Hue festival to showcase village handicrafts

Some 250 craftspeople from 38 traditional handicraft villages will take part in the 2015 Traditional Handicraft Festival Hue to take place from April 29 to May 3.

Artisans from South Korea and Japan will also take part.

The festival will feature displays of ancient items and traditional costumes and art performances.

Free entry to ocean festival in Nha Trang

The Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography in the south central province of Khanh Hoa has announced free entry from July 11 to 14 so that visitors can visit the ocean festival.

The festival will feature displays of the studies and research done at the institute over the last 90 years and a collection of stamps.

Hai Van Pass is one of world's most scenic drives

The Hai Van Pass has just named as one of the top 10 "great scenic drives around the world… that you've probably never heard of" by British newspaper .

The website describes the pass as a 13-mile road running alongside the Annamese mountains on the edge of the sea.

"Travellers can hire motorbikes or cars to ride the pass as part of a one-day loop. At the top you're rewarded with stunning views."

The road is described as a deserted ribbon of perfection and one of the best coastal roads in the world.

The other scenic routes include road to the Isles in Scotland, Carretera de Sa Calobra in Spain, Irohazaka Roads in Japan, and the Old Strynefjell Mountain Road in Norway.

Can Tho to display 100 village cakes at festival

A festival to display over 100 traditional cakes made in the south and 50 other Vietnamese and foreign dishes will be celebrated from April 27 to May 1 in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Can Tho.

The festival will showcase for domestic and foreign tourists the region's traditional cakes made from rice, sticky rice, vegetables, and fruits.

A Mekong Expo will also be organised in the city from April 27 to May 2 with 350 booths showcasing the delta's handicrafts and industrial products.

King worship rituals through eyes of photographers

A photo exhibition presenting Hung King worship rituals and the story of it becoming an intangible heritage of humanity began in northern Phu Tho province on April 23.

Hung King is the title given to the ancient Vietnamese rulers of the Hong Bang period (2879–258 BC). They were the kings of Van Lang.

Two hundred pictures at the exhibition showcase the unique practice of worshiping the Hung Kings, recognised by UNESCO as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage in 2012, down to the smallest detail.

The charming xoan (local spring folk) singing is also reflected in images displayed at the event.

According to the Vice Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Pham Ba Khiem, the exhibit is designed to help the public understand the value of showing respect to their ancestors.

The Hung Kings Festival is held annually from the eight to the eleventh days of the third lunar month, honouring the legendary founders of the nation. The main festival day, which has been a public holiday in Vietnam since 2007, is on the tenth day, which falls on April 28 this year.

An estimated 6-7 million people are expected to turn out for this year's festival, which will run from April 23-28 at Hung Vuong Square in Viet Tri city, Phu Tho province./

Exhibition on lives of queen mothers opens

The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre on April 22 opened a new section inside the former Imperial Citadel to display the ambience of the queen mothers under the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945).

The area was used as a waiting lounge for guests who paid visits to the queen mothers in Dien Tho Palace, part of a harem designated for queen mothers.

The items on display include a wooden rickshaw that the centre bought at an auction in France for 100,000 USD.

The rickshaw was used by Queen Mother Tu Minh, who was given it as a gift by her son, King Thanh Thai, (1879-1954) for the queen to move around inside the vast palace.

According to the centre's deputy director Nguyen Phuoc Hai Trung, the rickshaw is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. It was made by artisans at a workshop in Hanoi, he said.

The rickshaw was sold to a French man in 1907, together with a royal bed.

Fund for the repurchase came from a local budget, donations from royal family members, local businesses and residents, and oversea Vietnamese living in France. National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and the Bao Viet Insurance Company donated part of the flight and insurance costs for the return of the vehicle.

The Ministries of Culture, Foreign Affairs, Finance and the Vietnamese Embassy in France worked closely together to buy the hand-pulled, two-wheeled transport.

The centre's Director Phan Thanh Hai said the presence of the rickshaw in the palace would help draw visitors.

Some experts consider the venture as the first time that an antique item has been successfully returned to Vietnam from abroad.

But others claim that the rickshaw is "unimportant to Vietnamese history".

"Bringing back an antique item of Vietnam from abroad is delightful, certainly," researcher Ho Tan Phan said. "But many important and precious Vietnamese items are still now in other countries”.

Newly discovered grotto-a promising tourist attraction

With access to a newly discovered grotto within the UNESCO-recognized Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark being restricted to facilitate further study, the resplendent cave promises to become a touristy spot.

