinh has an invaluable historical heritage. It will be our fault if we don’t focus on restoring such a second-to-none treasure and we may be to blame for that.
Binh Dinh will waste its potential and it’s hard to make a breakthrough in the tourism sector if there is no change.
Only visiting some destinations for two days, prof. Le Van Lan was really impressed with the province’s tourism potential.
As a tourism consultant, what do you think about Binh Dinh’s tourism?
I’m greatly surprised at what I’ve seen. Alongside the Emperor citadel, Binh Dinh also possesses many unique tourism destinations, such as Cham towers, Quang Trung Museum, and beautiful beach, let alone intangible heritages, including traditional martial arts, Tuong (classical drama), the art of war drumming.
However, the province is now wasting its potential. Although every effort has been made to restore historical and cultural relics that is not enough. Promoting the province’s tourism requires more specific strategies and long-term plans.
What must be done to explore the value of the relics?
Due to time and historical upheavals, the Emperor citadel hasn’t remained intact. It’s necessary, thus, to restore the citadel. However, the restoration requires the cautiousness.
Besides, the propagation needs boosting to raise the people’s awareness of heritage preservation. The fact that the people know how to protect historical relics will be a great support for the restoration.
The second issue is a particular and long-term strategy for the tourism development. Like many provinces, Binh Dinh is now facing some difficulties.
Learning from the success of some provinces in promoting the tourism, we see that alongside long-term planning and other issues, it’s crucial to have a spearhead of the tourism sector. This means that a local high-ranking official must be assigned to be responsible for the tourism development and there will be a tourism panel offered to the dedicated man.
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