To improve the quality of cultural human resources in Quang Ninh, towards preserving culture, especially ethnic minority culture associated with sustainable development, it is necessary to recognize and promote the role of folk artists. They are both the ones who keep the soul of traditional culture and also pass it on and nurture it to the next generations.

Binh Lieu district currently has 4 meritorious artisans (PE). Of which, Meritorious Artist Luong Thiem Phu holds the intangible cultural heritage of practicing Then singing, teaching Then singing, Tinh lute; composing Then songs; Tinh lute making skills. Meritorious Artist Hoang Thiem Thanh practices Then singing, plays Tinh lute and teaches Then singing, Tinh lute. Meritorious Artist Hoang Thi Vien and Vi Thi Me hold the intangible cultural heritage of Then rituals. With the ability to practice performing arts and traditional crafts, they tirelessly dedicate, create, and teach folk songs, folk dances, and traditional crafts to their descendants.

Along with the meritorious artists, Binh Lieu also has hundreds of folk artists who are the core of folk art clubs in the villages. Ms. Tran Khanh Phuong, Head of the Then singing - Tinh lute club of Luc Hon commune, said: "In the club, we compose and write our own songs and Then songs. We can also translate them into Vietnamese. When tourists come to Binh Lieu, they want to visit and listen to us sing Then. They are very excited." Not only participating in performances and introducing intangible culture at festivals, folk artists also actively participate in teaching the community's heritage to the younger generation. Ms. To Thi Nga, Deputy Head of the Department of Culture - Science and Information of Binh Lieu district, said: "To promote the role of artisans, the district will continue to focus on the work of discovering, training, and preparing dossiers to propose recognition of artisans in order to further develop the district's artisan team."

As the next generation of students of Meritorious Artists like Vi Thi Me, from the knowledge he was taught, Mr. To Dinh Hieu, Director of the Binh Lieu Center for Communication and Culture, completed the book "The Tay ethnic group in the border area of ​​Binh Lieu"; together with a number of typical Then singing artists from the provinces of Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Thai Nguyen... participated in the Then singing art performance in the two cities of Nice and Paris (France), organized by the Vietnam Cultural Center in France in October 2024. Mr. To Dinh Hieu shared: "Folk artists are living materials for us to carry out the work of preserving ethnic culture in a scientific, complete and accurate manner, thereby creating new cultural values ​​of our people in the direction of preserving and promoting the quintessence of thousands of years. Learning and being taught the profession by the old artists themselves helps me confidently bring ethnic culture far and wide".

Thanks to the good role of artisans in cultural preservation in recent times, Binh Lieu district has built unique cultural and tourism products. These are traditional festivals such as Luc Na Communal House Festival, Soong Co Festival, Kien Gio Festival, Golden Season Festival and So Flower Festival; completing the project to build a Tay ethnic cultural village in Ban Cau village (Luc Hon commune); compiling a book to teach Tay language; building Then tour to become a new typical tourism product, bringing tourists to participate in the journey to explore the culture of the Tay people in Binh Lieu.

Along with Binh Lieu, Ha Long City is also promoting the role of artisans in preserving and transmitting cultural heritages associated with tourism development. Bang Ca Commune, Ha Long City has 3 recognized Meritorious Artists: Mr. Ly Van Ut, Mr. Dang Van Thuong and Ms. Truong Thi Quy. Mr. Ly Van Ut is the artisan who holds the heritage of rituals, the way to organize the Dao Thanh Y Bang Ca Village Festival, the dances in the Cap Sac Ceremony, and ancient Dao Nom script. He and the artisans of the commune, based on discussions, have re-compiled the Cap Sac Ceremony of the Dao Thanh Y, performing the Cap Sac Ceremony in an accurate, economical and effective manner. Mr. Ut shared: "The elderly like us try our best to preserve the culture of the Dao Thanh Y ethnic group, so that the culture of the Dao ethnic group does not fade away".

Shouldering the responsibility of preserving and passing on the nation's traditional culture to the younger generation, maintaining the longevity of culture in the flow of history, in reality, few artisans can live on the precious assets left by their ancestors. Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son, Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, commented: "For the artists and artisans of Quang Ninh, I assess that they are facing many difficulties. The lack of support mechanisms, salaries not enough to ensure their lives and few opportunities to exchange and study make it impossible for them to fully develop their talents and creativity. This is really worrying."

Faced with the strong trend of exchange and integration, the number of artisans in the community is gradually decreasing over time, while the training of the next generation is increasingly challenging. To properly resolve the relationship between conservation and development, in addition to the State's management and orientation role, effective policies on cultural and heritage conservation... need to have specific mechanisms to promptly treat, motivate and honor the artisans, so that they can better promote the work of preserving traditional culture.

Dao Linh