Lung Khuy Grotto, whose discovery was announced early this month, nestles inside an imposing mountain in Quan Ba District, located in the northern province of Ha Giang.

The grotto is part of the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark, which spans four of the province’s districts, including Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van, and Meo Vac.

Trieu Thi Tinh, vice director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters who expressed wishes to make a field trip to the Lung Khuy Grotto that the cave is currently barricaded, with no entry allowed.

“The provincial authorities have directed that access to the cave be obstructed for now so that exhaustive study can be conducted to come up with premium approaches to conserving the site and leveraging its tourism potential,” she added.

Tinh noted that local authorities have tasked police and militiamen with standing guard over the cave, which is one of the karst plateau’s most resplendent grottos, day and night.

After several phone calls, the Tuoi Tre reporters finally got a nod from the Quan Ba District authorities to enter the visually striking cave.

Upon reaching the entrance to the Lung Khuy Grotto at midday, they were surprised to see three policemen and some local militiamen braving the scorching heat and keeping a constant watch.

The cave entrance is surrounded by a stone wall which has two carefully locked doors.

Though two district culture officers accompanying the Tuoi Tre reporters were given the keys to the doors, the leader of the guard team would not let them in for not having a valid sealed reference from the district leaders.

The guards did not give in until another two phone calls to local officials were made.

The reporters were warned to take great caution as the cave is deep, dark, extremely slippery, and is filled with nooks and crannies.

As observed by the reporters, the cave is relatively wide, with certain sections measuring 50 meters in width.

Hanging from its ceiling are countless stalactites of various sizes and shapes.

Many are two or three meters long and boast bizarre shapes.

The cave is also adorned with drooping curtain-like stalactites, rugged dark-yellow stone pillars, and transparent, white stalactites.

As part of the Dong Van geopark, the Lung Khuy Grotto as well as other caves and stone forests in Quan Ba District’s rocky area are also rich in geological value.

With its pristine charms and geological and geomorphologic diversity, the Lung Khuy Grotto promises to emerge as a fascinating tourist destination.

Though its discovery was not made public until early this month, many locals said they have been aware of the cave’s presence much earlier.

Van Thi Chu, a 60-year-old Mong woman who lives near the Lung Khuy Grotto, divulged that farmers usually fetch water from inside the cave to drink.

They also take shelter in the cave from the heat or rain.

Nguyen Tien Hong, head of Quan Ba District’s Office of Culture and Information, told Tuoi Tre that his district has recently included the Lung Khuy Grotto in a project which is meant to tap the tourism potential of scenic spots scattered in Quan Ba District from now to 2030.

“Quan Ba is endowed with quite many gorgeous caves, but a number of them have been intruded upon by human intervention due to locals’ limited awareness and lack of orientation and investment. We thus want thorough study this time to both properly conserve the Lung Khuy Grotto and bring out the best of its splendor for tourism purposes,” Hong noted.

The Dong Van Karst Plateau was recognized by the UNESCO’s Global Geoparks Network in 2010 as one of 77 geological parks in the world and the second in Southeast Asia, after the Langkawi Geopark in Malaysia.

Located at an altitude of 1,000m-1,600m, the plateau is one of the country’s unique limestone areas, which contains significant imprints of the development of the earth's crust.

Up to 80 percent of the plateau’s karst formations are limestone formed by the elements through different natural development stages.

At least 13 fossil-geological formations have been found on the Dong Van plateau.

Among them, Chang Pung, the oldest, dates back 545 million years, according to the Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Natural Resources.

Quang Nam celebrates the 2nd Vietnam Book Day

The 2nd Vietnam Book Day opened in the central province of Quang Nam on April 21.

The event presents publications and books on Vietnam's sea, islands sovereignty.(Photo: Sggp)

The 3-day event attracted 8 publishing houses featuring nearly 4,000 books in various fields, such as policy, science, nature, history, culture, art and more.

Many activities will be held during the event, such as workshops, stamp exhibition and exchange with children's best selling author, Nguyen Nhat Anh.

On the occasion, the provincial library, Quang Nam Books and School Equipment Company, and Ho Chi Minh City Book Distribution Corporation (Fahasa) offered around 1,000 books to local libraries in remote areas in the province.

The event is part of the Vietnam Book Day which approved in 2014 by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. It will occur every year on April 21.

