The Republic of Korea (RoK) will help the Hue Imperial Relics Preservation Centre (HIRPC) produce percussion instruments of Nha Nhac (Royal Court Music) as locals no longer know the techniques to make and play them.

The assistance is part of the cooperation between HIRPC and the RoK, especially with the RoK national institute of traditional art performance.

The sets of Bien Khanh (gongs) and Bien Chung (brass bells), are expected to be completed by the end of 2010 and put into test performance on the occasion of the Xa Tac Ceremony, which is to be held by early 2011, and the Nam Giao Ceremony in Hue Festival 2012.

The RoK experts also transfer the production techniques to the HIRPC.

Bien Chung and Bien Khanh percussion instruments were used in Hue royal orchestra under the Nguyen dynasty but the techniques for making them have been lost in Vietnam since early the 20 th century. However, the instruments are sill preserved in the RoK./.