Hanoi held a ceremony on April 7 to mark UNESCO’s recognition of the 82 doctoral stone steles at the Temple of Literature, Vietnam ’s first university, as world documentary heritage.

Present at the event were Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh who is also head of the National Steering Board for the 1,000 th Thang Long-Ha Noi anniversary and UNESCO representatives.

“The stone steles are precious cultural heritage of the nation. We are extremely proud that they have been recognised as the world documentary heritage,” said Deputy PM Hung at the ceremony.

The UNESCO recognition came as Vietnam is preparing to organise a grand anniversary to mark the 1,000 th birthday of the capital city.

The 82 stone steles are carved with the names of 2,313 doctors who passed the court examinations between 1442 and 1779 (some material recorded the period between 1484 and 1514) under the early Le, Mac and late Le dynasties.

They are a precious treasure of Vietnam ’s educational history, providing not only general information about education in Vietnam within the last 300 years, but also specific details about the dynastic examination systems.

Experts said the steles provide a lively and profound source of reference that is of great value for studies of history, education, arts and literature.

Also at the ceremony, the city authorities announced the UNESCO’s resolution on its participation in the 1,000 th anniversary of Hanoi .

The resolution is a legal document allowing to promote the capital’s celebrationsa globally.

The resolution will help promote the image of Vietnam as well as create a legal basis for wider and deeper cooperation between Vietnam and the UNESCO in organising anniversaries./.