Kim Son Mountain, the largest of the Marble Mountains, hosts Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Festival. (Photo: VNA)Da Nang (VNA) – The Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountains) landscape inthe central coastal city of Da Nang received the national special reliccertificate at a ceremony held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourismand competent authorities in the city on January 20.
At the event, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Huynh Duc Tho saidthat the city has worked to outline a master plan on preserving and promotingsustainable values of the relic site in tandem with local socio-economicdevelopment.
In addition, the city will devise a plan on managing and protecting thetangible and intangible cultural heritages which have close connection with theMarble Mountains while paying due attention to human resources training anddeveloping new tourism products to lure more visitors to the site.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuysuggested the city arrange areas for exhibiting stone sculptures made byartisans of Non Nuoc village.
As part of the efforts to create increasing added value of the tourism sector, DaNang should closely join hands with its neighbouring cities and provinces, shestressed.
The mountains have been oneof the most visited sites in Da Nang and the city’s second National SpecialRelic after the Dien Hai Citadel was recognised last year.
The site – whichfeatures five mountains by a pristine beach in Ngu Hanh Son district – wasfirst recognised as a national historical and cultural relic in 1990.
The landscape, which covers 2.2sq.km, was giventhe name Ngu Hanh Son, or Non Nuoc, by King Minh Mang under the Nguyen Dynastyin 1837.
According to archaeologists, the complex ofmarble mountains was formerly islands. The beach they sit on ranges from Son Trapeninsula to Non Nuoc beach.
Rainwater and weather gradually turned the fivemountains into different shades of white, pink, red, blue and brown, and formedcaves with beautiful stalactites.
Over time, pagodas were built in the caves and astone sculpture village emerged.
Thuy Son Mountain stands 160 metres tall on anarea of 15 hectares. Its caves and stalactite formations are the most visitedfeature of the complex.
Kim Son Mountain, the largest ofthe Marble Mountains, hosts the annual Quan The Am (AvalokitesvaraBodhisattva) Festival – one of the 15 largest events in Vietnam – at the Da and Quan The Ampagodas on the 19th day of lunar February. The festival draws around 10,000residents and tourists each year.
The 400-year-old Non Nuoc stone sculpturevillage at the foot of the Marble Mountains was also recognised as a nationalintangible heritage.
The complex hosted 1.5 million tourists in 2018.
According to the cultural heritage departmentunder the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, a total of 106 relicsnationwide have received National Special Relic status.
Da Nang has included 50 historical sites and 18national historical monuments in its restoration project for 2016-2020.-VNA
VNA
