Thua Thien-Hue to build literary, art museum

The central province of Thua Thien - Hue plans to build a museum for local literary and art works.

At a seminar held by the province’s Writers Association September 17, delegates approved the name “Thua Thien – Hue Literature and Art Museum.”

It was imperative to preserve and restore local literary and art works many of which had been lost or damaged due to natural disasters and wars.

At the seminar, the writers also discussed setting up a board to establish the criteria for the works to be displayed at the museum.

Hue seeks funds to restore heritage

Thua Thien – Hue Province is seeking US$30 million from Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) to renovate and reconstruct its ancient Forbidden Purple City, an official has said.

Phan Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, said one-third of the amount would go to the reconstruction of Can Chanh Palace, which is Hue city’s second largest place after Thai Hoa Palace, which was destroyed in wartime.Phan said that renovation had been planned for a long time.

In 1994, the center in cooperation with Japan’s Waseda University conducted a research into the restoration of Can Chanh Palace as well as some works that were damaged in wartime.

What make Can Chanh Palace different from other ones are its engraved patterns, motifs, and poems that were made by Nguyen Dynasty kings and mandarins.

“We proposed borrowing ODA to execute the project, Hai told the Saigon Times Daily on Thursday on the sidelines of a seminar to introduce the National Tourism Year in the north central region and the 2012 Hue Festival.

“But if we fail, we will call for other sources.” Hai said Long Duc, a small palace in Thai Mieu Shrine which was built under King Gia Long’s reign and is as old as Can Chanh Palace, had been restored.

This, he said, would make Hue more experienced to restore Can Chanh Palace.

Hai said that it usually takes 20 years or more to go from research to restoration and that because the restoration of Can Chanh Palace has been planned for the past 15 years, it may take just 5 years to carry out the work.

In addition to Can Chanh, the center also plans to upgrade other works in the Forbidden Purple City such as Van Minh Palace, Dong Cac House, Can Thanh Palace, and Khon Thai Palace, Hai said.
 
Five cities to host Miss Jewelry

The fifth Miss Jewelry beauty pageant will take place in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Can Tho, its organizers told the press last Thursday.

“This is a competition to honor Vietnamese women through jewelries made by local goldsmiths,” said an organizer at the press conference.

“It is also a chance for this industry to get some mentions.”

After the preliminary round to be held in the five cities from October 8-25, 25 contestants will be selected to take part in the finale to take place on November 13 at HCMC’s Ben Thanh Theater.
The winner will be awarded VND100 million (US$5000).

The second and third runner-up will receive VND70 million (US$3500) and VND50 million (US$2500) respectively.

Vietnam Festival 2011 opens in Tokyo

The Vietnam Festival 2011 has been opened at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo under the theme “Beloved Vietnam”.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, former Japanese Senator Iowa Matsuda, co-head of the festival’s organizing board praised the assistance from the Vietnamese Government and people to Japanese victims of the March 11 twin disasters.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Phu Binh, co-head of the festival’s organizing board, said the annual Vietnam Festival in Japan aims at boosting the linkage between the two countries’ people and introducing the traditional culture of Vietnam to Japan, so that Japanese people understand more about Vietnam and visit the Southeast Asian country in greater number.

On this occasion, the organizing board will launch a campaign on voting for Ha Long Bay of Vietnam as one of the world’s new natural wonder.

The organizing board dedicated one booth to sell products made in the areas seriously hit by the disasters such as Asahi city of Chiba prefecture and Fukushima prefecture in northeastern Japan.

In furtherance of the festival, there will be a fund-raising campaign for Japanese disaster victims.

Singer suspected of stealing ideas from Korean

Local media and music fans in South Korea have caused a stir by pointing out that video clip “Nguoi o lai” (The remaining ones) starring Vietnamese singer Cao Thai Son is just a copycat version of “Come Back To Me Part 2” of South Korean singer Se7en.

According to Korea’s Soompi website, the “Come Back To me Part 2” published in 2006 and the “Nguoi o lai” published in 2011 have a lot of things in common like settings, circumstances, camera angle, and the way the main character express his state of mind and feeling.

A netizen nicknamed “Dragon-rider” expressed her fury on a Korean website: “YG (the managing company of singer Se7en) should take action against such copycat. Many singers have been caught stealing ideas from others but they never receive punishment. It’s not fair.”

Vietnamese youngsters also feel displeased.

Thanh Truc, the final-year student of Ho Chi Minh City’s University of Social Science and Humanities, told Tuoi Tre that it was a shame that he [Cao Thai Son] was caught by South Korean media to have blatantly stolen ideas.”

In 2009, Son was also accused of copying ideas from song ‘Marionette’ by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki for his song “Mua thu vang em” (Autumn without you) in his album “Con duong mua” (Road filled with rain).

L’Humanite press festival opens new opportunities for Franco-Vietnam ties

French communist representative Ian Brossat expressed his special admiration for President Ho Chi Minh at the press festival held by the French newspaper L’Humanite in the outskirts of Paris.

Brossat, who is president of the communist leaders in Paris District 18, also highly praised Vietnam’s development and said that Vietnam can join hands with other countries to cope with the challenges of today’s world.

The booth sponsored by Vietnam and Nhan Dan (People) newspaper at the festival opened on the evening of September 16.

The press festival provides an opportunity for politicians, Communist Party members and citizens to discuss current issues in modern society with an orientation towards an equitable, peaceful and sustainable society, said Vietnamese ambassador to France Duong Chi Dung.

Speaking at the festival, Ambassador Dung affirmed that solidarity between the Communist Parties in the two countries and between the two peoples must be preserved and upheld in the future.

The Vietnamese display at the festival is divided into a number of parts featuring President Ho Chi Minh and France as well as Vietnamese handicrafts, and the country’s cuisine.

Many overseas Vietnamese in France and French friends attended the opening ceremony of the booth of the Nhan Dan newspaper. Among them were Vietnam's Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Phuong Nga and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Nam Hai.

The L’Humanite Press Festival has been held annually by the L’Humanite newspaper of the French Communist Party since 1930 as a political, social and fundraising event. More than half a million of people visit the festival each year.

The Vietnamese booth at the festival is called ‘Vietnam’s Charm’, and it aims to introduce foreign investors to the country’s potential for economic development.

For this year's festival, much emphasis has been put on promoting investment and economic cooperation.

Vietnam was chosen to be an honorary guest at the event and was allocated a special space in the festival's exhibition area.

Pierre Lellouche, Secretary of State for Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, attended the festival along with many local parliament deputies, and officials from a number of major French economic groups.

Exhibition features 50 years of the ‘Ho Chi Minh Trail at Sea’

The Vietnam Navy Museum cooperated with the Military Command in Phu Yen province to open an exhibition entitled ‘The Sea, Islands, naval soldiers, and 50 years of tradition of the Ho Chi Minh Trail at Sea’ on September 16.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail at Sea was established on October 23, 1961, as a strategic maritime route for transporting weapons and goods to the southern battlefields, making major contributions to the great victory of 1975, when South Vietnam was liberated and the country was reunified.

From October 23, 1961 to the end of the resistance war against the US, more than 2,000 anonymous ships crossed over 4 million nautical miles to transport 80,000 cadres and soldiers, as well as more than 150,000 tonnes of weapons and goods from North Vietnam to the South.

Over 300 photos and objects in the exhibition, many of which are being shown to the public for the first time, depict the legendary trail and the journeys of the ‘ships without plates’.

The exhibition will travel to Haiphong and central coastal provinces, ending in the southernmost province of Ca Mau on October 23.

Lellouche said that France currently has about 300 businesses investing in Vietnam with total direct investment exceeding EUR3 billion. He also said that Vietnam has a great affinity towards France. “France is ready to accompany Vietnam in its development. I hope we can go further in a number of large scale projects to build thermal power plants, railways, and electric tram systems,” he said.

In 2010, two-way trade between Vietnam and France hit more than EUR 2 billion, making France Vietnam’s third largest European trading partner behind Germany and the UK, according to Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Nam Hai.

Vietnamese, foreign artists to perform Requiem  
 
Vietnamese soprano Ha Pham Thang Long together with several international artists will perform Requiem at Hanoi Opera House on Sep 15-16.

Hundreds of Vietnamese and foreign artists stood in the same stage in a two-night concert at the Hanoi Opera House on Sep 15-16.  

Under the baton of British conductor Graham Sutcliffe and Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji ,150 artists from Vietnam Symphony Orchestra, Hanoi International Choir, Hanoi Freude Club Choir, and the choir from the Hanoi University of Arts and Pedagogy, performed Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi.

The artists include Vietnam’s soprano Ha Pham Thang Long, Anna Einarsson from Sweden, Ohara Keiroh and Ono Kazuhiko from Japan.

The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass (Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra.  

It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi.

The first performance in San Marco in Milan on May 22, 1874 marked the first anniversary of Manzoni's death.

Hanoi hosts Japan-Vietnam Music Gala  

A Japanese-Vietnamese music show featuring top singers from both countries will take place in Hanoi Opera House on October 9, according to the Japanese Embassy’s Culture Department.  

Four famous music bands, including AAA, Winds, Exile, and AKB48; award-winning folk singer Godai Natsuko; and 67-year-old “ambassador” Sugi Ryotaro, from Japan will perform different genres of music.

Folk singers Godai Natsuko and Sugi Ryotaro, who have been appointed goodwill ambassadors since 2005 by the governments of both countries, will perform traditional music from Japan.

For more informantion, please contact the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi or the Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien.

Hanoi Fashion Week urges use of local products  

The second Hanoi Fashion Week 2011, "Color of life," is being held at the Pico Mall in the capital city.

The four-day event (Sep 16-19 ) features the latest collections by world famous brand names including NafNaf Paris, Axara Paris, fcuk and Valentino.

Products of top local brands like including Alcado, Genova, Xthu, PalmCao and Bella are also on show.

The event, featuring top local models, aims to promote the local fashion industry as part of the Nguoi Viet dung hang Viet (Vietnamese use Vietnamese products) campaign.

The event is being broadcast on VTV4, STYLE-TV, TVM, and HN1.

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