Khanh Hoa's cultural sector: Towards a new look

Khanh Hoa Provincial Department of Culture and Sports has just proposed a supplement to the province’s plan of a new cultural institution system for the period of 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050. Accordingly, if being invested, the province’s cultural sector will have a new look and meet the requirements of comprehensive and long-term development.

 

Currently, most of the facilities of Khanh Hoa’s cultural sector are old and degraded. The provincial museum is located at No.16 Tran Phu Street, Nha Trang City on an area of 2,756 square meters, having a ground floor and a floor with usable area of 817m2.  This place was built by France people in the early 20th century, intended for residence and working; therefore, it does not meet the standards of a museum. The provincial Center Culture and Cinema located at No. 5, 2-4 Street (Nha Trang) has an area of 597m2, with three stories and the total floor area of 1,700m2. Although the center is located in the center of the city, it has a small area, and its architecture is not suitable for the operation of a cultural center.

 

 

 

The provincial library, Hai Dang Song and Dance Troupe, provincial Traditional Art Theater were also built a long time ago or converted from old cinemas. The worn and old facilities of these units have much affected their operation and activities. Using funds from the budget to repair the facilities has proved to be not effective. The headquarters of Hai Dang Song and Dance Troupe used to be the old cinema built in 1975s. Therefore, it was difficult to improve the quality of music and art programs to meet the demands for entertainment of local people and tourists. Afterwards, the province approved to renovate the office at No.128 Hoang Van Thu Street, Nha Trang and make it the new headquarters for the troupe with seating capacity of 340. However, in the long run, Khanh Hoa still needs an art center with bigger scale and more functions.

 

Reportedly, the provincial Department of Culture and Sport has proposed including in the province’s plan some large-scale development investment projects such as building a large-scale provincial cultural center at a new and convenient location; building new provincial museum at a new location; building a new art performance center with larger scale and at a convenient location; renovating and upgrading the provincial library. According to Nguyen Thanh Ha, director of the provincial Department of Culture and Sports, in its plan, the province needs to pay attention to preserving and promoting the values of Dien Khanh Ancient Citadel and Am Chua. 

 

The Department of Culture and Sports has also suggested some ideas in line with the development trends in the time to come. Specifically, the province needs to plan and invest in another square that can be big enough for large-scale outdoor events and does not affect traffic flow; If possible, the location of the square should be associated with the typical cultural institution system of the province. Besides, the province should consider converting Tran Phu Street into walking street with cultural and tourism services. 

 

Along with the provincial level cultural institution system, it is also necessary to improve district and hamlet level cultural institutions. “In order to develop cultural movements and activities at grassroots level, it is necessary to pay attention to planning and investing in cultural institutions, especially district-level cultural and sports centers meeting modern standards,” said Nguyen Thanh Ha.

 

Khanh Hoa is one of the big tourism centers in the country, attracting many domestic and international visitors. Therefore, it is necessary to build cultural institutions in the time to come, which are expected to help promote cultural activities and develop tourism.

 

Giang Đinh

Translated by H.N