Foreign superstars headline Hennessy Artistry Concert

International artists Rita Sahatciu Ora, Jessica Hyun Joo, Jungtae Kim and Juyong Jeon promise to liven things up at this year’s Hennessy Artistry Concert, according to the organizers, reports Cinet News.

In addition, Vietnamese artists Bao Tram, Bao Kun and Cuong Seven will bring a lot of excitement to the event set to get underway December 21 at the Nguyen Du Competition Hall in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City.

The event is sponsored by the Vietnam Performing Art Centre in collaboration with the Moet Hennessy Vietnam Distribution Shareholding Company.

Vietnamese remake of ‘Miss Granny’ to show Dec 11

A redo of Korean box office hit movie ‘Miss Granny’ directed by Phan Gia Nhat Linh starring Miu Le will screen on December 11 in Ho Chi Minh City at the 19th Vietnam Film festival.

In the fanfare leading up to the airing of the Vietnamese version, original Korean director Hwang Dong Hyeok and actress Shim Eun Kyung will arrive in Vietnam to join events in Hanoi (December 9) and Ho Chi Minh City (December 10).

74-year-old Oh Mal Soon (Na Moon Hee) is a bitter widow that lives with her son, but when her daughter-in-law collapses, Mal Soon is determined to be the cause of her emotional and mental exhaustion.

Before being shuttled off to a nursing home, Mal Soon stumbles upon a photobooth, where she laments her life's regrets, but when she emerges from the photobooth, she discovers she’s turned back to her 20-year-old self.

Blessed with another shot at life, will Mal Soon make the right choices?

Taste of the World 2015 attendees doubled

The annual international culinary festival Taste of the World closed its 10th season with the number of visitors nearly doubling the expectation of organisers.

The "Taste of the World 2015" culinary festival, which took place at the 23/9 Park in District 1 in HCM City from December 3-6, was held by the municipal Department of Tourism as part of the city's promotional programme.

According to the department, the event attracted nearly 550,000 local and international visitors, a huge success in comparison with the expectation of 300,000.

Attractions of the festival included the "5-Star Chef" mini-festival, two Vietnamese Guinness records in the "competition gathering the most number of vegetarian dishes in Viet Nam" with 52 dishes prepared by prestigious chefs in HCM City, and "the biggest kettledrum in Viet Nam made of fruit."

Painter depicts plight of rural farmers, urban poor

The latest collection of painter Pham Huy Thong will be exhibited at the new downtown gallery space for Craig Thomas Gallery in HCM City from December 11-15.

The solo exhibition will then move to the original space at 27i Tran Nhat Duat Street in District 1 from December 16 through January 8.

Thong's Hope series focuses on issues related to Viet Nam's rural farmers and urban poor.

"I want to portray images of farmers in a spiral of economic changes. As in all developing economies, farmers in Viet Nam have had to flee their homes and fields to get to the cities where they can find jobs and more secure incomes," Thong said.

"They go with the hopes of being able to send money back to their families, but in the process they also lose something of themselves and their roots in the effort to make their bread and butter."

Born in 1981, Thong is one of Viet Nam's most thoughtful and compelling young visual artists. A graduate of the Hanoi Industrial Fine Arts University in 2004, his previous collections Dong Bao (2010) and Hands (2012) have demonstrated his relevance as a commentator on social and political issues affecting the country and the Southeast Asian region.

Adjustments to Con Dao relic site preservation planning approved

The Prime Minister recently approved adjustments to a master plan on the preservation and restoration of the Con Dao special national relic in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The renovation will be made on an area of 110.69 hectares.

Under the plan, there will be no new construction in the functional and preservation zones. Along with restoration and repairs made to deteriorating works, suitable signposts and instruction boards will be erected, keeping the site’s original aesthetic intact.

Some other architectures will be restored if they hold special historical values.

The master plan will be implemented between 2016 and 2030 in three phases: 2016-2020, 2021- 2025 and 2026-2030. It aims to honour revolutionary soldiers who laid down their lives for the national independence and freedom while creating diversified tourism products, and helping enhance local socio-economic development.

