Huong Tram enters international beauty pageant

Miss Jewelry 2013 Lo Thi Huong Tram will represent Vietnam at the 2013 Miss International Beauty Pageant in Tokyo from December 6–17.

Huong Tram will compete against contestants from 72 of the world’s countries and territories. The pageant incorporates training courses and tours through a number of beautiful Japanese landscapes.

Huong Tram graduated from Hanoi’s University of Trade. She is 171cm tall with body measurements listed as 86-63-91.

The winner of Miss International Beauty Pageant 2013 will also be honoured with the “Ambassador of Peace and Beauty” title.

Indonesian culture shines in Hanoi

The Hanoi Union of Friendship Organisations and Indonesia’s Embassy in Vietnam jointly hosted the Vietnam-Indonesia Cultural Night on December 6.

The event celebrated both nations’ cultural identities and traditional values through diverse music and dance performances by Vietnamese and Indonesian artists.

Generations of Vietnamese and Indonesians have nurtured and worked to advance their two countries’ time-honoured relationship. The past 10 years of diplomatic success culminated in the official declaration of the Vietnam-Indonesia strategic partnership in June 2013.

The Cultural Night was organised to consolidate this friendship, deepen mutual understanding, and strengthen the solidarity uniting the Vietnamese and Indonesian peoples.

Painting exhibition to celebrate spring

Hanoi will host a lacquer painting exhibition from January 3–20, focused on works inspired by spring—widely considered the most beautiful season in the capital city.

The exhibition will showcase nearly 30 artworks created by famous local painters Nguyen Trong Tai and Dang Van Quynh.

Graduates from Hanoi Fine Arts University and Hanoi Industrial Arts College, the duo’s work has been displayed at many prestigious exhibitions in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, France, Australia, the US, and the UK.

Dang Van Quynh uses lacquer to capture his intensely personal perspective on Hanoi’s Old Quarter streets and their often chaotic mix of the past and present.

Nguyen Trong Tai devotes his artistic vision to women. “My current experiments are ballet and ballerinas,” Tai said. ”I’ve discovered that behind such ostensibly prescribed looks, moves, or postures lies a whole world of nuanced emotion, sometimes lively and innocent, sometimes pensive and intense.”

“Vietnam Year in Italy” closed

“Vietnam Year in Italy” has been wrapped up with an exhibition of Ao Dai (traditional long dress) by designer Huong Lan at Rome Museum.

Nearly 100 events were held from January to December in many big cities to strengthen relations between the two peoples.

Speaking at the closing ceremony on December 5, Marina Sereni, Vice President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, expressed her belief that Vietnam will be a potential market for Italian businesses.

For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Nguyen Hoang Long thanked Italian leaders and agencies for their strong support during the year. He noted that Italy was one of the first European countries which established diplomatic ties with Vietnam right after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords.

2013 marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties, providing a good chance for the two countries to review their relations and look forward to new prospects for cooperation.

Vietnam Year in Italy aims to introduce Italian and international friends to the country’s special cultural features and honour Italian friends who have stood side by side with the Vietnamese people over the years, Long said.

Cultural weeks, exhibitions on Vietnam’s cultural space, arrangement arts, traditional music performances, fashion shows, investment and economic cooperation forums and talks on bilateral ties have helped the Italian people gain a better understanding of Vietnam.

HCM City food fest promotes foreign dishes

Sixty restaurants and hotels are showcasing dishes from more than 20 countries at 120 stands of a food festival, which opened in HCM City on December 5.

Visitors to the four-day event have the chance to sample specialities and watch traditional costume shows and folk games.

Typical wines of various countries and the art of mixing drinks for bartenders are also introduced at the event.

Five-star hotel chefs will show off their skills in a cooking contest to introduce visitors to distinctive dishes of regions and countries.

The festival is taking place at the September 23 Park by the Municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the HCM City Tourism Association.  

Live Vietnamese rock concert to take centre stage in Hue

RockStorm, a live rock performance that began touring the country in November, will perform a live show tonight in Hue.

Six Vietnamese rock bands, Oringchains, Titanium, PAK Band, Black Infinity, Ngu Cung and Microwave will perform at Tu Do Stadium.

