The event is part of activities to respond to the “Ve mien Quan Ho” (Coming to the Quan ho region) festival 2019 and to mark the 10 years since Quan Ho Bac Ninh singing has been recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. 

Leaders from the provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee presented certificates of merit to representatives from 44 villages of Quan Ho singing, 19 organisations and 18 individuals in recognition of their efforts in conserving and popularising the art genre in the community. 

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Phong said the local authorities have devised many policies to preserve and promote the value of the art form. 

Attention has been paid to restoring the performance space of ancient Quan Ho singing villages and developing new Quan Ho singing villages and clubs, as well as promoting the practice of Quan Ho singing, he stressed.

He highlighted the important role of Quan Ho artisans in teaching, introducing and popularising the unique cultural heritage.

Phong also mentioned challenges facing the locality in preserving the heritage, stressing the need for local people to have specific actions to preserve and develop the art form. 

Quan Ho is an art form that combines various elements, including music, lyrics and costumes, and features the distinctive culture of people in the region formerly called Kinh Bac.

The art of love duets was inscribed in UNESCO’s representative list of intangible cultural heritage in September 2009.

In recent years, Bac Ninh has invested in renovation and construction of cultural institutions. Of which, the key project is Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk theatre. The 90-billion-VND project boasts an area of 1.9 ha on four floors. It has a unique architectural design in the image of a house, dragon boat, a strip of peach silk and a large round hat, bearing cultural features of Bac Ninh – Kinh Bac.

With support provided by authorities at all levels, the artists have been enthusiastic and motivated in conserving as well as staging new programmes to introduce Quan Ho to tourists.

Implementing its commitment to UNESCO, throughout the years, Bac Ninh has called for efforts made at agencies at all levels and people's communities, in jointly implementing the project "Preserving and promoting the value of intangible cultural heritage, Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs and Ca tru in 2013-2020”.

In particular, Bac Ninh is the leading province in developing mechanisms and policies to honour and reward artisans in the field of intangible cultural heritage. This is a move to nurture passion, enthusiasm, dedication of talents to preserve and promote the cultural heritage values of the nation.

With the attention and support of the local government, Quan Ho folk songs have increasingly gained the applause of a broader audience. This has affirmed the strong and persistent vitality of a unique and quintessential art form of a land rich in historical, cultural and revolutionary traditions.