Rules for restoration of relics a must

      In the draft amendments to some articles of the Law on Cultural Heritage, which will be considered at the ongoing National Assembly session, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism suggests having specific regulations for the restoration of relics.
The ministry recently made a field-trip of 15 relics in four northern provinces to survey restoration activities: Dinh Bang, Do and Rong temples, Dau Pagoda in Bac Ninh province, Bo Da Pagoda, Tho Ha Temple in Bac Giang province, Sung Van Temple, Keo Pagoda and the temple of first doctoral candidate Nguyen Hien in Nam Dinh, the pagodas of Tram Gian, Boi Khe, Kim Lien, the temples of Va, Mong Phu and Thuy Phieu in Hanoi.
After the trip, the ministry released an announcement about the inspection results on May 19.
Previously, the media reported mistakes related to restoration activities of the above relics. The ministry’s announcement said that the situation of restoration projects funded by the national programme on cultural heritage and those conducted by professional restoration organisations was very “satisfactory”.
Deputy Minister Tran Chien Thang said that these projects are being technically carried out in the correct manner.
However, restoration projects using funds raised from the people and local budgets were said to not be following restoration procedures and technical standards.
The most serious case is Xuan Tao Temple in Tu Liem district, Hanoi. The Heritage Agency has asked for the project to be halted. This temple was recognised as a national relic in 2005. In 2008, the temple was nearly entirely torn down and local authorities have been building a new one without the approval of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Explaining the fact that many relics which are said to be firm but yet are torn down for rebuilding, Heritage Agency chief Nguyen The Hung confirmed that the overhaul procedure for all wood-made relics is tearing down the whole work. Hung said these works look good but they are rotten to the core and cannot be re-used. He affirmed that all elements that are not re-used are preserved by builders for display in the future.
Regarding the fact that many contractors of relic restoration projects are inexperienced in restoring historical and cultural relics, Deputy Minister Tran Chien Thang explained: The restoration of relics currently has to obey the Law on Construction, in which contractors that offer the lowest price are the winners, no matter how experienced they are in restoring relics.
The ministry suggested a solution for these problems: issuing specific regulations on restoration of relics, under which supervision will be frequent during the restoration process. Contractors must be experienced and have certificates of merit granted by the ministry.
The ministry will organise three training classes on management, preservation and restoration techniques of relics for district-level cultural officials, cultural chief inspectors and relic management chiefs.