Promotion Space for the Thăng Long – Cổ Loa Heritage at Provins

5 July, 2025

The Hanoi People’s Committee and the Île-de-France Regional Council officially established their partnership in 1989. Over the past 35 years, the Hanoi – Île-de-France cooperation has been continuously strengthened and expanded across various fields, becoming a model for local-level collaboration between Vietnam and France. This partnership not only has a long and rich history but has also given rise to numerous effective activities, programs, and projects spanning many sectors: environment and sustainable development, urban planning, economic development, creativity and research, culture, heritage, and tourism.

Under the cooperation agreement between the two cities, in recent years, the Thăng Long – Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center has carried out many effective collaborative activities with heritage and tourism management agencies of the Île-de-France region. These include exchanges and sharing of expertise, joint development of projects on heritage preservation, tourism development, and the restoration of French architectural structures within the Thăng Long Imperial Citadel; intern and staff exchanges; and cross-exhibitions between the two heritage sites.

Based on the results of the 2019–2022 cooperation agreement, on October 1, 2024, the Thăng Long – Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center continued to sign a new cooperation agreement with the Medieval Town of Provins for the next phase. The agreement focuses on activities including exhibitions and promotional displays; tourism promotion; internships and experience exchanges; organizing scientific conferences and international seminars; and technical support for enhancing the value of the Cổ Loa National Special Relic Site.

The promotional space dedicated to the Cổ Loa Relic Site in Provins marks the first activity in this new cooperation phase between the two parties. Building on the Thăng Long Imperial Citadel Promotion Space established and displayed since 2022, the Center has updated and added new content, images, and video clips introducing the Cổ Loa National Special Relic Site under the theme: Cổ Loa – A Land of Legends. The exhibition includes six standees introducing the historical value and monuments of Cổ Loa; its intangible cultural heritage (festivals, cuisine, customs); and the dragon iconography associated with the Cổ Loa site. The display content is supported by video clips, QR codes, communication materials, and souvenirs.

Exhibition period: July 2025 – December 2025
Venue: Saint-Ayoul Church, Provins, France

The promotional spaces for the Thăng Long Imperial Citadel and the Cổ Loa Relic Site in Provins serve as the most concrete continuation of the sustainable cooperation between the Thăng Long – Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center and the Medieval Town of Provins. They open a promising and practical new chapter in the partnership between the two institutions, with the shared goal of preserving and promoting the common heritage of humanity.

Alongside the implementation of the promotional spaces at Provins, both sides have also initiated a cooperation plan in media and heritage promotion. The two parties will jointly compile, edit, and publish shared posts, articles, and images about the Medieval Town of Provins on the Thăng Long Imperial Citadel’s social media channels (such as Facebook, website, YouTube), and vice versa. Communication effectiveness will be strengthened through cross-linking the official websites of both sides, and through the production of shared bilingual (Vietnamese–French) brochures and leaflets featuring distinctive heritage images from both locations.

Some images of the Medieval Town of Provins: