Nam Giang District to host Gong festival

Gong teams from nine mountainous districts of Quang Nam Province and teams from the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) region and Thua Thien-Hue will take part in the Gong Festival in Nam Giang District on June 21-22.

A gong performance in Tay Nguyen (Central Higlands). The cultural space of gong in Tay Nguyen was recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005.

Head of culture and information department at Quang Nam Province’s Nam Giang district, Tran Du, told Viet Nam News said this year’s festivals promises something new.

“The gong festival, which is part of the Quang Nam Heritage Journeys Festival this June, will be the first cross-cultural festival of ethnic groups from the province, Thua Thien-Hue and the Central Highlands region,” Du said.

“Each ethnic group will bring their own gong collection to show off their traditional culture at the biggest festival of this summer,” he said.

He also added that the gong festival, titled Am Vang Cong Chieng (the Sound of Gong), is a rendezvous for ethnic groups to exchange their traditional cultures and help promote preservation of ancient intangible heritage.

The festival organising committee will also host a series of cultural contests and performances to promote the event.

Participating ethnic groups will display traditional crafts including brocade, bamboo weaving, fashion and cuisine during the two-day festival.

Festival highlights cosplay culture

The Festival of TOUCH (Take Our Universe, Connect Hearts), an event highlighting the cultural activities of Japan and Viet Nam, will begin on March 2 at the HCM City Youth Cultural House.

The two-day event will feature cosplays (costume role plays), anime and manga, as well as Vietnamese and Japanese music, dance, martial arts and games.

The highlights of the festival will be performances of Japanese singers Piko and Mikumi who will sing anime songs popular with Vietnamese youth, and an exchange with cosplay team Shikon, champion of the World Cosplay Summit 2012.

A contest called Cosplay Vietnam Cup 2013 and a music concert featuring Vietnamese and Japanese singers will be held on the first day of the event.

Several booths offering food, manga, games, clothes and souvenirs of Viet Nam and Japan will also be set up at the festival.

Vietnam, Korea artists hold painting exhibition

Thirty-four artists of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have illustrated the beautiful colors of spring in a joint painting exhibition entitled “A Circle of Friendship”.

The exhibition—hosted by the Viet Arts Centre at No.42 Yet Kieu Street in Hanoi—encompasses creative works using various materials by 20 Korean and 14 Vietnamese artists.

“A Circle of Friendship” also features a number of sculptures.

Cat Ba seeks UNESCO World Heritage recognition

The northern port city of Haiphong has completed a dossier for its Cat Ba Archipelago seeking UNESCO recognition as a world natural heritage site.

The dossier was carefully prepared to showcase the Cat Ba archipelago’s biodiversity and natural beauty.

The archipelago houses a group of 300 islands of varying sizes. The main island of Cat Ba is about 100 sq.km adjacent to Ha Long Bay.

Encompassing numerous islands, caves, and grottos, the archipelago boasts tropical rainforests, limestone karsts, salt marshes, seaweed fields, and coral reefs. It is home to more than 700 species of flora and fauna including rare trees and endangered animals.

The archipelago’s treasures also include Neolithic archaeological relics, Ha Long cultural relics, and vestiges of ancient Vietnamese inhabitance.

Cat Ba’s Lan Ha Bay has more than 100 beautiful beaches including Cat Co 1, Cat Co 2, Da Bang, Ben Beo, and Co Tien.

Cat Ba has been recognised as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

VNN/VOV/VNS