Vietnam enters top five Asian beauty contest list

Vietnam has just been ranked No.5 in the top Asian countries which were most successful in beauty pageants in 2011 by Global Beauties Magazine.

The Philippines also topped the Asian countries’ list, followed by Thailand, China, India and Vietnam.
 
According to Global Beauties’ official website, rankings are based on the results of the world’s 6 biggest beauty pageants: Miss Supranational, Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, Miss Earth and Miss Tourism Queen International.

In 2011, Vietnam sent contestants to the pageants and achieved remarkable results such as Thu May’s 3rd runner-up title at Miss Supranational in Poland, Truc Diem’s Top 15 at Miss International and Thuy Ngan’s Top 20 at Miss Tourism Queen International both in China.

Russian TV channel spotlights Vietnam

TV channel Russia-2 broadcast a one-hour program on January 2 introducing Vietnam’s country and people.

The program “Top Gear”, described a trans-Vietnam motorbike tour by three foreigners who departed from Ho Chi Minh City and went through the Central Highland city of Dalat and then the central cities of Nha Trang, Danang, Hoi An, Hue and Vinh. They dropped in the capital city of Hanoi before making their final leg in the northeastern city of Ha Long.

Through their trip, the foreigners had a chance to enjoy the most special dishes of the Vietnamese cuisine, study the customs and daily life of Vietnamese people and see the most popular sites in the country.

The tour’s members saw with their own eyes the hospitality, hardworking, cleverness and creativeness of the local people.

“Top Gear” is expected to promote Vietnam’s country and people, contributing to attracting more Russian visitors to Vietnam.

Music ticket booking website debuts Sunday
 
A website at musicshow.vn which sells tickets for music shows nationwide will be launched on January 1, reports VietnamPlus. The site has ticket booths convenient for audiences to buy.

It will give regular updates on new music shows so that viewers can easily choose their favorite ones, from pop to classical music.

To ring in the New Year, Yan TV in conjunction with the musicshow.vn to host a Musicshow Countdown Party at 9 p.m. tomorrow at Life Club at 194 Tran Quang Khai Street, Hanoi and Taboo Lounge Bar, 2 Thuy Khue Street, Tay Ho District, Hanoi. Invited guests at the party are leading Vietnamese DJs, singers, and pole and chair dancers from the Isis World Dance.
 
Hanoi Open Dance Sport 2011

The Hanoi Open Dance Sport 2011 competition for the Ernest Borel Cup concluded in the capital city on December 31.  

Nearly 600 athletes from Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa and Da Nang competed in Latin and Standard dances such as Rumba, Cha-cha-cha, Samba, Jive, Pasodoble, Tango, Slow Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep, and Foxtrot.

The organizing board awarded 58 sets of medals to dance sports pairs in categories for children, teenagers, the middle-aged and the elderly.

The Hanoi Open Dance Sport 2011 competition was organized by the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The competition attracted the participation of leading dance sport athletes such as Ngoc Tu, Thu Hien (with gold medals in 2011), Tuan Dat, Quynh Huong (Champions for Vu Dieu Xanh 2011), Bao Ngoc (champion of teenage dance 2011).

Notably, the event also organized children and teenagers’ singles competition to discover new dance talent in Vietnam.

Local unearths Dong Son bronze drum

Trinh Van Trung, an inhabitant in Vinh Ninh commune, Vinh Loc district, Thanh Hoa province, dug up a large ancient bronze drum on December 28.

The drum measures 0.8m in diameter and 0.6m in height. There is a 12-pointed star on the face of drum and patterns between the points of the star. There are circles with images of people dancing, rowing, pounding rice, or hunting.

Dr Vu The Long from the Vietnam Archaeology Institute said it is very likely that this drum belongs to the well-known Dong Son Culture.

Urban transformation in ‘Born from the Land’

An art exhibition called ‘Born from the Land’ opened at San Art on Thursday, featuring new works by three young artists from HCMC, Vo Tran Chau, Le Dinh Chung and Nguyen Anh Thao.

The exhibition includes sculptural architectural installations by Chau and Chung together with Thao’s large-scale oil paintings. Born in the 1980s, these three artists have witnessed the materialistic transformation of the urban landscape in Vietnam. Therefore, they give insight into how this transformation has affected contemporary life using material and subject as metaphor in their works.

Old black-and white televisions arranged together and a wall whose bricks are made by cubes of cereal, rice, ropes, beans and matches, reflects a hope on values of nature which is faded by concrete and metals. Moreover, big oil-on-canvas paintings portrait human faces in torment, meditation or distress as if they were trying to face changes of urban life.

The show runs till February 2 at the gallery, 3 Me Linh Street in HCMC’s District 1.

Best wishes for health, success
 
On January 1, the Cuban people celebrated the 53rd anniversary of victory in the Cuban Revolution and National Day.

