Nui Cam to attract Tet visitors

Nui Cam (Forbidden Mountain) in An Giang Province, the highest point in the Mekong Delta, is an interesting destination for visitors during the Lunar New Year.

Located in the That Son (Seven Mountains) area in Tinh Bien District and 70km from Long Xuyen City, the 700m-high Nui Cam offers beautiful sceneries, intriguing legends, caves, and pagodas.

It has a 33.6m high Maitreya Buddha statue and several pagodas like Van Linh and Phat Lon.

Mekong flower streets in bloom

Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Dong Thap and Can Tho City have all created flower streets and organised spring flower festivals to celebrate Tet (the Lunar New Year), which falls on February 7 this year.

Can Tho has converted two parallel streets, Vo Van Tan and Nguyen Thai Hoc into floral streets decorated with more than 60 kinds of flowers, fruits and artworks.

In Dong Thap, the Sa Dec town administration is organising a spring flower festival themed Flower Colour by the Sa Giang River. The event will feature a street festival with traditional folk games, a cuisine contest, and a festival of don ca tai tu, which has been declared by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Cities to set off fireworks for Tet

Many cities and provinces around the country will set off fireworks on the eve of Tet (Lunar New Year).

The capital Ha Noi will have the highest number of 31 fireworks sites. HCM City will have eight and Da Nang, four.

Fireworks will be organised in all of Ha Noi's districts.

In HCM City, fireworks will be let off in districts 1, 9, 11, Go Vap, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, Binh Chanh and Can Gio.

In Da Nang, firework sites are in Hoa Vang, Lien Chieu, Ngu Hanh Son and Hai Chau districts.

Hoi An starts tourism programme

UNESCO heritage site Hoi An has launched a tourism stimulus programme with the participation of travel and services companies to attract tourists.

The programme, to be held three times this year, will offer discounts on hotel rooms and tourism services and give tourists gifts.

From February 1 to March 3 there will be a traditional craft villages festival, an international food festival, and the Viet Nam – ASEAN silk culture festival.

From May 1 to September 2, to promote tourism in summer, the country's peak travel period, Hoi An will organise 14 events and festivals, including the Cu Lao Cham whale worship festival, and the 14th Viet Nam – Japan culture exchange.

The third occasion, from November 20 to January 1, will feature a Heritage Day event and New Year celebrations.

Hotel Nikko Saigon wins award

Hotel Nikko Saigon has won the 2016 Travellers' Choice award in the Luxury Hotels category from TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site.

The awards, based on the opinions of the global travel community, honour hotels in the categories of Top Hotels, Bargain, B&Bs and Inns, Luxury, Service and Small Hotels.

This is for the fourth straight year that Hotel Nikko Saigon has won the award.

New exhibition fair centre to be based in outlying district

A new exhibition centre will be built in Co Loa in the capital’s outlying district of Dong Anh following a recent government meeting in Hanoi.

At the event, the Prime Minister requested detailed planning for the launch of its construction.

In early 2015, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism submitted two options to build the centre, either in Co Loa commune or at the area near the Van Tri fresh water lagoon. Both sites are located in the same district.

Invested by the Vietnam Exhibition Fair Centre Company, the new centre is a merger of the Vietnam National Exhibition and Fair Centre and the International Exhibition and Fair Centre.

The investor has been asked to work with the Finance Ministry on a plan to submit to the Prime Minister for consideration.

HCM City to hold firework displays for Tet celebration

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on February 4 announced that it will organise fireworks to welcome the Lunar New Year (Tet).

The performances will take place at four locations in the city on the eve of Tet 2016.

The Sai Gon River Tunnel in District 2 was chosen as the main location, with a high-range firework display.

Other locations for low-range performances include Dam Sen Cultural Park in District 11, Sai Gon-Cho Lon-Gia Dinh Revolutionary Tradition Monument in Cu Chi district, and Can Gio Stadium in Can Gio district.

Projected times for the fireworks are from 12 a.m. to 12:15 a.m. on February 8 (the first day in Lunar calendar).

