(AG Provincial E-Portal) - In 1944, French archaeologist Louis Malleret organized an excavation of Oc Eo mound - a mound in the field next to Ba The mountain. The name "Oc Eo culture" was born, to refer to the archaeological culture, with common characteristics of relics and artifacts, mainly concentrated in the lower Mekong Delta. Since then until now, it has been exactly 80 years.
According to the current tourist trends, besides the familiar types of tourism, archaeological tourism is increasingly attracting attention, especially from foreign tourists. Therefore, the Oc Eo - Ba The Special National Relic Site, Thoai Son district, An Giang province is becoming an attractive destination. This is an opportunity to bring Oc Eo cultural relics to domestic and foreign tourists.
In fact, in recent years, the Oc Eo - Ba The Cultural Relic Site has been a destination for many organizations, groups, and tourists... Among them, many groups of students from schools in and outside the province participate in activities related to the Travel to the source, study, and research... In 2023, the Oc Eo - Ba The Cultural Relic Site welcomed over 27,000 visitors, which is a very positive number for this type of tourism considered "unexciting".
In 2024, the Oc Eo - Ba The Cultural Relic Site continues to welcome many delegations. Notable among them are the Central Propaganda Department, the Central Office for New Rural Area Coordination, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Bac Lieu province, Binh Phuoc Provincial Political School, Kien Giang Provincial Library, the Ho Chi Minh City Writers’ Association, An Giang Provincial Officers' Labor Union, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Saigon University, An Giang University... Regarding foreign guests, there are delegations from the US, Korea, Thailand... 
Coming here, visitors have the opportunity to learn more about the excavation and conservation process of the Oc Eo – Ba The Cultural Relic Site, visit the Oc Eo Cultural Exhibition House, relics and artifacts vividly demonstrating the history of the Phu Nam Kingdom. The visit journey will bring visitors profound experiences about history, arouse pride in their homeland, and awareness of the responsibility to preserve cultural heritage...
In general, the development of archaeological tourism in the direction of both preserving relics and providing visitors with experiences of indigenous culture is consistent with the current perspective of sustainable tourism. To exploit that potential, managers and researchers are actively developing archaeological tours, aiming to give visitors the opportunity to experience the unique values of Oc Eo culture.
Mr. Le Trung Hieu - Director of An Giang Trade and Investment Promotion Center said: “Oc Eo culture is not only a relic, but also a unique archaeological tourism destination, a bridge between the past and the present, vividly recreating an ancient civilization that once existed. Therefore, implementing comprehensive and specific solutions in the Oc Eo tourism development strategy is extremely important, contributing to bringing unique experiences to visitors when coming to An Giang.”
According to Mr. Le Trung Hieu, there are five groups of solutions that the locality needs to implement to fully exploit the tourism potential of the Oc Eo Cultural Relic Site. These are accelerating the progress of infrastructure investment, developing diverse tourism products, strengthening promotion, improving the quality of human resources to serve tourism, and encouraging the local community to participate in and benefit from tourism activities.
In addition to the Oc Eo - Ba The Cultural Relic Site, An Giang province has hundreds of Oc Eo cultural relics distributed throughout districts, towns and cities. According to the results of the 2020 inventory, the province has announced 84 Oc Eo cultural relic sites, including 1 special national relic area, 1 national relic area, and 2 provincial relic areas. Currently, An Giang province is urgently preparing a dossier to submit to UNESCO to recognize Oc Eo - Ba The as a World Cultural Heritage. /.
News by Yen Luong
Translation by Thi Huynh
