16th-century tower given a modern facelift

Cam Due Stone Tower in Cam Xuyen District, Ha Tinh has lost most of the original stone construction as the 16th century historical site is going through a major restoration.

Funded by the provincial government, the preservation work, which started in 2009, has knocked down part of the tower’s original gate and surrounding walls and replaced it with completely new structures.

Built 500 years ago to worship Le Am, a eunuch and high official of the Le Dynasty, Cam Due Tower which has three stories and measures more than 3 meter in height was recognized as a National Heritage in 2006.

Its ancient wall, which was one-meter thick, 1.2 meter high and built with wooden stones, a traditional material for building temples in ancient Vietnam, was recklessly rebuilt with modern bricks and cement.

In addition, the tower’s gate was completely demolished and a new one with flamboyant color was put up in its place.

Nguyen Gia Thu, a provincial official, said preservationists should have retained the original structures and the local government now could do nothing about the current state of the heritage.

Singing project launched

A nationwide project on ca tru ceremonial singing has been organised by the Institute of Musicology at a cost of VND3.5 billion (US$167,500) and may be developed into a national programme.

The project will be carried out in 2012 and focus on researching, teaching and recording this unique type of music.

The institute will begin two research programmes, Popular Ceremonial Singing Melodies and Collection on Past and Present Ceremonial Singing, and commence four one-month beginner classes in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ha Tinh and HCM City to improve the singing and performance ability of young artists.

The initiative will also host two ca tru festivals in the port city of Hai Phong for clubs in the northern region and in Ha Tinh for groups in the central region.

The institute will submit plans to extend the programme from 2012-2020, which will include restoring a temple to singer Tran Thi Lan in the northern province of Thai Binh, a traditional arts conference in Hanoi heard on Thursday.

Deputy Director of the Cultural Heritage Department Le Thi Minh Ly said the main concern about preserving the art is that enthusiasm without professional knowledge could alter the heritage of the art form.

Vietnamese Folklorists Association chairman To Ngoc Thanh thought bringing the art into the school syllabus would be a better way to attract young people and thus ensure the future of the unique tradition.

One point agreed by all representatives was that ca tru has not made any headway in the last two years aside from receiving UNESCO recognition.

“The Gift of Italy” launched in Vietnam

The Italian embassy in Vietnam has introduced its “The Gift of Italy” program in response to the Week of the Italian Language in the World.

The program will include a seminar on Italy's influence in music, football and fashion.

Dai Dong, lecturer of western music at the Vietnam National Academy of Music and singer Vu Manh Dung from the Vietnam Opera and Ballet Theatre will participate in the seminar.

In the football section, the audience will meet Anh Ngoc, reporter from The Thao va Van Hoa (Sports and Culture) newspaper who will share something about the Vietnamese public’s interest in Italian football.

Designer Minh Hanh will also talk about the creativity and influence of Italian fashion in Vietnam.

The program will take place at 19 Le Thanh Tong Street in Hanoi at 5.30pm on October 19. 
  
Institute to preserve traditional music

The Vietnamese Institute of Musicology proposed a VND3.5 billion ($170,000) plan to preserve ca tru, a Vietnamese traditional music genre, at a meeting in Hanoi yesterday.

Under the plan, the institute will publish two CD-book collections of ca tru songs and organize classes in major cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hai Phong.

Ca tru, which originated in northern Vietnam, is an ancient genre of chamber music featuring female vocalists.

It is considered one of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that needs preservation by the Vietnamese government.

RoK culture highlighted in Vietnam

Vietnamese people will have the chance to learn about the special cultural and socio-economic features of the Republic of Korea (RoK) at a cultural event which opened in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang on October 14.

During the “Vietnam-RoK cultural days” event, there will be various activities including an exhibition featuring RoK and Vietnam’s people and landscapes, a fair introducing RoK products and a seminar on RoK businesses trade promotion in Tien Giang, as well as many other cultural and sporting activities.