Activities nationwide mark Party founding, welcome lunar New Year

Activities have been held throughout the country to mark the 86th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and welcome the lunar New Year festival.

Art performances took place in Ho Chi Minh City and the northern province of Thai Nguyen on February 3, performing songs in praise of the Party, Uncle Ho, the Vietnamese nation, and Spring. Earlier this week a photo exhibit was organized in Ho Chi Minh City.

To welcome the 2016 lunar New Year, Quang Ngai province opened the Ba To flower garden. A similar activity was launched in Ninh Thuan province together with an ornamental plant competition and exhibit.

A get-together of overseas Vietnamese was held in Vinh Phuc province at which they shared their experience in management, advanced technologies, and working methods.

More than 1,100 publications of news agencies at the central and local levels were displayed at the 2016 Spring Newspaper Fair in Tay Ninh province.

Thai Binh’s Spring Newspaper Fair opened the same day, introducing nearly 300 newspapers and magazines published during Tet.

Spring festival to celebrate Year of Monkey

The largest spring flower festival in the northern region will be held at the Ecopark new urban zone from February 9 to 14 to celebrate the Year of the Monkey.

The festival, which will be organised on a 6ha area, will feature thousands of vivid flowers, ranging from the familiar to rare species from the north-western mountains, Da Lat Highland to South Viet Nam.

The festival will cover the whole urban zone, creating a huge and splendid flower path. Each corner will display a unique style and captivate visitors with an artistic display...

One of the festival's highlights is small arrangements of natural beauty to revive the Vietnamese cultural space, such as lotus ponds, waterways with footbridges and village roads with vendor shops.

Several folk games will also be presented at the festival from February 9 to 14.

The entrance fee is VND30,000 for children and VND60,000 for adults.

Photo contest depicts Mekong Delta beauty

A photo contest on the exploration of southern lands kicked off on Monday in celebration of the National Tourism Year Phu Quoc – Mekong Delta to be held in Kien Giang Province.

Photos of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta in the last two years are eligible.

Entries can be submitted via anhnghethuatvietnam2016.vn from now until May 31.

Nearly 300 photos selected from the contest will be displayed at an exhibition held on September 2 in Kien Giang Province's Rach Gia Town.

Quan An Ngon observes Tet

Quan An Ngon today opens a Tet Market Day, a traditional culture of Viet Nam, to give locals and foreigners in Ha Noi the taste of traditional characteristic foods.

At the market, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy a calligrapher to write a significant beautiful calligraphy on the spot which could bring the person good luck in the entire year.

One can go around to choose and buy different foods such as organic dried bamboo shoots, vermicelli, wood ears, and field mushrooms ordered from the northern province of Tuyen Quang and gingersnap, sugar coated lotus seeds, damson cheese, and preserved kumquats, in addition to different meat pastes made by professional artisans, and organic vegetables.

Visiting the market, one can also join the wrapping of the banh chung (square cake) by oneself or be guided by an artisan to do it, or you can have a chance to enjoy on the spot a hot cake which has been boiled for almost 14 hours.

Professor To Ngoc Thanh, a researcher of Vietnamese traditions, praised Quan An Ngon for preserving the Tet Market Day although old traditional habits have somewhat faded into oblivion.

"Images here have created a market full of national traditions and culture," Thanh said, and added that he bought a couple of banh chung from this market last year which welcomed thousands of guests.

The event will last until this Saturday.

Dragon Bridge to ‘exhale’ more fire breath to celebrate Tet in Danang

Danang City, located in central Vietnam, is poised to welcome Tet, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year, with more ‘esthetic breath’ let out by a bridge designed in the form of a mythical creature during several upcoming nights, local officials said.

The Dragon Bridge, modeled after one of the symbols of the Ly Dynasty, the dragon, will ‘spout’ more plumes of water and fireballs to thrill locals and tourists on the nights from February 6 to February 10, except February 8, according to the Danang People’s Committee.

As usual, a spectacular fire-breathing show is staged on the six-lane bridge, connecting two districts of the city, Hai Chau and Son Tra, at 9:00 pm on the weekend only.

