Indochinese circus talents compete in Laos

The second competition of young circus talents from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia opened in Vientiane, Laos, on December 25.

Attending the opening ceremony were Lao Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Bosengkham Vongdala and Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Ta Minh Chau.

At the event, Lao Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Buangeun Sapouvong said the competition aims to cement the friendship and solidarity among people, especially youths, of the three nations.

This is also a good chance for young circus performers to learn and exchange experience with each other and improve their skills, he said.

On the first night, the artists from the three countries staged a wide range of well-prepared circus routines, including acrobatics, juggling, and trapeze.

Vietnamese beauty enters top 20 tourism queen int’l

Le Huynh Thuy Ngan has entered the top 20 of the Miss Tourism Queen International beauty pageant, being held in Xi’an, China from December 13-29.  

This is mainly thanks to the highest number of online votes that she has received (28,810) to top the “Internet Popularity Queen” event.

Born in 1991, Ngan is now 1.73m tall and has the enviable measurements of 90-62-93.

While studying at Ho Chi Minh City University of Theater and Cinema she has acted in a number of films.

Miss Tourism Queen International was founded by Charlie See. Since 1949, and more than 80 countries have joined its events.

The world final competitions have taken place in Sri Lanka, the US  Russia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and many other countries, particularly in China for six consecutive years from 2004 to 2009.

Gastronomy festival takes place in HCM City

The Ho Chi Minh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is hosting a gastronomy festival entitled “Taste of the world” from December 26, 2011 to January 1, 2012, giving visitors a vivid picture of gastronomic culture from many countries around the world.

The event also aims to introduce quintessential Vietnamese cuisine to visitors inside and outside the country.

The festival includes 150 showcases, featuring gastronomic specialties of Vietnam and other countries such as India, Germany, the US, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Italy and Mexico.

The festival also includes interesting activities featuring the cultural identities of the countries; namely cooking skills, traditional art performances, fashion shows, bartender demonstrations and a record attempt at presenting the largest quantity of famous Vietnamese dishes.

A highlight of the event is the special programme on the evening of December 31 to welcome New Year 2012 with a range of cultural and artistic activities.

Miss Vietnam contest in Japan

A qualifying round of the Miss Vietnam Contest in Japan and an art performance to welcome the New Year were held in Kanagawa, Japan on December 25.

The event involved twenty-two contestants studying and working in several Japanese provinces. They were all dressed in Ao Dai (traditional long dress) and gala costumes.

Tong Kim Giao, head of the organizing board, said the contest aimed to promote talent and solidarity within the Vietnamese community in Japan.

Giao said the final round is scheduled to take place on January 28, 2012.

Ho Chi Minh lights up to welcome New Year

Millions of colorful LED lights will be lit up Monday evening to give Ho Chi Minh a facelift for its Lunar New Year’s celebration, which will fall on January 23rd, 2012.

The delightful decorations, which are part of the city’s New Year Festival 2012 activities, line four main downtown streets in District 1: Dong Khoi, Nguyen Hue, Le Loi and Le Duan.

Light installation and final decoration work concluded Sunday afternoon, with Le Loi Street looking like a giant flower bed with flying dragons made from LED lights.

While Dong Khoi is decorated with large-scale replicas of playful music notes, fabric cherry blossoms and Vietnamese hoa mai, Nguyen Hue is livened up with four large globes, two of which are installed with New Year countdown clocks.

Traffic on Dong Khoi is getting busier these days as hundreds of young people, families and foreign tourists stop along the street to take photos of the decorative models.

The downtown area of Ho Chi Minh has long been known as the hub of New Year celebrations in the city, with annual street exhibitions and festival activities drawing hundreds of thousands of locals to visit and celebrate the occasion every year.

Tran Hung Viet, head of the state-owned travel group Saigon Tourist, which is organizing the New Year Festival 2012, said the decorations and exhibitions will run until the end of January.

Local shop makes apricot blossom tree from chocolate

A chocolate shop in Ho Chi Minh City has made a unique apricot blossom tree out of chocolate to celebrate the coming Vietnamese Tet holiday, which falls on January 23rd.

The 2.5m tree, including 2,012 flowers, was sold for VND20million (US$1,000) on December 24th, when it was first put on sale.

Like the peach blossom trees of Tet in the north, apricot blossoms are an indispensable decoration for the Tet holiday in southern Vietnam. The tree, with its yellow or white flowers, represents luck, prosperity, and well-being in the new year.