The annual book show is to encourage and promote reading habit in the community and raise awareness of using books as a tool for critical thinking. It will also celebrate appreciation for readers, writers, publishers, distributors, and other affiliates of the publishing industry.

The 2nd Vietnam Book Day in Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi and Da Nang also opened from April 18-21.

Female veteran artists’display opens in city

A painting exhibition featuring female veteran artists’ art works opened at Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts on April 20.

Painters include Kim Vinh, Le Tam and Thanh Minh who are deputy head of the HCM City University of Fine Arts; the amateur painter Le Thoa.

Scientist Le Thoa (Le Thi Thoa), who is the wife of late Senior Lieutenant General Tran Van Tra, takes part in the exhibition.

She presents her works on flowers, landscapes and memories of the war and beloved husband.

The talented general has passed away; yet stories about him will forever remain in the hearts of his wife and Vietnamese people.

Artisans to show skill at Hue traditional craft festival

The sixth Hue traditional craft festival will be held in Hue city from April 28 to May 3, bringing together around 200 skilled artisans from 40 craft villages across the country, announced the city People’s Committee at a press conference on April 23.

The event will take place in many spots in the centre of Hue city, including Phu Van Lau (Pavilion of Edicts), Hue Culture Museum, Nguyen Dinh Chieu pedestrian street, Tu Tuong and Thuong Bac parks.

Visitors will be introduced to craft villages and traditional crafts practiced in Thua-Thien Hue province including embroidery, paper making, jewelry making, and pottery while tasting signature dishes of the locality, including bun bo (beef noodle), com hen (rice with mussels), banh beo (rice cake with grilled shrimp) and banh khoai (fried rice crepes).

They can also enjoy art performances and join community activities, such as kite flying at Phu Van Lau-Thuong Bac park and a boat race on the Huong (Perfume) river.

There will also be kimono displays, the Japanese national costume, as well as traditional handicraft products of the Republic of Korea’s Gyeongju city and Japan’s Saijo city.

In addition, a symposium on traditional handicraft products and an exhibition showcasing rare antiquities dating back to the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) will be organised as part of the festival.

Exhibition features Hanoi’s water

Hanoimoi newspaper and Tan Hoang Minh Group on April 23 co-organised a ceremony to announce winners of the photo contest ‘Green water, peaceful life’ featuring the beauty of Hanoi’s lakes and rivers.

The winning photos are being presented in an exhibition, opened the same day.

Launched in October 2014, the contest aimed to raise public awareness on protection and promotion of the value of precious ‘green lakes’ that could bring a ‘peaceful life’ for Hanoians during the capital city’s rapid urbanisation.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Hanoimoi newspaper editor-in-chief and head of the organising board To Quang Phan revealed that the organisers received more than 600 photos and image collections from nearly 100 photographers from both at home and abroad.

The jury, with the participation of popular artists from the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists and Hanoi Art Photography Association, selected the winners through two rounds of deliberations.

The VND20 million first prize went to Nguyen Duy Tuong with ‘Bay Mau and Ba Mau lakes – the city’s lungs’.

Second prizes of VND15 million went to ‘For a green, clean and beautiful Hanoi’ by Nguyen Duy Ngoc and ‘Reflected in the water’ by Vu Minh Quan.

Third prizes of VND10 million were presented to ‘My Chau well from above’ by Hoang Ha, ‘West Lake night’ by Huy Hung and ‘The bend’ by Pham Quoc Dung.

Six consolation prizes worth VND5 million each were also awarded at the ceremony.

According to photographer and critic Vu Huyen, a jury member, the photos featured the scenic beauty of Hanoi’s lakes and rivers in the urban life. The artists not only explored familiar venues such as Hoan Kiem Lake and West Lake, but also rivers and lakes in the suburbs and new residential areas, giving viewers a new perspective on the capital city’s water.

Hanoi is well known for its numerous lakes and rivers, accounting for 3,600ha of the capital’s total area of 3,300 square kilometres, including 19 lakes in the downtown core with a total area of 600ha.

Forty three images and two photo collections entering the final round are on display on the pavement in front of the Hanoimoi newspaper’s office, No. 44 Le Thai To street, until April 27.

Hanoi’s old Buddhist temples receive national heritage certificates

Traditional festivals opened on April 23 at two ancient Buddhist temples in the west of Hanoi ─ Tay Phuong and Thay ─ received certificates recognising them as special national heritage sites.

