HCMC to let off fireworks at four locations on April 30

Ho Chi Minh City is scheduled to let off fireworks at four locations in the city at 9- 9:15 pm on April 30, marking the 41st anniversary of the Southern Vietnam's liberation and the Reunification Day (April 30, 1975- 2016), announced the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.

Accordingly, a high range firework will be performed at Saigon River Tunnel in district 2, and three low range firework performances will take place at Dam Sen Cultural Park, Cu Chi and Can Gio district.

Council established to develop Chu Dau ceramic tradition

The Chu Dau Ceramics Development Council made its debut on April 27 with a view to preserve and promote the Chu Dau ceramic trademark.

The council’s operations also focus on advertising Vietnam’s history and intangible cultural essence to international friends.

The council, led by former Vice Chairman of Hai Duong provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Que, includes 15 members who are leading experts in archeology, history of culture, fine arts, marketing and tourism. They also share a common passion for pottery.

Chu Dau pottery became well known at the end of the 14th century, and reached its peak during the 15th and 16th centuries before it was lost due to historical events.

Chu Dau pottery has won recognition and appreciation from domestic and international scholars as it not only inherited the quintessence of pottery making during the Ly and Tran dynasties, but also developed into a form of pottery that featured beautiful patterns and bright enamel.

Chu Dau ceramic products are being exhibited at 46 prestigious museums in 42 countries around the world.

Chu Dau ancient pottery village in Thai Tan commune, Nam Sach district, Hai Duong province has also been added to thea tourist map as an interesting destination for visitors.

Photo exhibition on ancient Hue opens in restored citadel corridor

The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre (HMCC) on April 27 opened a photo exhibition on ancient Hue in a corridor within the Hue imperial city, which has been recently restored.

The exhibition features 164 file photos placed in 82 elaborately carved frames, as well as calligrapher Hai Trung’s lacquered calligraphy panels decorated with poems of Emperors Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc, Khai Dinh and Thanh Thai.

There are also 16 pictures which are copies of drawings depicting the Nguyen Dynasty’s Six Ministries, the Can Chanh Palace, the Privy Council, the Tiger Ring, war elephants and wall pictures of the An Dinh Palace.

The exhibition is taking place in a corridor section of the Hue citadel known as Duc Lang 3B, a covered walkway which has recently been renovated after two years of work at a cost of more than VND8 billion (US$360,000).

HMCC Director Phan Thai Hai said the Duc Lang 3B corridor and other structures in the imperial city have been severely damaged by war and the elements since their construction nearly 200 years ago.

Renovations in 1950, 1967, 1972 and 1973 more or less modified some of the original architecture, he added.

Hai said that the rebuilding of the Duc Lang 3B corridor was an important step in connecting the palaces and gradually restoring the structures within the imperial city.

Duc Lang, or wing corridor, is part of a 23-section corridor system of the Hue imperial city with a total length of 903 metres, not including the swastika-shaped corridors at the Thieu Phuong Garden.

Over more than ten years, the conservation centre has restored and refurbished 14 corridor sections with a total length of 760 metres.

Central region to mark Liberation Day with various activities

Various cultural and tourism activities will be held across the central region to mark the 41st anniversary of the liberation of South Vietnam and national reunification (April 30) and the 130th International May Day (May 1).

The highlight event of the series is the ninth Hue Festival 2016, to be held from April 29 to May 4 at Hue imperial city, Thua Thien – Hue province.

Themed “710 years of Thuan Hoa, Phu Xuân, Thua Thien – Hue; Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development”, the festival will bring to the stage artistic performances of Vietnamese and foreign artists across five continents, including France, Russia, the US, Denmark, Poland, China, Japan, Australia and Morocco.

The biennial festival also includes exhibitions and fairs, traditional games and other art activities.

A Sea Tourism Week will be staged at Bien Dong (East Sea) Park in the central coastal city of Da Nang from April 29 to May 5.

Visitors to the programme are free to take part in sporting events, a fishing net weaving competition, a boat race, a kayak race, and underwater tug-of-war.

A dance sport event, a flash mob performance, and a photo exhibition boasting Da Nang’s beauty will also be held during the programme.

A festival featuring revolutionary-themed songs is underway in Hoi An city, Quang Nam province. The local authorities have also made tours to offer incense and flowers to war heros martyrs at the city’s cemetery.

Int’l kite festival to be held at Ecopark

An international kite festival will take off on Saturday at Ecopark, a new urban residential area in Hưng Yên Province, about 13km from Hà Nội’s city centre.

As the biggest-ever kite festival in the North, the four-day event will draw 100 kite artisans across the country as well as teams from foreign countries, including Canada, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

One of the top kite flyers in the world, Lâm Gia Hoắc, a Vietnamese national currently living in Canada, will treat visitors to his fine-crafted kites and skilful demonstration.