The Lunar New Year celebration, which is deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture, is due on February 8 and it has myriad ceremonial preparations as well as festive exhibitions customarily ongoing one week before and after that date.

Songstress Mai Khoi to lead Tet concert

Singer Mai Khoi, popular among Vietnamese and expats with her music, a combination of traditional Vietnamese folk, blues, soul and rock, will host a show at Yoko Cafe on February 5 to celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year).

The artist will perform along with bassist Gabriel Kaourus from Cyprus, drummer Eric SmackDab and percussionist Scott Brantley from the US, and keyboard player Triet Ha from Viet Nam.

The event begins at 8pm at 22A Nguyen Thi Dieu Street in District 1. Tickets are VND150,000.

EDM show to feature four int'l DJs

An electronic dance music show titled Transcession – The Revolution will be held at Cargo Event Space on February 26.

The show will feature four international leading trance musicians, including DJs and producers Genix and Mark Sherry, and duo Super8 & Tab. They will join Vietnamese DJs including Hong Anh and Awaken the Beast.

The show will take place from 5.30pm to 11.45pm at 7 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4.

Tickets priced from VND149,000-199,000 can be purchased at www.ticketbox.vn or at Son Cafe in Tan Binh District and Juice Box in District 3. Tickets at the door are VND250,000.

More information can be found at https://facebook.com/events/1121407224537182/.

Tet gift for book enthusiasts

Anbooks Company in collaboration with Tre Publishing House has launched a bilingual book “Di cung anh sang” (Accompany light) as a Tet (Lunar New Year) present for people to give each other.

Designed in the form of lucky money envelope, the book in both Vietnamese and English contains sayings by hundreds of renowned people around the world such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, and Howard Schultz.

Costing VND69,000 (more than US$3) per copy, the book is like a summary of meaningful life philosophies. Th e book is available at bookstores nationwide.

Vietnam’s arts introduced to Indian audiences

An exhibition of six Vietnamese artists’ paintings is taking place in New Delhi, India on January 31.

The event held by the Vietnamese Embassy in India and the India Council for Cultural Relations(ICCR) saw the participation of Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh, ICCR’s leaders, Vietnamese and Indian artists among others.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on January 31 , ICCR’s senior director Padam Talwar asserted the long-traditional relations of the two countries and highlighted how the exhibition will help Indian audiences have more understanding about the Southeast Asian country in general and Vietnam’s arts in particular.

Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh stressed the fruitful relations the two countries have in many fields, including culture, and hoped the event would contribute to bolstering cultural exchange between the two countries.

He also had an interview with DD News Television on the exhibition, where he again stressed the ties between the two nations, including a cultural relationship.

Participating artists included Pham Huy Hung, Nguyen Duc Hung, Nguyen Khac Chinh, Nguyen Xuan Lan, Tao Thi Thu Huong.

The event, the first of its kind will run until February 3.

Earlier, the Vietnamese artists had an exchange with local artists at the Vietnamese Embassy, and a painting display at Kolkata book Fair.

Hue re-enacts Neu pole erecting ceremony at Imperial Citadel

The Cay Neu (Neu pole) erecting ceremony, a traditional activity in the run up to the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, was re-enacted at the Hue Imperial Citadel, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, on February 1.

The 15-metre bamboo pole was carried by ten costumed soldiers in a procession from the Hien Nhon Gate through the Thai Hoa (Supreme Harmony) Palace to arrive at the Ancestral Temple, where it was put up to the backdrop of ceremonial music and smoke from burning incense.

The erection of the Neu pole on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, which is February 1 this year, marks the beginning of Tet. It coincides with the day when the Kitchen Gods are believed to ride carp fish to the Heavens to report on events from the past year.

Similar Neu pole erecting ceremonies will also be held at different places in the Complex of Hue Monuments from now to the last day of the lunar year.

During 143 years of reign (1802 – 1945), the Nguyen Dynasty held an annual ceremony to erect the Neu pole at the Imperial Citadel. The pole had ritual items on its top such as a royal seal, a paper scroll and pen, which imply that the royal court stopped working during Tet.