It is aimed at boosting bilateral economic and trade exchange, consolidating the solidarity between the two countries, and promoting the image of Tien Giang province to the people of the RoK.

The event, which is being held by the Tien Giang provincial People’s Committee and the Korean Cultural Institute, will last through to October 15.

Book on 'Uncle Ho's international soldier' debuts

The People’s Army Publishing House has recently produced a book entitled ‘Uncle Ho’s International Soldier, Kostas Sarantidis-Nguyen Van Lap’, the story of a young Greek soldier who enlisted in the French Foreign Legion in 1946 but later joined the Vietnamese People’s Army to fight against the foreign invaders.

Kostas Sarantidis was honoured with the Friendship Order by former President Nguyen Minh Triet in Hanoi on January 7, 2011 and was granted Vietnamese nationality two days later under the name Nguyen Van Lap which was given to him in the 1946 by his Vietnamese companions-in-arms.

The 400-page vividly describes Sarantidis’ life when he fought in Vietnamese People’s Army’s Regiment 803 during the resistance war against the French colonists (1946 - 1954). It also includes his personal diary and a memoir ‘Why I Chose the Viet Minh’ and ‘At a Prison Camp in South Vietnam’.

The diary begins on February 6, 1946, the day young Kostas was enlisted in the French Foreign Legion to land in Saigon and continues until June 4, 1946, when he left the aggressive army to join the Vietnamese People’s Army. These very lively diary entries record what happened during his days in Vietnam and reveal how his thoughts and feelings changed as he witnessed the brutality of the French invaders. He eventually chose to do what he thought was right: to stand in the ranks of the Vietnamese revolution and fight for the country’s liberation and independence.

After several days of contact with Le Trung Bien, a Viet Minh cadre who was detained by the French colonists, and a beautiful Viet Minh spy named Ly Ly (Mai Le), Kostas Sarantidis eventually decided to join the Vietnamese resistance forces early on the morning of June 4, 1946, a particularly memorable day in his life. He fled the French military post to the liberal zone together with 25 prisoners. From that significant day, he stood fully on the front line against the French invaders. He officially became one of ‘Uncle Ho's soldiers’ in a regular unit of the Vietnamese People's Army. He was also admitted into the Communist Party of Vietnam and appointed as the general supervisor of the European-African Prison Camp in Inter-region 5 to educate foreign prisoners.

Kostas' memoir ‘At a Prision Camp in South Vietnam’ portrays the difficulties and challenges in detaining and educating arrested soldiers and officers of the French Foreign Legion who came from different countries including France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. the prisoners’ thoughts were extremely complicated and the lack of facilities such as clothing, food, and medicine made life hard. Sabotage by enemy spies made the situation even more difficult. Even while facing numerous challenges and making many sacrifices, Kostas Sarantidis-Nguyen Van Lap still maintained his sincerity and principles with a prudent and flexible attitude. He made significant contributions to changing the European and African prisoners’ viewpoints and, when they were released, they were grateful to the Vietnamese people and cadres who had treated them humanely with respect and tolerance.

The second part of the book is stories about Nguyen Van Lap written by his comrades and companions-in-arms. The authors give the readers a clear understanding of Nguyen Van Lap by telling of his various activities such as joining the land reform movement, distributing food aid, acting in films, serving as a driver and an interpreter, and marrying a Vietnamese woman. Although he eventually returned to Greece in 1965, the heart of this international soldier was always turned towards Vietnam. He supported Vietnam in its resistance war against the U.S. imperialists and supports Agent Orange victims as well as victims of natural disasters. The book includes many other touching stories about his return trips to Vietnam to meet his comrades and revisit people and the places he had lived. He was awarded many distinctions from the Party and State, and attended the ceremony to present the ‘Hero of the People's Armed Forces’ title to Regiment 803, in which he had served as a soldier for many years. Kostas was also warmly received by General Vo Nguyen Giap and former President Nguyen Minh Triet.

