UNESCO inscribed the “Cliff‑based Inscriptions on Non Nuoc Mountain” – a group of 43 cliffside steles dating from the 14th to the 20th centuries – and the Pho Hien stone steles, a set of 41 stones from the 17th to the early 20th centuries. Both collections are now listed on the Memory of the World Regional Register for Asia and the Pacific, highlighting Vietnam’s rich documentary heritage.

The Non Nuoc Mountain steles and the Pho Hien stones contain texts written in Chinese characters, the Vietnamese Nom script and modern Vietnamese. The inscriptions include poems, literary works, historical accounts and royal writings, offering a direct window into Vietnam’s cultural and political history across several centuries.

The inscription was announced at the 11th General Meeting of the Asia‑Pacific Regional Committee for UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme (MOWCAP) in Jakarta, Indonesia. The committee approved the two Vietnamese nominations unanimously.

The nomination process was coordinated by Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO and the local authorities of Ninh Binh and Hung Yen provinces, with support from diplomatic channels. This collaboration demonstrates how cultural diplomacy can help bring national heritage to the world stage.

With these two additions, Vietnam now has 13 documentary heritage items recognised by UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme. The recognition underscores the historical, cultural and documentary value of the collections and reinforces Vietnam’s contribution to the shared heritage of the Asia‑Pacific region.