New Year 2012 arts programme held in Hue

An arts performance to promote the image of Hue to both domestic and foreign visitors was held yesterday at the Thua Thien – Hue Culture and Information Centre.

The event kicks off a series of cultural and tourism activities for the National Tourism Year – Hue and the Hue Festival 2012, and is also part of the activities to welcome the New Year 2012 and the following Lunar New Year.

Passionate songs and melodies extolling the beauty of Hue were performed during the programme, which drew the participation of many famous singers such as Van Khanh, Quang Linh, and Long Nhat, along with Thanh Le, Anh Tho, Hoang Duc and Cam Nhung.

The event, which affirms Thua Thien - Hue as one of Viet Nam’s leading cultural and tourism centres, was organised jointly by the Thua Thien - Hue Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam Economic News (VEN).

HCMC plans to preserve its old architectural buildings

Ho Chi Minh City has plans to implement a new project to restore and preserve the old heritage architectural buildings located within the city.    

According to Nguyen Trong Hoa, Head of the Institute of Research and Development of HCMC, while old heritage buildings are by law   preservation sites, Ho Chi Minh City still lacks proper regulations to protect those that are classified as culturally more valuable.

Ho Chi Minh City is a political, economic, social and cultural centre in southern Vietnam, established in late 17th century. Over the past 300 years, it has become a splendid urban area with many cultural features, particularly its classic architecture which has given the city a timeless quality.

As in other big cities in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City has a mixture of architectural styles, from the modern to the traditional.

As compared to Hanoi, there are not as many old buildings here. Some people compare Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok which has many high rise modern buildings.

Ho Chi Minh City’s heritage architecture merges well with modern high-rise buildings. The harmony between the old and the new is what gives the city its unique style.

The saying "Land is gold" suits Ho Chi Minh City, where the tiniest space is being used for doing business. It's also the reason why there are so many narrow tall buildings in the city.

Besides also, there are hundreds of cute houses and beautiful villas around the city, some of which are built in the French style and some others are very simple. Some houses are almost falling down after the government built new roads.

Thus, it is important to quickly set regulations to preserve the old architectural landmarks in the city before they are destroyed from lack of care, Hoa stated.

“Now a group of Spanish experts will help the city to research and find ways to preserve some architectural monuments in district 5 and 6”, Hoa said.

Nguyen Huu Tin, Vice Chairman of HCMC People’s Committee said that the Committee has agreed to let the Institute of Research and Development in coordination with the Institute of Planning and Engineering of Ho Chi Minh City, outline a set of rules and regulations to preserve the city’s old heritage sites.

This task is expected to be complete before 2013.

Hanoi food festival at West Lake Park

This year’s Hanoi food festival themed Am thuc Ha Thanh-Chao xuan 2012 (Hanoi’s cuisine – Welcoming the Spring 2012) will be held at the West Lake Park from Friday to Monday by Hanoi Tourist Corporation.

According to the organizer, the festival will feature traditional and modern foods including cha ca Hanoi (Hanoi fish paste), banh cuon Thanh Tri (Thanh Tri steamed rice pancake) and bun thang (a kind of spaghetti soup). Joining the event are performers from hotels and restaurants in Hanoi.

Culinary products are showcased in line with different subjects, such as former Hanoi, modern Hanoi and vegetarian food besides the presence of folk games and handicraft booths.
 
Goddess worship values on display in Hanoi

An exhibition on the values of Goddess worship will go on show from January 5 next year at the Hanoi Women’s Museum.

Goddess belief is the Vietnamese folk religion with long history and has adapted well to social changes. It reflects believers’ hopes of good health, happiness, prosperity and good luck.

Viewers will have the opportunity to pay homage to the Goddess of Earth.

The museum is located at 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street in Hanoi.
 
Rex hotel to host fashion model festival
 
“Fashion Model Vietnam” (FMV) will be held on December 29 at the five-star Rex Hotel in HCMC under the arrangement of Unesco Vietnam, according to Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper.

Popular designers, models and artists will join the event aimed at honoring those with great contributions to the fashion industry at home and abroad from 2002 until present.

The festival is expected to help strengthen links among industry players, introduce new fashion trends, look for talents, and improve the community’s cultural life.

The event will also feature a music and dance show which will be attended by local pop singers like Hong Nhung and Ho Ngoc Ha.