For the Cubans, 2011 was a year of significant achievement and effort in realising new socio-economic policies approved at the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba in April. Necessary reforms in terms of conception and mechanism have been applied to the economy gradually and cautiously, helping the country overcome both subjective and objective difficulties, and providing the impetus for its sustainable development.

New economic policies started to take effect. The Gross Domestic Product increased 2.7 per cent in 2011 and is forecast to increase 3.4 per cent this year. Despite all-out efforts to promote the economy, Cuba is still faced with an economic and financial blockade by the US.

Viet Nam and Cuba have supported each other in their most difficult periods and together enjoyed successes from such a brotherhood relationship. They have been proud of their fine political ties and the progress in their commercial, economic, scientific and technical relations.

On such a special day like January 1 and for the New Year, I would like to convey my wishes of health and success to the Vietnamese and Cubans who are working and residing in Viet Nam, and especially to Viet Nam News readers.

Also, I would like to thank the Vietnamese people and leaders for their support and friendship towards the Cubans, both here and in my country.

I hope it will be a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year for the Vietnamese people, their leaders, and Cubans and their friends living and working in Viet Nam.

Da Lat Flower Festival attracts large crowd
 
The Da Lat Flower Festival 2012 opened with a grand performance before an 12,000-member audience in the resort city of Da Lat on Saturday.

In the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Lam Dong, the festival began with more than 2,000 professional and amateur performances with artists clad in floral colours at Lam Vien Stadium, hailing from as far away as HCM City.

A ceremony was held to honour the value of flowers and artisans from Da Lat's six flower villages, with six flower-bedecked vehicles transporting outstanding farmers to the main stage.

Senior officials presented certificates of merit to representatives from traditional flowers villages, agencies and companies that sponsored the festival.

Nguyen Xuan Tien, chairman of the Lam Dong Province's People Committee, spoke at the opening ceremony, saying that, together with overall socio-economic development, the province over the last few years achieved rapid development with diverse products and services with significantly improved quality.

Tourism has become more attractive thanks to both the province's charming natural scenery and the beauty of various species of flowers.

"Flowers and flower-growers have always been close to Da Lat's entire development process. They have provided all kinds of wild flowers to the city, which now has thousands of species with origins from localities nationwide and countries around the world," Tien said.

"They are making important contributions to the province's socio-economic development, and enabling the Da Lat Flower brand name to become famous not only at home but also abroad."

With the theme "Da Lat – the City of Flowers", this year's festival honours all those involved in the industry and sends a message to domestic and foreign friends that Da Lat is a tourism and environmentally friendly city.

The city hopes to attract more foreign and domestic investment to help develop it into a modern one, and turn Lam Dong into a developed province.

Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, a vice chairwoman of the National Assembly, said: "Da Lat has for years been known at home and aboard as a city with unique landscapes and lovely names such as the City of Mimosa Flowers, the City of Cherry Flowers and the City of Thousands of Flowers".

"In 2011 the global economy saw many changes, which had a direct impact on the country's economy. However, the economic development picture of Lam Dong in general and Da Lat in particular still shows encouraging results.

"Most targets set for the year have been achieved or even beyond, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 14.6 per cent, two times higher than the nation's average level, and agricultural production value at VND80 million per ha. Social welfare policies helped the city carry out hunger elimination and poverty reduction, therefore ensuring social order and security," Ngan said.

"After being organised four times, the Da Lat Flower Festival is now recognised as an economic, cultural and tourism event," she said.

The opening ceremony ended with a 25-minute show of fireworks.

On Friday evening, the International Flower Exhibition at the Municipal Park began with more than 90 domestic companies and households from 24 provinces and cities nationwide, as well as several foreign companies, participating.

The festival closes today with a wine feast.

Vietnamese acrobats win prizes at circus competition

Vietnamese circus artists returned from the second Indochina Circus Talent Competition with eight prizes, including one top prize.

The Vietnamese troupe presented six performances.

The competition, organised at the Lao National Circus in Vientiane with the participation of hundreds of artists from Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia, ended last week. The first of its kind was held in Ha Noi last year.

The artists from three countries competed in various performances like fire hoop spinning, juggling, women's doubles trapeze, male and female lifting and somersaulting on a suspended net.

The event aimed to develop the talents of young circus performers, provide them with opportunities to learn and share experiences with each other, and improve their skills to international levels, said Hoang Minh Khanh, principal of the Viet Nam Circus and Variety Arts College.

Hanoi concludes New Year flower fest

Hanoi concluded its third New Year Flower Festival Monday evening after putting on a four day street exhibition of flowers and flower installations in its downtown area.

The annual New Year celebration activity drew more than 3 million visitors to the festival venue, which was located around the city’s Hoan Kiem Lake and Dinh Tien Hoang Street, a senior official estimated.

Nguyen Khac Loi, deputy head of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said this year’s crowds certainly outnumbered last year’s 3 million visitors however, the festival’s security was much better.

