Traditional Vietnamese culture on show in Paris

A “Couleurs du Vietnam” program was held at the Mandapa Cultural Centre in the French capital Paris on October 27, drawing a large number of French, European and overseas Vietnamese spectators who enjoyed the spectacular performances of traditional Vietnamese dances.

Onlookers were able to experience a special cultural journey through Vietnam with colourful performances showcasing the daily lives of Vietnamese people from across the country.

The vibrant nature of Vietnam was presented in costume through four-panel traditional dresses and flat palm hats worn by northern women, umbrellas and an array of other colourful costumes worn by women in mountainous areas and loose-fitting blouses and conical hats of southern women.

traditional vietnamese culture on show in paris hinh 1 An overseas Vietnamese onlooker said these traditional dances helped spectators reminisce about their native land through popular cultural features.

The program took place within the framework of the “Passeport pour le Vietnam” cultural season which will run until mid-June 2019. It will present a series of introductions to Vietnamese traditional arts such as traditional dances, music instruments, cai luong (reformed theatre), traditional theatre opera, Luc Van Tien opera and telling Vietnamese fairy tales in French.

YouTube Kids app launched in Vietnam

Director of the Department of Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children, Vu Minh Dao speaks at the launching ceremony. (Photo: Sggp)

Speaking at the launching ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on October 27, Director of the Department of Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children, Vu Minh Dao highly appreciated all the effort of Google to launch YouTube Kids in Vietnam. The YouTube Kids app with kids-friendly content is also designed to give parents better control over the things they want their kids to see and help their kids understand the good and bad things.

The app has many topics of arts, handicraft, music, sport, study and more.

Parents can set their own passcode and restrict certain videos and channels. They can also turn off the search function, limit their kids’ screen time and the things their child is permitted to search on the app.

The app is available in more than 42 countries and has reached over 70 billion views with 14 million views in a week. It is available for free on Google Play and the Apple App Store. YouTube Kids is one of the five best apps for children.

Photo exhibition recalls stir moments of giving birth

A photo in the part Touching.

A photo exhibition depicting the various emotions parents feel during the process touched visitors’ hearts in Hà Nội this weekend.

The exhibition comprising 100 large photos displayed on 2m-high frames took place during the weekend at the pedestrian zone around Hoàn Kiếm (Sword) Lake.

It attracted thousands of people, getting them involved in the journey of giving birth, showing the authentic experiences of becoming mothers and fathers.

The photos were divided into five sections, namely Waiting, Feeling sore, Crying, Touching and Breastfeeding.

Anonymous photographers captured the moments with the support of families giving birth at the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The photos described the emotion and pain of mothers, the nerves of fathers and the happiness of the families when babies are born.

Vũ Bá Quyết, former director of the hospital, said the photos depicted memorable moments in parents’ lives.

“Raising children is a long process full of happiness, however, giving birth is the moment in which the happiness seems to be ignored due to terrible pain of mothers and nerves of fathers,” he said.

“Through the photos, we want to send a message that every moment should be respected. On the other hand, we expect that parents-to-be would gain positive emotions and prepare well for the important moment of giving birth. We want to soothe their pain and nerves.”

“When they know how the process will take place, and imagine what the characters in the photos feel, they would feel comfortable to join their own journeys and enjoy the ‘giving birth process’ completely,” said Quyết.

“Giving birth is a valuable experience. Parents who have children can recall their emotions and memories when they see these photos.”

A visitor to the exhibition recalled her own memory when giving birth at the hospital. In the pain, she heard the nurse shouting “nở rồi” (synonymously meaning hatched and bloomed already).

“It’s the most beautiful and humane word for me at that time, yes, my baby hatched out. At the other meaning, women giving birth are like flowers blooming to lengthen life on Earth.”

“Thanks to the great pain mothers suffer, the Earth has the most miraculous vitality,” she added.

After the event in Hà Nội, the exhibition will be moved to display at Crescent Mall, 101 Tôn Dật Tiên Street, HCM City on November 3-4.

Wicked Halloween party at AB Tower

The Wicked Halloween event will be held from 7:30pm to 10pm on October 31 at AB Tower on 76A Lê Lai in HCM City’s District 1. — Photo ticketbox.vn

The Wicked Halloween party will be held from 7.30pm to 10pm on October 31 at the AB Tower on 76A Lê Lai Street in HCM City’s District 1.

The customers will enjoy a Halloween party with free-flow drinks sponsored by WeWork, as well as free face painting and DJ Music.

Entry is free.