Under the Nguyen Dynasty, ordinary people would erect a Neu pole after the pole was set up at the Imperial Citadel.

The Neu pole is also believed to ward off ghosts and demons from entering the community during Tet. It would also direct ancestors seeking the path home for the Lunar New Year holiday.

It will be taken down on the seventh day of the first lunar month to mark the end of the Tet celebration.

Vietnam’s arts introduced to Indian audiences

A exhibition of six Vietnamese artists’ paintings is taking place in New Delhi, India on January 31.

The event held by the Vietnamese Embassy in India and the India Council for Cultural Relations(ICCR) saw the participation of Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh, ICCR’s leaders, Vietnamese and Indian artists among others.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on January 31 , ICCR’s senior director Padam Talwar asserted the long-traditional relations of the two countries and highlighted how the exhibition will help Indian audiences have more understanding about the Southeast Asian country in general and Vietnam’s arts in particular.

Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh stressed the fruitful relations the two countries have in many fields, including culture, and hoped the event would contribute to bolstering cultural exchange between the two countries.

He also had an interview with DD News Television on the exhibition, where he again stressed the ties between the two nations, including a cultural relationship.

Participating artists included Pham Huy Hung, Nguyen Duc Hung, Nguyen Khac Chinh, Nguyen Xuan Lan, Tao Thi Thu Huong.

The event, the first of its kind will run until February 3.

Earlier, the Vietnamese artists had an exchange with local artists at the Vietnamese Embassy, and a painting display at Kolkata book Fair.-

Festival to feature ethnic cultural identities

The springtime festival, themed ‘Colours of spring from every corner of the country’, will be held from ?February 10-15 (the third to eighth day of the first lunar month) at the Vietnamese Ethnic Groups Culture-Tourism Village in Hanoi.

The annual event aims to reproduce unique festivals as well as traditional cultural identities celebrating Tet (Lunar New Year) of ethnic minority groups around the country, according to Nhan dan newspaper.

The festival will draw the participation of exemplary heads of villages and hamlets, intellectuals and artisans from various ethnic minorities. On the occasion, the Cham tower complex and Khmer pagodas will open to the public.

During the festival, visitors will have a chance to learn more about cultural characteristics, customs and preparations for Tet of Thai, Muong, Mong, Tay, Giay and Ede groups.

The ethnic minority people and artisans will also perform folk songs, dances and games, including nem con (a game in which boys and girls throw cloth balls), tug-of-war and dances with bamboo pole.

In addition, visitors to the festival can enjoy and learn how to cook delicious dishes and specialties served during Tet as well as make traditional handicrafts of the groups.

The festival offers an opportunity for ethnic minority groups to meet and exchange cultural values and daily life activities. It also contributes to honouring and preserving the traditional culture of Vietnamese ethnic minority groups.

Contemporary dance workshop to be held

Artists, dancers, students and anyone who is interested in creative movements and contemporary dance are invited to join a workshop with choreographer Huy Tran on Monday, February 15.

With the theme Identity, the workshop includes special exercises that help improve bodily and sensory awareness, opening up a conversation with yourself through the language of dance and movement. Attendees will also learn a routine choreographed by Huy Tran with his unique style to enrich their movement ‘vocabulary'.

Born into an artistic family, Huy Tran decided to pursue a professional dance career at a young age. Graduating from the Viet Nam Dance College in 2006, he worked for the Viet Nam National Opera and Ballet (VNOB) and received a scholarship from Cinevox Junior Company in Switzerland.

In 2011, he began performing at the Ballet Hagen Theatre in Germany. He is currently working for the National Mannheim Theatre in Germany.

The workshop will be conducted in both Vietnamese and English languages from 7.30-10.30pm at Kinergie Studio, 101A Nguyen Khuyen Street.

Fee: VND200,000 and VND150,000 for current students of Kinergie Studio. Register by calling 0912081950 or emailing kinergie.studio@gmail.com. 

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