The Con Dao Islands were recently featured in Clarin – Argentina’s newspaper – as a compelling destination in Vietnam, despite their dark days in the past.

During past wars, eight prisons were built across 52km of Con Son Island – the biggest of the archipelago. Con Dao prisons witnessed Vietnamese revolutionaries with staunch spirit endure the brutal torture of French colonialists, and later American imperialists, from 1930 to 1975. It was estimated that one prisoner died every day. Vietnam’s outstanding leaders, including late President Ton Duc Thang, late Party General Secretaries Le Duan and Nguyen Van Linh were held there.

The once horrific place is now peaceful and welcomes some 50,000 tourists every year.

Nguyen Du memorial site to become national culture site

The memorial site dedicated to great poet Nguyen Du (1765-1820) in Nghi Xuan district in the central province of Ha Tinh will be developed into a national culture and tourism destination under a master plan recently approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

The site spans Tien Dien commune, part of Xuan Giang commune and Nghi Son town in Nghi Son district.

Organisers are focusing on preserving and upholding the values of relic sites related to the Nguyen family in Tien Dien commune and traditional cultural facilities of Tien Dien village.

The Government will build new public spaces and tourist attractions that enable visitors to explore the local culture.

The Nguyen Tien Dien family grave area and worshipping house; Truong Ninh pagoda; Cho Tro communal house; and the memorial house dedicated to Nguyen Du will also be repaired.

Nguyen Du’s grave and the garden of the Nguyen family, among others, will be equipped with signs and lighting.

Nguyen Du (alias To Nhu), who also went by the penname Thanh Hien, brought Vietnamese poetic language to a new high.

In his 55 years of life, the great poet left a monumental legacy that includes three collections in Han (Chinese) script, totalling 250 poems in Thanh Hien Thi Tap (Poems of Thanh Hien), Nam Trung Tap Ngam (Various Poems) and Bac Hanh Tap Luc (Miscellaneous Writings in a Trip to the North), as well as the most well-known, the Tale of Kieu.

In 1965, he was honoured as a world cultural celebrity by the World Peace Council, along with eight others, for his devotion to Vietnamese literature and world culture.

He was also recognised as a World Cultural Figure by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) at its 37th General Conference session in Paris in 2013.

On August 15, 2014, the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee officially approved a plan to celebrate the 250th birth anniversary of Nguyen Du in 2015 – a big opportunity for the country to honour its cultural values and instill national pride in its citizens while integrating into the international community.

Stamp collection released on birthday anniversary of celebrated poet Nguyen Du

A stamp collection  was released yesterday in commemoration of celebrated poet Nguyen Du's 250th birthday anniversary (1765-2015), who was honored as a World Cultural Figure by the UN cultural agency UNICEF.

The Ministry of Information and Communications, the Department of Vietnamese Post Office and the People's Committee in the central province of Ha Tinh-Nguyen Du's homeland held a meeting to issue the stamp collection

Each 43 x 32 mm stamp designed by artist Nguyen Du of the Department of Vietnamese Post Office features statue of poet Nguyen Du which stands out against his famous poetry "Kim Van Kieu story" first published in Vietnamese script. The design of stamp block is image of writer Nguyen Du and Kieu story.

As scheduled, the stamp collection will be released to the public .post office from December 5, 2015 to June 30, 2017.

The issuance of the stamp collection is to honor great poet Nguyen Du's contribution to the country's literature.

Hoi An launches second walking street

Hoi An Ancient Town on December 3 officially opened the second walking street for pedestrians and non-motorised vehicles at Nguyen Phuc Chu street.

This street is located to the south of the Hoai river – at the opposite side of the ancient town that spread along An Hoi Sculpture Garden and Nguyen Hoang night market.

The walking Nguyen Phuc Chu offers a quiet and safe space for tourists and the locals to visit.

The project on pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles" has been executed by the town since 2004. Its initial purpose was reducing noise from the sound of motor engines and ensuring safety for travelers.

So far it has become a typical cultural tourism product that has greatly contributed to the promotion of culture - tourism of Hoi An.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri