The Phu Tho provincial People’s Committee on February 26, 2010 held a meeting to review the process of compiling a dossier for Hat Xoan (Xoan singing) to be submitted to UNESCO for its recognition as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection.
Preliminary research showed that Phu Tho now has 69 Xoan singers aged above 60. In addition, 49 people can sing Xoan folk songs, while 81 others are member of Xoan singing groups. Among Xoan singers, 31 people are now between 80 and 104 years old and only 8 of them are able to teach Xoan singing.
Xoan singing is popular in 15 communes and wards in Viet Tri city and Phu Ninh, Lam Thao, Tam Nong and Doan Hung districts in Phu Tho province, and three other communes in Lap Thach, Song Lo and Vinh Tuong districts in Vinh Phuc province.
Xoan singing relics are preserved in 30 pagodas, but many of them are now seriously deteriorating.
In Phu Tho province, there are currently 4 Xoan singing groups, namely Xoan An Thai, Xoan Thet, Xoan Phu Duc and Xoan Kim Dai, and three newly-established groups in Lam Thao and Phu Ninh districts.
According to Nguyen Thi Minh Ly, deputy head of the Cultural Heritage Department, this further research on Xoan singing aims to identify those who are real Xoan singers and encourage the local community to preserve this precious face of its cultural heritage.
Provincial authorities of Phu Tho and Vinh Phuc pledged to do their best to protect Xoan singing and complete the dossier to be submitted to UNESCO.