Now in its third year, the festival has previously witnessed ugly scenes in which locals jostled to pluck, touch, and take pictures with the flowers, or bring them home. Most of the exhibition had been badly damaged by the time the event concluded every year.

To cope with the situation, the local government placed heavy security around the site this year, and strung rope around each installation to prevent visitors from getting too close,.

On the third day, organizers removed the ropes at some of the replicas, but later changed their mind when the crowd poured in and damaged the flowers.

After the festival, organizers will dispose of the flowers in order to prevent what happened last year, when visitors elbowed each other as they tried to bring them home.

Also, unlike in the original plan, authorities will not sell the flowers to visitors either.

Phu My Hung holds charity walk next week

The Lawrence S. Ting Charity Walk 2012, organized by Phu My Hung Corp., and districts 7, 8, Nha Be and Binh Chanh, will take place at The Crescent in HCMC’s District 7 at 6:30 a.m. on January 7.

The organizers announced that nearly 13,000 people have registered to take part in the two-kilometer walk to raise funds for poor people to enjoy the traditional Tet. The organizers have received VND2.3 billion from benefactors in the city. All the donations will go straight to the funds for the poor in the above districts, the charity fund of HCMC Television and the sponsoring foundation for sports talents in HCMC.

The walk has been in place for six years, raised over VND9 billion and attracted over 84,000 participants.

Russian Christmas Gala  

The Square Restaurant of Novotel Nha Trang will host a traditional Russian Christmas Gala buffet dinner on January 7. Guests can enjoy pre-dinner cocktail party at the lobby bar. Welcome the Lunar New Year with the year-end cocktail party and watch the firework performance on the hotel roof terrace. The party is from10 p.m. till midnight on January 22. Guests can also enjoy the lucky buffet lunch and seafood buffet dinner during Tet holiday from January 22-31.
 
Central province builds Sa Huynh Culture preservation center  

A ground-breaking ceremony to establish the Sa Huynh Culture Preservation Center was held last week in the central province of Quang Ngai's Duc Pho District.

The center will be built on an area of two hectares with a total capital investment of nearly VND32 billion (US$1.5 million) to display and restore Sa Huynh artifacts found throughout the province.

The center is scheduled to open by the end of 2013.

In 1909, French archaeologist M. Vinet discovered more than 200 burial jars and other Sa Huynh culture-related artifacts in Duc Pho District.

Sa Huynh culture is the name given to an urnfield (jar burials) culture on the coastal plains of central and south Vietnam that flourished between 1,000 BC and 200 AD.

The culture dates roughly the same time as the Dong Son culture, but with a distinctive decorative style of bronze axes, daggers and ornaments.
 
Hanoi to feature Haydn New Year Concert  
 
Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period.

A New Year Special Concert, themed Haydn Night, will take place at the Hanoi Opera House at 8 p.m. on January 11.

Haydn Night will feature Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji, piano soloist Nguyen The Vinh and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra.

The artists will perform Johannes Brahms' Variation on a Theme of Joseph Haydn op.15, Joseph Haydn Piano Concerto D major Hob.XVIII-Orginal for Harpsichord, and Joseph Haydn Symphony No.101 “Clock” in D major Hoboken 1/101.

Tickets, priced from VND200,000 to VND500,000, are available at the Opera House, 1 Trang Tien Street, or can be booked at www.ticketvn.com, ticketvn@gmail.com.

For free delivery, contact 0913489858, 0983067996, 35651806, 66617859.

Preparations underway for annual Huong Pagoda Festival  

Around 4,500 boats will serve visitors coming to the Huong Pagoda Festival which opens on the sixth day of the first lunar month (January 28) in My Duc District in Hanoi, according to the festival organization committee.
 
The festival organization committee and local authorities have invested in expanding the wharf and putting a total of 4,500 boats into service during this year’s festival, presenting a year-on-year increase of 300 more boats.

A plan to set up shops and booths has been submitted to local authorities’ for approval. Accordingly, they must be far removed from worship areas, not cause any traffic congestion or use loud noisy loudspeakers.

A waste treatment system will be put into operation during the festival. The organizers have also laid strict regulations to deal with violators and vandals at the holy Buddha shrine or creating a menace in the surrounding landscape and environment.

The People’s Committee of My Duc District has also asked shops to pledge not to overcharge tourists and guarantee food hygiene and safety.

Entrance fee to the festival will be VND50, 000. The price of a return boat ticket is VND30, 000-VND40, 000 on the Huong Tich route and VND25, 000-VND30, 000 on the Long Van and Tuyet Son routes, applicable to both local and foreign tourists.

The festival is the biggest and longest annual festival in Vietnam that lasts for three full months during spring. The event attracts more than 1 million pilgrims and tourists every year.

The Huong Pagoda in My Duc district of Hanoi is traditionally a place where pilgrims go to welcome Tet Lunar New Year every year.