HCM City kicks off annual book fair

The 8th Book-Culture and Development Fair will be held at Le Van Tam Cultural Park in District 1, HCMC from March 24-30.

The event is hosted by the People’s Committee of HCMC and will have 156 leading local and foreign publishing houses with over 500 booths. Publishing houses participating in the event include Kim Dong, Youth, Ho Chi Minh Hachette Us, Quercus, Simon & Schuster, and Scholastic Publishing House.

The fair will showcase 20 million books with over 200,000 titles. Classic Vietnamese novels will be the main attraction. Exhibitions such as documents of sea island sovereignty, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Dien Bien Phu Victory, and various others will be available for viewing.

In addition to book fair, the organizers will hold an exchange program to honor Don Ca Tai Tu Nam Bo, which has been recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Kim Dong Publishing House will be participating in the book fair. The publisher will hold interviews with outstanding writers and seminars about historical books for children.

Youth Publishing House will introduce to readers more than 400 latest books, reprinted book in the fields of Vietnamese and foreign literature, historical book, training book and others.

HCMC publishers will hold short interviews with veterans who participated in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign.

The annual book fair is considered as one of biggest cultural events of the country.

Horseback riding attracts young people in Ho Chi Minh City

Equestrian activities have started to make their way into the middle classes of the largest city in Vietnam.

The Saigon Pony Plub is one of a few places providing riding courses, and has attracted the curiosity of many young people in HCM City. Opened by Amaury Le Blan, a former French horse racer, the club was initially just to fulfill the passion of the owner.

Most of the horses in the club are bred in Vietnam.

There are two training grounds at the club, with the areas of 600 square metres for basic level and 1,000 square metres for advanced level.

Van Giup, a rider, said that he used to fall down often when he first started, but now he can control the horses well.

Another student said: “When I first came here, I was very scared, watching people falling down. But thanks to the coaches' careful instructions and my own passion, I didn’t fall and improved quickly. I will practise this sport for a long time.”

According to a staff member at the club, "Many young people have been riding for 3-4 years and now become really skillful."

Horse riding has recently been available at a club named Hanoi Horse Association in Hanoi. Besides horse riding courses, the clubs also have many services such as horses for rent for photography.

Brutal dog fight in Hanoi stirs anger

The recent brutal dog fight held by a group of young people in Hanoi has been widely opposed and greatly denounced by the public due to cruelty.

The dog fight was held on the banks of Ngoc Khanh Lake in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh District on Feb 6. The event attracted the attention of hundreds of curious people who surrounded the group of young people who initiated the fight.

Watching two dogs cruelly fighting with each other, many local residents raised their voices and called for an end to the fight, but the game continued with shouting and screaming.

Dog fighting rings have been on the rise recently in the country, especially in the capital city.

Local residents near Ngoc Khanh Lake said that it was not the first time such a fight has taken place there. Many have called for a ban on the "sport".

Pham Duc Quy, deputy head of Ngoc Khanh District’s police, said after being informed of the event, local police came to the scene and forced them to stop and gave a warning to the organisers. At the scene, no betting was reported.

Under the government’s Decree 5, dated in 2007, on rabies prevention and control of animals, those who raise dogs must keep them in cages or kennels or muzzle them and lead them when walking in public places. However, this seems to be the only regulations pertaining to such events.