The Tay Phuong Temple, located in Thach That district, is famous for its architecture and elaborate carvings typical of the 18th century, notably a collection of more than 70 Buddha statues which have been recognised as national treasures.

Among the sculptures, each of which features a distinct posture and facial expression, the Tuyet Son and La Hau La Da are considered one of the best statues of Vietnamese sculpture.

Legend has it that the Tay Phuong Temple was built when Vietnam was dominated by China’s Tang dynasty and rebuilt in 1554, followed by many renovations in the subsequent centuries.

The Thay Temple, located in Quoc Oai district, was built in the Ly dynasty on the foot of the Sai Son mountain.

It houses a national treasure, the trinity statues of the Amitabha Buddha, flanked by two Bodhisattvas representing wisdom and compassion in Pureland Buddhism. The statues are considered the sculptural pinnacle of the flourishing period of Buddhism in Vietnam.

The ancient temple also houses many other valuable artefacts, such as the lotus-shaped stone pedestals which researchers say date back to the Ly or Tran dynasties.

Besides traditional religious rituals, the Thay Temple festival features water puppet shows in a lake in front of the main hall to honour the founder of this art, Zen master Tu Dao Hanh (1072-1116).

Selective exploitation of sea heritage value

During the process of national construction and development, the sea plays an important role in the socio-economic life of Vietnamese people. The sea not only provides a source of food, but also impacts the history of Vietnam and the cultural life of Vietnamese people. For this reason, the cultural heritages in Vietnam’s sea and coastal regions are considered an important part of Vietnam’s cultural heritage.

According to statistics, Vietnam now has 1,013 relics and tourism attractions in 28 coastal provinces and cities among a total of 3,250 historical and cultural relics and tourism attractions in Vietnam, which were recognised as part of national heritage.

With many beautiful clean beaches, Vietnam ranks 27 of 156 coastal countries in the world with 125 beautiful seaside resorts. With Ha Long Bay and Nha Trang Bay, the country is among the top 12 countries with the most beautiful bays in the world.

Vietnam’s seas and islands feature cultural heritages, intangible cultural heritages and natural heritages. The question now is what basic solution for preserving and promoting cultural heritage values at sea and in island regions should Vietnam take.

Aiming to implement Vietnam’s culture development strategy for 2020, with a view to 2030, cultural agencies should strengthen their co-ordination to create unified building development plans and continue to research conformable solutions to preserve and effectively exploit the cultural and natural heritage treasures and tourism resources in Vietnam, especially in sea and island regions.

Meanwhile, the People’s Committees of provinces and cities in costal and island regions also should direct the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to inspect, appraise, classify and rank cultural and natural heritages, laying the foundation for building and deploying investment and upgrade projects. The direction helps to affirm the important role of historic, cultural and tourism attractions.

Vietnam now has 70% of its tourism destinations located in coastal regions, which attract 80% of visitors to Vietnam. Vietnam’s beaches have a high value in the developing tourism industry.

Along with other tourism resources, the beaches have become well-known destinations. For this reason, managers should be interested in preserving and exploiting sea tourism.

Vietnam’s sea has an important role in socio-economic development, especially in industries such as coal, oil, gas, maritime transport, tourism, fishing and seafood processing. However, industrial exploitation necessarily affects the environment in these regions.

Environmental protection in coastal regions requires relevant State management agencies to build a general plan on developing sea tourism in the Red River Delta region, central and southern provinces, based on geographic, economic, historic and social conditions, as well as cultural characteristics of local people.

Additionally, museum networks and plans for preserving heritage in Vietnam also need to be adjusted to cope with climate change. Management agencies should encourage research projects on incorporating natural events into tourism, such as a tourism programme during the flood season in An Giang and tourism activities during rainy season in Hue.

Meanwhile, international co-operation is very important. By co-operating with international organisations, such as UNESCO, SPAFA and the Mekong River Commission (MRC), Vietnam can exchange experiences, and co-operate in research for coping with climate change and preserving Vietnam’s heritage in coastal areas.

Thousands flock to 2015 Phu Day festival

Thousands of visitors across the country flocked to the opening ceremony of the 2015 Phu Day Festival at Kim Thai commune, Vu Ban district, Nam Dinh province on April 21 (the third day of the third lunar month).

The festival is one of the country’s largest and features many traditional rituals including an incense offering ceremony at the main (Tien Huong) temple, recitals of Buddhist scriptures, the palanquin procession at Van Cat temple and the torchlight procession at Tien Huong temple.