Winner of the Vũng Tàu International Kite Festival 2013, Nguyễn Trường Huy will be among the festival’s participants.

In addition to having the chance to witness 100m-long kites flying in the sky, festival-goers will be able to create their own kites under the guidance of kite artisans.

The festival will take place from 8am until 5pm daily from April 30 to May 3.   

Concert to promote VN action movie Truy Sát

A concert to promote the new action movie Truy Sát (Tracer) will take place tonight in Hà Nội, gathering actors and actresses participating in the film.

Tracer is a new project from actress and producer Trương Ngọc Ánh and Vietnamese-Canadian director Cường Ngô. It tapped foreign actors and filmmakers in an effort to make a name for Vietnamese action flicks. The film will show at cinemas with English subtitles.

The film features a female detective and her comrade, who fight hard to bring a gang of drug traffickers to justice. It stars Trương Ngọc Ánh and Vĩnh Thuỵ

The concert will reenact some action scenes on-stage. It will also feature pop stars like Thu Minh, Văn Mai Hương and Đông Nhi.

The film concert will start on 5.30pm at the Hà Nội University of Science and Technology, 1A Lê Thanh Nghị Street, Hà Nội. It’s open for free to filmgoers who bring their ticket stubs.

The similar concert will be held on May 6 in Đà Nẵng. The film crew will grant scholarships to poor students in the locality.

Exhibition on Viet Nam’s first elections displayed in Ha Noi

As many as 200 objects and historic photos are on display at the Hồ Chí Minh Museum in downtown Hà Nội featuring Hồ Chí Minh and Viet Nam’s first National Asembly elections .

The exhibition covers several topics: President Hồ Chí Minh and the first general election in 1946, and National Assembly elections as well as People’s Council members elections at all levels between 1960 and 2016.

On January 6, 1946, Vietnamese citizens above 18 cast the first ballots in history to vote for the first National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam.

The exhibition aims to raise people’s awareness of the upcoming elections for the lawmakers organisations at all levels scheduled to take place on May 22 and the 126th birthday anniversary of the President (May 19).

The exhibition will run at the Hồ Chí Minh Museum, 19 Ngọc Hà Street, Ba Đình District till the end of May.

Opera The Tales of Hoffman to be screened at Hanoi Cinematheque

Hanoi Cinematheque will present a screening tomorrow of the classic production of Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman, an opera often categorised as an “opera fantastique” because it contains elements of the surreal and supernatural.

The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Hoffmann is the protagonist in the opera.

German-born French composer Offenbach did not live to see his opera performed. He died on October 5, 1880, four months before its premiere. However, he had completed the opera’s piano score and orchestrating the prologue and first act.

The opera will be performed in English with subtitles. The screening will start at 7pm.

Make a reservation by phoning Cinematheque between 2 and 9pm at (04) 39362648. Hanoi Cinematheque locates at 22A Hai Bà Trưng Street.

French authors unveil photo book about Huế

The French Cultural Centre in Huế will host a launch event for the photo book Hue –The City of Cyring Stones by Philippe Bouler and Sébastien Laval at  3pm tomorrow.

Alongside the launch, an exhibition showcasing some of the photos from the book will also be open to the public until May 27.

Photographer Laval has held several photo exhibitions in Việt Nam on the country’s 54 ethnic groups. Bouler, the first art director of the Huế Festival and many other art performances in Việt Nam, has visited the former imperial city several times.

Sharing a passion for the streets, landscapes and people of Huế, the duo composed the photo book. Some photos were chosen to be exhibited in the Diên Thọ Palace’s backyard, at the Dai Noi Palace, and at La Résidence Hotel.

The French Cultural Centre is at 1 Lê Hồng Phong Street.

Photo exhibition marks national reunification day

More than 80 photos highlighting Ho Chi Minh City’s dynamic development and integration efforts are being displayed along Nguyen Hue and Dong Khoi streets in HCM City.

As part of activities to celebrate the 41st anniversary of the liberation of South Vietnam that led to national reunification (April 30), the event has attracted a crowd of local and foreign visitors.

Vietnam’s 1975 victory, a glorious moment in the history of the struggle for liberation and independence, people’s steadfast struggle in the south, and contributions from localities nationwide to the victory, are reflected vividly in photos at the exhibition.

It also shines a light on the city’s recent changes and strong development.

A similar event, displaying 70 photos on the city’s efforts to promote industrialisation and modernisation, is also arranged at the city’s labour culture palace.

It focuses on HCM City’s young human resources, who are a core force in researching and applying advanced technologies in production, contributing to promoting the city’s socio-economic development.

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