Sculpture project honours Vietnamese icons

Four sculptures of Vietnamese historical figures have been presented to the public as part of efforts to publicise them.

The statues are of General Ly Thuong Kiet (1019-1105) of the Ly dynasty, General Tran Quoc Tuan of the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400), King Quang Trung also known as Nguyen Hue (1752-1792) who was a great hero of the 18th century, and legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap (1911-2013).

"We can place the statues of Peter the Great or Napoleon [Bonaparte] in our houses, so why don't we have sculptures of Vietnamese personalities?" historian Duong Trung Quoc said at a press conference held to publicise the sculptures yesterday morning.

These sculptures are part of a collaborative project of the Viet Nam Association of Historical Sciences, the UNESCO office in Ha Noi, Heritage House and the Circle Group which specialises in the development of applied fine arts.

The project aims to honour heroes and well-known men in national history, while enabling the public to understand better and be proud of their forefathers' glorious deeds for national construction.

The statues of King Quang Trung and General Tran Quoc Tuan are prototypes of the statues situated in Dong Da Hill, Ha Noi. The other two sculptures are new creations of sculptor Tran Van Thuc.

"General speaking, these four works meet the standards of quality in art quite well. However, if they are to be used in reality, they need to be adjusted a bit or recreated to suit different display spaces," said associate professor Do Bao, the project advisor.

The sculptures are on display till February 24 at the Viet Nam Military History Museum, 28A, Ba Dinh, Ha Noi. 

Ethnic spring festivals on show this month

An annual festival that features the cultural colours of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups through their New Year celebrations will take place at the Culture Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups in Hanoi from February 15-17.

During the event, which will be hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, visitors can take part in a wide range of cultural activities.

They will include a rite to pray for peace, favourable weather and a good crop of the Lo Lo ethnic minority group in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang and a festival to welcome the New Year of the Dao ethnic group in Hoanh Bo district of the northeastern province of Quang Ninh.

In addition, the New Year celebration of the Thai people and the gong festival of the Muong people in northern Hoa Binh province will also be presented at the event.

The husband-catching festival of the Chu Ru people in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, and the rice planting festival of the B'rau in Kon Tum will also be showcased for visitors.

The highlight of the event will be a traditional New Year horse race of the H'Mong ethnic group in Bac Ha district, northern mountainous Lao Cai province.

The festival is expected to lure tourists to the tourism village, located 40km west of Hanoi.

It is also to honour outstanding individuals who have made contributions to preserving and promoting the values of the country’s traditional cultures.

Da Lat kicks off horse racing on Valentine’s Day

A horse race will be held at Love Valley in Da Lat City to celebrate Valentine’s Day, February 14.

The race includes three laps around Dragon Lake, announced Vice Director of Love Valley Tourist Area Phan Khac Cu on February 11.  The race will feature various themes for Valentine’s Day. Winners will be chosen by judges and awarded first, second and third place prizes.

Sixteen soldiers will participate in the event this year with highly trained horses from Langbian, Than Tho Lake and Love Valley.

The first horse race at Love Valley was in 2008.

Fishing village pays tribute to founder

People in the coastal Thai Duong Ha village in Thua Thien-Hue Province held a ceremony yesterday in memory of the village's founder.

Five hundred years ago, Truong Thieu, a man from Thanh Hoa Province, arrived there, formed the village and taught the local people how to fish and make fishing boats. The villagers hold a ceremony every three years on the 12th day of the lunar new year to thank him for teaching them fishing.

The ceremony is part of a festival which began on Monday for the entertainment of the local people and to wish for a bumper fish catch in the new year.

The festival includes music performances, re-enactment of fishing and selling of fish on the seaside, a boat race and a procession in which 102 families take part.

The procession carries the locals' offerings around the village so that their patron saint can have a look at the current life.

According to Ton That Ninh, the village chief, the festival also gives courage to the local fishermen in overcoming difficulties during sea trips.

Spring book fair to open in Hanoi

A variety of young writers are expected to introduce their latest work at the 2014 Spring Book Fair at Hanoi Library on February 14–16.

The fair is intended to celebrate and promote a culture of literature and reading, showcasing publications spanning fiction, sciences, and humanities.

Younger readers are a special focus.

The event, open from 8AM to 6PM, will offer visitors opportunities to take advantage of 10–60% book price discounts and enjoy activities including painting and raffle draws.

Local readers can also participate in an exchange programme with famous young writer Hoang Anh Tu.

“Pushkin in Vietnam” opens in Hanoi

An exhibition entitled “Pushkin in Vietnam” opened in Hanoi on February 11, showcasing documents and artifacts from the life of the great Russian poet A.X.Pushkin.

Visitors can read a selection of Pushkin’s poems and his articles about Vietnamese authors.

Renowned lecturer Vu The Khoi and writer Hoang Thuy Toan discussed the Russian poet’s biography and works.

Pushkin State Russian Language Institute Deputy Director Dr Nguyen Thi Thu said as well as celebrating Pushkin, the exhibition is also intended to familiarise young

Vietnamese young readers with Russian culture and literature.

She said the institute is coordinating with relevant agencies to publish a collection of Pushkin’s poems including 100 Vietnamese translations in the near future.

The exhibition will run through to February 14.

Vietnamese students in UK launch photo contest

A gala awards presentation dinner was held at Porchester Hall in London to announce the winners of a Vietnamese student’s photo contest.

The contest entitled “SVUK Infocus 2013”drew 81 entries, focusing on the daily lives of Vietnamese students in the UK and the beauty of Britain and its people.

The two top prizes for individual and team categories were selected by at three-member jury and votes cast online by the participating public.

Tran Quang The from London won first prize in the individual category with his work “A corner of Maughan Library, King's College London”.

In the team category, first prize went to Soup-A-Star, also from London, for their work “Dark Paradise”. The group includes Aiden Nguyen (Model), Linh Doan (Stylist), and Quyen Mike (photographer).

SVUK Infocus, the third competition of its kind, has captured due attention and affirmed prestige among Vietnamese students in the UK.

Crowds flock to love duet singing festival

Thousands of people from different regions across the country have flocked to Tien Du district in northern Bac Ninh province to attend the Lim festival which is dedicated to Quan Ho (love duet singing), part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.

The annual festival, which takes place on February 11 and 12 this year, is held on Lim Hill where Lim Pagoda is located. The pagoda is dedicated to Hieu Trung Hau, who invented Quan Ho.

Apart from Quan Ho singing, visitors are also entertained with folk games, including bamboo swinging, traditional wrestling, earthenware pot breaking and human chess.

Love duet singing, which was inscribed in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage of humanity list in September 2009, is an art form combining various elements, including music, lyrics, costume and a unique style of singing the reflects the close relationship between singers. Performances of love duet songs are made by “lien anh” (brothers) and “lien chi” (sisters), who are ordinary people hailing from different villages.

The rich and diverse tunes and fine lyrics of the songs portray the zest for life and distinctive cultural features of people in the region formerly called Kinh Bac.