The People’s Committee in Binh Dinh submitted on August 2 a dossier to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism seeking the recognition of Nuoc Man (Salted Water) City festival as a national intangible cultural heritage.
Nuoc Man city festival is one of traditional festivals of large scales and early founded in Binh Dinh, and has been classified as the provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2012. The festival is held annually in Ba Temple, located in An Hoa village, Tuy Phuoc district’s Phuoc Quang commune from the end of the first lunar month to early second lunar month, lasting two or three days.
According to the genealogy of some families of the Quach, the Thai and the Duong of the former Minh Huong in An Hoa hamlet, in 1610, Chinese ships entered Thi Nai gate and set up a trading area, called Nuoc Man, with Vietnamese people and foreign traders, making Nuoc Man area to become a famous coastal trading port of Quy Nhon. Thus, along with Vietnamese people, Minh Huong Chinese people have gradually came to Nuoc Man. Then Ba Temple was built by semi-material in order to meet worshipping needs of some Vietnamese and new Chinese immigrants. They often came here for expressing their attitude to Thien Hau Mother Goddess for helping them in new land.
Ba Temple, the main place for Nuoc Man city festival, has been classified as the cultural relic by the provincial People’s Committee in 2010. Local authorities in collaboration with relevant agencies are implementing a master and detailed plan for Ba Temple relic site, ensuring criteria on the environmental space, landscape and venue for folk activities.