The Da Lat Flower Festival International Trade Fair 2013 kicked off in Da Lat city of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on December 26.

The event attracts roughly 600 pavilions featuring agricultural products from four foreign businesses and300 domestic businesses, including 50 from Lam Dong.

Featured products include handicrafts, wood interior decoration, consumer goods, garment and textile, and electronics.

The fair is part of activities to mark the Da Lat Tourism Culture Week 2013 which opens on December 27.

The event gives businesses a good chance to introduce unique products from their localities and promote the campaign “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods”.

It also helps both local and foreign businesses share experiences in production and business activities.

Documentary film of Late General Vo Nguyen Giap shot

A project of special documentary film about the legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap titled “People’s General” has been kicked off with contribution of local people nationwide.

The 50-minute documentary will show the people’s boundless regrets for the revered General Vo  Nguyen Giap, and pay tribute to General, heroes and martyrs who fought and sacrificed for national independence and freedom.

The film-making crew will go across the country, from Lang Son to Thai Nguyen, Dien Bien, Hue, Ca Mau, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi where late General Vo Nguyen Giap had ever visited. They will meet and talk with people from all walks of life to record their sentiments towards the General.

The film-making crew has received many contributions and supports from more than 100 individuals and organizations at home and abroad. The estimated project capital cost is about VND600 million.

The project was initiated by the Vietnam Cinematography Magazine. It has been scripted and directed by Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thi Viet Nga.

Photo exhibition focuses on Can Tho’s development

More than 110 photos featuring the development of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho are being showcased at an exhibition that opened in the locality on December 26.

The exhibition is part of the activities to mark 10 years of the city’s development.

The photos reflect all aspects of the social life in the locality, including, socio-economic achievements, cultural and political activities, health, education, security-defence as well as the city’s integration efforts.

The exhibition highlighted the vigorous changes of the city to become an economic and culture centre of the region.

Within the framework of the exhibition, which will run until April, over 150 artefacts and photos depicting cultural unique of a number of Southeast Asian nations such as Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia are being on displayed.

HCM City hosts fireworks displays at seven locations for Lunar New Year

To welcome the Year of the Horse 2014, the city’s authority has announced seven locations which will have 15-minute fireworks displays at midnight on January 31 (the first day of the first lunar month).

Specifically, there are displays at the start of the Saigon River Tunnel in District 2, Dam Sen Cultural Park in District 11, National Cultural and Historical Park in District 9, Ben Duoc Monument in District 9, the football pitch in Can Gio District, Nga Ba Giong revolutionary martyr memorial in Hoc Mon District, and Lang Le – Bau Co historical relic in Binh Chanh District.

The city will have numerous activities to welcome the Lunar New Year, including book streets on Nguyen Hue Boulevard, Mac Thi Buoi and Ngo Duc Ke from January 28 to February 3 (or the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month to the fourth day of the first lunar month) and art performances at Sen Hong Stage in September Park 23, Gia Dinh Park and a stage on Truong Sa Street in front of Rach Mieu Sports Hall in Phu Nhuan District.

Classical Vietnamese history published in Russian

The Voice of Russia has reported the new Russian language publication of the ancient “Việt sử lược” (A Brief History of Vietnam) in Moscow on December 25.

The three episodes that comprise “Việt sử lược”–one of Vietnam’s earliest works of historical scholarship—have seen two previous Russian editions, with the first launched nearly four decades ago.

Dr. Andrei Fedorin, the translator of the newest edition, explained the two previous Russian versions no longer meet the demands of contemporary Russian academics studying the work, necessitating the update.

“Việt sử lược” was written in classical Chinese by an unknown author during the Tran dynasty. The new Russian edition includes appendices detailing more modern Vietnamese history.

Artists feature at ASEAN exhibition

Artworks by Bui Cong Khanh, Nguyen Van Cuong, Phan Thao Nguyen, Tung Mai and the late artist Vu Tan Dan are on display at Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre.

Fifty contemporary works of painting, photography and audio-visuals by 40 artists of three generations and from eight Southeast Asian countries are being exhibited till next March.

The exhibition will represent the views of artists in the region, spanning the past 40 years.

30,000 year-old stone tool unearthed

Many stone-working tools have been found in excavations conducted recently in the karst plateau in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang.

This is evidence of the presence of early humans in the area.

Scientists have found tools dating back to Son Vi Culture (10,000-30,000 years ago) and the late Hoa Binh Culture (5,000-7,000 years ago) in Yen Minh and Quan Ba districts. They believe that early humans lived in the area.

Ancient citadel excavated

The authorities in central Thanh Hoa Province have just approved a master plan for excavating and researching the relics of Ho Citadel during the period 2014-20.

This will be the first-ever large-scale excavation to be conducted in a total area of 56,000sq.m inside and around the citadel, which was built in 1397 by Ho Quy Ly, who established the Ho dynasty (1400-07).

The excavations are a collaboration between the Ho Citadel Heritage Conservation Centre and the Viet Nam Archaeology Institute.

The area was recognised as a World Culture Heritage site by UNESCO in June 2011.

VN photographers top int'l contest

Vietnamese photographer Nguyen Vu Phuoc has claimed the Golden Prize at the annual international photo contest Peace Is Children's Right with his colour photo titled Tuoi Tho Thanh Binh (Peaceful Childhood).

In the black-and-white photo category, the Bong Bong Cua Toi (My Balloon) by another Vietnamese photographer, Vo Anh Kiet, also grabbed the Golden Prize. The photo depicting the joy of three Mong ethnic children playing with balloons on a foggy day in Moc Chau Plateau, had previously claimed second place at the 2012 National Geographic Traveler photo contest.

Organised by the World Without Wars and Violence, a UN international organisation that promotes peace and non-violence, the contest this year attracted submissions from more than 310 amateur and professional photographers from around the world.

Hollywood director to lecture in City

Wellknown Hollywood director Michael Toshiyuki Uno will give lectures on directing at the Sai Gon International Film School in HCM City on January 8-9.

When the classes conclude, he will conduct other long-term courses on directing, playwriting, shooting and designing light systems.

The Japanese-origin director grew up in the US. He is one of the few Asian directors to have achieved success in Hollywood and has made many interesting films such as The Road To Galveston, The Silence, and An Old Ghost Walks The Earth.

Uno is currently a lecturer with the cinematic arts faculty at the University of Southern California.

Concert promotes Northeast Asian cultural exchanges

A special concert is being held in Hanoi with the aim of increasing cultural exchanges between countries and territories in Northeast Asia.

Titled Beethoven 9 th , the concert is also meant to mark the 250 th anniversary of the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven’s birthday.

The Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra joins artists from Japan , the Republic of Korea , the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Taiwan and China in performing his masterpiece Symphony No.9.

The concert will be performed until 2020 with Vietnam as the first destination.