Da Nang prepares nomination dossier for Marble Mountains as UNESCO World Heritage site
DNO - Da Nang is preparing a nomination dossier seeking UNESCO recognition of the Marble Mountains as a World Heritage site.
The Marble Mountains is renowned not only for its landscapes, caves and rocky peaks rising amid coastal sand dunes, but also for its rich cultural, historical and religious heritage accumulated over thousands of years.
The interplay of tangible and intangible cultural values, documentary heritage, and geological and geomorphological features provides an important foundation for Da Nang to develop a scientific dossier nominating the site for World Heritage status.
On May 12, 2026, the Da Nang People’s Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 3896/UBND-SVHTTDL to the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, seeking approval and guidance on preparing a World Heritage nomination dossier for the Marble Mountains.
The proposed heritage site is expected to cover an area of 120 hectares under the planned research and planning framework.
Mr. Nguyen Hoa, Chairman of the Ngu Hanh Son Ward People’s Committee, said the initiative had generated great pride and hope among local residents.
If the site receives World Heritage recognition, the designation would create opportunities for Da Nang to link heritage conservation with sustainable development, he added.
Earlier, on September 27 in Ha Noi, during a meeting with Mr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, Da Nang People’s Committee Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Anh Thi presented the city’s plans to nominate the Marble Mountains as a mixed World Heritage Site.
The city asked UNESCO's support in establishing the nomination’s scientific basis, connecting it with international expert networks, and offering guidance on comparative analysis at the global level.
According to the Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the city will organize scientific discussions and workshops with domestic and international experts to comprehensively assess the values of the Marble Mountains and determine the most appropriate nomination category: a World Cultural Heritage Site or a mixed World Heritage Site.
Once the scientific basis has been completed, the nomination dossier will be submitted to the National Council for Cultural Heritage for consultation, paving the way for the scenic complex to be included on UNESCO’s Tentative List.
The Marble Mountains consist of six limestone and marble peaks, connected with the Co Co River, the coastline, and a network of natural caves. In 2018, the complex was designated as a Special National Relic by the Prime Minister.
The “ma nhai” (inscriptions) system at the Marble Mountains, consisting of 78 texts in Han and Nom scripts inscribed on cliffs and caves and dating from the first half of the 17th century to the 20th century, were recognized by UNESCO in 2022 as documentary heritage under the Memory of the World Program for Asia and the Pacific.
The area is home to four recognized heritage assets: a Special National Relic, documentary heritage of the Asia-Pacific region, and two items of national intangible cultural heritage: the Non Nuoc stone-carving craft village and the Quan The Am Festival.
Notably, the area served as a major Buddhist center in Dang Trong, the southern realm of Vietnam under the Nguyen lords, from the 16th to the 19th century.
It is also home to 13 ancient pagodas and possesses significant geological, geomorphological and stratigraphic values.