A wide variety of cultural activities and traditional folk games such as lion and dragon dancing, playing underwater, human chess, wrestling and a tug-of-war competition are also to be staged during the six-day festival.

The highlight of the festival is a Chau Van (spiritual) singing contest, which aims to preserve and promote the value of the national intangible cultural heritage.

The Phu Day festival is held annually at the Phu Day historical and cultural relic site in Kim Thai commune, Vu Ban district to honour Mother Goddess Lieu Hanh, one of the four immortals in Vietnamese folklore. It reflects the local people’s desire for a better life.

Two big festivals to come up in Vung Tau this week

The southern coast province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, over 100 km from HCMC, will organize the 6th int’l kite festival from April 22 to 27 and an annual food festival from August 23 to 26 in celebration of the country’s Reunification Day (April 30).

The kite festival, titled Bay cung Vietnam (Flying with Vietnam), will feature 53 artisans from 20 international troupes, including of Germany, France, the U.K, the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Nepal, Malaysia, India, South Korea, South Africa and Brazil.

Host Vietnam will have 44 artisans from 17 groups nationwide taking part.

The opening and closing ceremonies will take place at Ca Ong Restaurant of Paradise beach resort and Vung Tau Intourco Resort respectively.

Spectators can admire performances and competitions at the golf course of Paradise, Bien Dong beach, and Vung Tau Intourco Resort, among others. On the sidelines of the festival there will be seminars and training sessions on kite making.

The Vung Tau Food Festival will be held on Trung Trac and Trung Nhi streets near Bai Truoc Beach in Vung Tau City, featuring 74 booths.

It will be opened at 6 p.m. on April 23 and closed on April 26.

The event will give visitors a chance to experience local dishes and specialties from different countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Ukraine, and enjoy live music and cooking shows every night.

The organizers will award prizes to outstanding participating businesses in some categories for excellent demonstrations of cooking, bartender, fruit and vegetable carving and fruit displays.

Fifteen outstanding architecture solutions to go on show

Fifteen outstanding architectural solutions by firms in the country will go on display at an exhibition called Seu Do (red-headed crane) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at the Gem Center in HCMC’s District 1.

The show will feature 12 architecture companies from Hanoi and HCMC – A21Studio, Adrei Studio, AD+ Studio, Atelier Tho A, HAS, Landmak Architecture, MM++ Architects, MD Studio, Studio Cong, Tropical Space, V-Architecture, and Voides.

Those companies will introduce their 15 architecture solutions in the forms of miniature models.

Visitors can view a contemporary thatched house by MM++ Architects, a modern DNH03 house in Chu Lai by HAS, a cocoon-shape house by Landmak, a “Long house” by MD Studio, a home-inside-home concept of Studio Cong and a house shaped like a termite nest by Tropical Space, among others.

The show is called Seu Do since this precious bird is symbolic of luck, hard work and devotion. The organizer, Mao Trung Co., Ltd, is joining hands with leading brands in the construction material sector to host the event to mark the company’s 20th anniversary and to inspire people in the construction, architecture and interior design professions.

Visitors can also admire works by popular architecture photographers, including Hiroyuki Oki, Bui Nam, Le Hoang, Le Anh Duc and Tran Quang.

The event will be opened for public viewing from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. from April 25-27 at the Gem Center, 8 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street, District 1, HCMC.

Giants Step hosts Graffiti festival

Giants Step, a non-profit contemporary art space for young artists, was launched last week at 3A Ton Duc Thang Street in HCMC’s District 1 with an exhibition featuring 20 graffiti works by the local artists who competed at the International Graffiti Session.

Visitors to the Just Writing My Name Saigon exhibition can see photos featuring diversified graffiti works created on many streets in Saigon, and can also buy them at reasonable prices.

Giants Step was founded by curator Vanessa Le and Vietnamese French graffiti artist Suby One. Vanessa Le studied fine art in Singapore, Japan, and Thailand before coming back Vietnam to host many contemporary art programs in HCMC.

Suby One has gained his reputation in the field of graffiti in France. He returned to Vietnam last year to develop this kind of art in the country. Since then Suby One has gathered graffiti artists in Saigon to work under one roof. Giants Step is operated as an art space for local young artists whose artworks are chosen by curators to exhibit at many events and activities without a fee. It is expected that the venue will contribute to the development of contemporary art in Vietnam.

The exhibition runs until May 17.