Fierce contest among calligraphers for Tet honours

Of the 48 calligraphers who began in the competition, at the Temple of Literature on January 31, only 12 remained after the challenge and will go on to the finals at Ho Van or Literature Lake over the Tet holiday.

Contestants were required to write four to five words of Han or Vietnamese hieroglyph, or Vietnamese script, about study or spring within 15 minutes.

Tran Quoc Chi, a member of the organisation board, said the competition was aimed at changing unprompted calligraphy activities into standard operations, improving calligraphy quality as well as organising standard calligraphy street events.

This is the second time when the Hanoi municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has organised a calligraphy festival during the Tet holiday. However, this is the first time calligraphers have competed for honours.

“The competition has given a rating on my calligraphy, so I can uphold my strengths and improve my weaknesses,” said Nguyen Trong Dien and Nguyen Van Chien, calligraphers from Hung Yen Province’s Association of Han and Vietnamese Hieroglyph.

Many tourists gathered to watch the calligraphers at work. “Such an event is really significant in preserving Vietnamese traditional calligraphy,” said Italian visitor Villa Paolo.

Contest seeks admission videos rapping the news

The online newspaper Vietnam Plus and digital products enterprise POPS Worldwide launched a contest seeking people to read news in thestyle of rap music.

Contestants should upload a rap news sample onto YouTube and email the link to rapnewscontest@gmail.com before March 15. The winning individual or group will be able to perform a rap news show alongside noted rapper group Da LAB and take home a cash prize of VND20 million (US$952).

RapNewsPlus appears twice a week in Vietnamese, bringing news and messages to young viewers through rap. The first edition received a record one million views in under 48 hours in November 2013.

Last September, the programme also won first place in the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)'s Digital First category, which honours the publication that most creatively engages young audiences through phones, tablets and other digital devices.

The show can be found at vietnamplus.vn/rapnewsplus.vnp.

Seminar to introduce works by Nguyen Trieu Luat

The French Institute in HCM City will organise a seminar to introduce a book of collected works published in newspapers by Prof Nguyen Trieu Luat today at IDECAF Multimedia Library.

Luat (1903-46) wrote several historical novels, including Hom Dung Nguoi (Trunks with Humans, 1936) and Ba Chua Che (Princess of Tea, 1938).

Nguyen Trieu Luat – Works Published in Newspapers has been published by Nha xuat ban Tri Thuc.

The seminar will be addressed by Dr Tran Huu Ta, chairman of the Viet Nam Society of Literature Study and Teaching, and Nguyen Trieu Can, a teacher.

Dragon cruise to ferry tourists along Han River

A dragon ship will now carry tourists along the Han River at night.

The 250-seat steel vessel will offer two journeys every night, one from 6-7.30pm and one from 8-9.30pm.

Tourists board at Bach Dang Wharf on the Han River bank near the Rong (Dragon) Bridge.

During the tour, they can snap photos of the LED light-decorated Han, Thuan Phuoc, Rong and Tran Thi Ly bridges and the American war-era Nguyen Van Troi Bridge.

On Saturday and Sunday nights, tourists can see the award-winning dragon-shaped Rong bridge spit fire.