Published:  00:00 Friday - December 12, 2008

A celebration was held in the inner citadel of imperial Hue city, central Thua Thien-Hue province on December 11 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the city’s recognition as a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The event also marked five years since Hue royal music was officially recognised as one of mankind’s oral and intangible cultural heritages.

The chairman of the provincial People’s Committee said that over the past 15 years, local authorities have restored almost 100 historical sites and conserved hundreds of other important facilities.

The province has worked hard to preserve Hue’s court music through the collection of different examples of the genre that are usually reserved for annual ceremonies and special events such as coronations, funerals, and official receptions.

The provincial Centre for Relic Preservation serves 1.5 million tourist arrivals, half of them foreigners, who visit the imperial city each year.

According to Vibeke Jensen, head of Hanoi-based UNESCO office, Hue is one of the few locations around the world to have its tangible and non-tangible heritages globally recognised.