Star Live Halloween Indie Rock in HCMC

The Star Live Halloween and Indie Rock event will be held from 7pm to 10pm on October 31 at Star Academy of Art on 16A Lê Hồng Phong Street in HCM City’s District 10. — Photo ticketbox.vn

The Star Live Halloween and Indie Rock event will be held from 7pm to 10pm on October 31 at the Star Academy of Art on 16A Lê Hồng Phong Street in HCM City’s District 10.

The Star Live Halloween and Indie Rock is a combination of music and Halloween disguise.

The guests such as Đạt Maniac, Cam, Klaf, Anesthetic Youth, The A Plan are famous in the indie music scene.

The best Halloween costume will receive a prize of VNĐ1 million cash.

Tickets are VNĐ250,000 per person. 

Lâm Đồng to host LaAn – Challenge The Moutain

The Mountain Car Racing, LaAn – Challenge The Moutain will be start in Đà Lạt on November 21. — Photo webthethao.mediacdn.vn

The Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng will host the Mountain Car Racing, LaAn – Challenge The Moutain, for the first time in Đà Lạt on November 21.

The event will feature more than 50 cars with some 100 drivers from clubs across the country.

It aims to unearth talent to compete in international events.

The event, organised by the LAAN Company and the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Toursim, will last until November 25.

Vietnam Art Photo exhibition to open in Quang Ninh province

A work of photographer Tran Nhan Quyen at the exhibition 

More than 240 artistic photos by 192 photographers throughout the country will be displayed at the Vietnam Art Photo Exhibition in the northern province of Quang Ninh between October 30 and November 8.

The biennial event is hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam Photographic Artists, and local authorities of Quang Ninh province.

With the topic ‘Ha Long – Quang Ninh – From New Angles’, as well as pictures on any subject, after nearly three months, the organising board has received more than 10,100 single photos and photo sets by over 1,400 professional and amateur photographers.

The organisers will hand out awards to 22 short-listed works in the two categories.

“In this contest, we saw more high quality photo sets,” said Vi Kien Thanh, director of the culture ministry’s Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition Department.

“Taking a series of photos is more challenging than a single photo as each of the photos in a set should have good layout, light and angles… while all photos should connect with one another to convey a logical story.”

Thanh also commented that the participants were using better technology like drones to take photos.

Photographer Tran Nhan Quyen, from Hanoi, the winner of the Golden Medal in the Free Topic category, is one example of a photographer using a drone to take his set of photos of a traditional festival.

“I have attended the water ball festival in the northern province of Bac Giang three times,” he told Vietnam News. “The event is held every 2nd and 3rd day of the lunar new year.”

“The third time I went, I took photos with a drone to capture the bustling atmosphere from above.”

According to Ma The Anh, deputy director of the department and chairman of the contest’s judging panel, however noted that some photographers have still submitted low quality entries, which are not unique compared to previous contests.

The exhibition, which is a highlight of a series of cultural activities in the National Tourism Year 2018 – Ha Long- Quang Ninh, will open at Sun World Playground, No 9 Ha Long street, Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province.

Ninh Binh opens national culture, sports, tourism festival

A dancing performance at the opening ceremony of the National Culture, Sports and Tourism Festival - Ninh Binh on October 28 

A national culture, sports and tourism festival opened in Ninh Binh city, the northern province of Ninh Binh, on October 28.

In his opening speech, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien said the event is part of activities to celebrate 1,050 years since the foundation of Dai Co Viet, the first centralised feudal state of Vietnam.

In 968, Dinh Bo Linh defeated 12 warlords to become king. He named the country Dai Co Viet (Great Viet) and set up the capital in Hoa Lu, which is now Ninh Binh.

More than a millennium has passed, but the cultural and historical values of the former capital remain, he added.

Thien noted the festival aims to popularise the cultural, sports and tourism potential of the province and improve authorities and the public’s awareness of the need to develop an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identities.

Various activities will be held during the festival, including exhibitions of environmental protection-themed posters, photos and paintings on heritage lands and Ninh Binh’s landscapes and people, and old documents and antiquities. Other cultural and tourism events will also take place to promote local tourism.

Chairman of the Ninh Binh provincial People’s Committee Dinh Van Dien said he hopes that through the festival, visitors will enjoy famous scenic landscapes and learn about local culture.

Aside from historical relic sites, the province is also known as “Ha Long Bay on Land” due to its limestone mountains rising out of paddy fields. 

The most famous local attraction is the Trang An Landscape Complex. It was recognised by UNESCO as a world mixed cultural and natural property, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.