‘Uncle Ho’s International Soldier Kostas Sarantidis-Nguyen Van Lap’ is currently being translated into English and French for foreign readers.

Palestine documentary presented in Hanoi

A book and documentary film entitled ‘Palestine In Between Occupation Walls’ by a group of Vietnamese journalists were presented in Hanoi on October 12.

The event was held jointly by the Hanoi Union of Friendship Organisations, the Palestinian Embassy in Vietnam and the Vietnamese National Library.

The book includes articles and photographs describing the lives and feelings of Palestinians living in occupied territory. The 23-minute documentary follows the group of Vietnamese journalists on their first trip to Palestine in May of this year. Both works feature the friendship and solidarity between the Vietnamese and Palestinian people.

Speaking at the ceremony, Palestinian Ambassador to Vietnam Saadi Salama said he hopes that the book and the film will encourage Vietnam to support the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.

Exhibition on Vietnam's sea, islands and naval soldiers opens in Hai Phong

An exhibition entitled 'Sea, Islands and Naval Soldiers – the Tradition of the Ho Chi Minh Sea Trail' opened at the Hai Phong Fine Arts Centre in the northern port city of Hai Phong on October 14.

The event is co-organised by the Navy and the Hai Phong municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Ho Chi Minh Sea Trail (October 23).

The exhibition displays 156 photographs, maps and posters of the sea route which became a legend in the history of the South's liberation and the nation's reunification.

The dedication of the naval soldiers and local people in overcoming difficulties and dangers to protect the country's sovereignty over its sea and islands, as well as the strength of Vietnamese naval forces, are highlighted in the exhibition, which runs until October 18.

Vietnam to excavate ancient citadel’s rock quarry  

A three-year excavation project will be carried out at a historic rock quarry experts say was used to build the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ho Dynasty Citadel in northern Vietnam, local authorities said this week.  

Accordingly, the excavation site on An Ton mountain in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa's Vinh Loc District, nearly two kilometers away from the 600-year-old citadel, will cover an area of 300 square meters with the total capital investment of US$25,000.

Local scientists will use manual methods to dig through  20-centimeter-thick layers of soil to unearth and cultural artifacts and preserve the relic site.

Artifacts found at the site will be restored and preserved and used as part of the scientific foundation to support the site's UNESCO profile when the citadel is officially granted the World Heritage certificate in June of next year.

The rock site, including a total of 21 large damaged flagstones, was found in August and answered the long-asked question of where the citadel builders got their stones from.

The Ho Dynasty Citadel was built by Ho Quy Ly (1336-1407) to house his central government more than 600 years ago. It was built with around 25,000 cubic meters of stone.

The relic site was recognized as World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in June.

Vietnam lensmen do well in int’l contest  

Local photographers won about half the prizes on offer at the 6th International Artistic Photo Contest held in Vietnam, the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA) said on Oct 5.

The contest, sponsored by the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), from June 15 to August 31, received 10,612 entries rom 55 countries and territories worldwide, a record since it was first held in 2001.

The biennial event this year has 40 prizes (VAPA and FIAP medals) in different categories, including black and white, colo, and “Images of Vietnam through international lenses.”

Vietnam’s Ha Van Dong won the VAPA golden medal (color) for his Tam tau (trio performance) whereas Mikhail Bondar of Ukraine won the FIAP for Rising planet-10.

Vietnamese photographers Tran Thiet Dung and Nguyen Quang Tuan won both FIAP and VAPA prizes for black and white photography with Ba chi em H’mong (Three H’mong sisters) and Qua khu mot trieu dai (A dynasty’s past).

A photo taken during the International Kite Festival in Vung Tau by Vietnamese-French photographer Tran Huu Tri won the prize for “Images of Vietnam through international lenses.”

The award ceremony and an exhibition of 250 best works will take place in Hanoi in November.

PV