Organisers of RockStorm 2013 yesterday held a meet and greet for fans.

Hue is the second stop of the tour, after Hai Phong. The tour, which will run until January next year, will also travel to Da Nang, Dong Nai, HCM City, Can Tho and Ha Noi.

The event is funded and organised by mobile phone carrier Mobifone, with revenue from ticket sales to fund cleft palate operations around the country.

International artists ink up for HCM City tattoo convention

Thirty-two tattoo stores from Viet Nam and other countries are taking part in the Vietnam Tattoo Convention 2013, which opens in HCM City today.

Local and foreign artists from Thailand, China, Germany and the US will present the latest tattoos at the three-day event.

Organisers say the tattoo convention creates an opportunity for local and foreign artists to share and learn from each other's experiences and to promote the art in Viet Nam.

The event, free to the public, is being held at the HCM City Labour Cultural House, 55B Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, District 1.

Deputy Minister Ho Anh Tuan attends Conference on getting tourism business’s opinions

On December 04, in Hanoi, Deputy Minister Ho Anh Tuan attended the Conference on getting tourism business’s opinions in 2013.

At the conference, Ho Anh Tuan r eports brief on the activities of the tourism industry in 2013 as well as the results achieved in recent time. In 2012, Vietnam picks up 6.8 million international tourists; 32.5 million domestic tourists with a total for VND 160.000 billion.

In the first 11 months of 2013, the international tourist reached 6.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 10.2%. Estimated in 2013, Vietnam will gets target of 7.4 million international tourist and 35 domestic tourists with a total for VND 195.000 billion.

After 4 consecutive years, the international tourists to Vietnam increased double. With a statistic, a target of Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy up to 2015 hopes to reach a target more than expected.

Voice of HCMC announces Lan Song Xanh Music Awards

On morning of December 5, Voice of Ho Chi Minh City held a press conference to announce the 16th Lan Song Xanh (Green Wave) Music Awards at Lan Anh Music Stage on December 16.

The Awards will be broadcast on FM 99.9 Mhz Channel of Voice of Ho Chi Minh City, on Television Channels in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as on Youtube.com at 8pm on December 16.

This year, the organizers said that results of each music category will be based on 50 percent audience votes. The rest will be based on results from Phuong Nam Film Company, nhaccuatui.com music website, Vinaphone, Youtube and iTunes.

This year, the organizers will not award the ‘Singer of the Year’ award because no singer won in the selections.

The annual Lan Song Xanh (Green Wave) Music Awards are being organized to honor singers and musicians who have made outstanding contributions to Vietnamese music during the year.

The Awards were first launched in 1997 by Voice of Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnamese – Chinese Film Week to open in China

(Cinet)- Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has issued Decision No. 4255/QĐ-BVHTTDL on organization of Vietnamese – Chinese Film Week.

Accordingly, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST) allowed Cinema Department in coordination with Pingxiang city, China to organize “Vietnamese – Chinese Film Week ” in Pingxiang City, Guangxi Province, China, from December 11-13, 2013 .

The films to be shown in “Vietnamese – Chinese Film Week ” including: Choi voi, Mui co chay, Cat nong (Vietnamese film) and Mat tich o Thai Lan, Muoi hai con giap, Duong son dai dia chan (Chinese film).

Ethnic groups to showcase culture

Ethnic groups across the country will gather for a spring festival from today to Friday to highlight their cultural identities.

Through performances and other activities, representatives from 16 ethnic groups would help revive traditional rituals and folk games to promote understanding about ethnic cultures, said the festival organisers from the Cultural Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups.

Tourists will have the opportunity to watch ethnic people prepare their traditional dishes in the culinary section of the festival, which is on opening day from 9am.

Pa Then and Mong representatives from the northern mountainous Ha Giang Province will present their traditional festivals, the fire dance and Gau Tao tomorrow.

“The Gau Tao festival is the most typical festival of Mong people. It is held after the second day of the new year,” said Ho Viet Son, director of the provincial cultural centre.

“We will bring the Gau Tao festival to tourists to enjoy on spring days. There will also be pan-pipe dancing and folklore songs performed.”

The Pa Then people often organise the fire dance festival which is often held when the traditional Tet holiday is over.

The fire dance festival has rituals, such as when the shaman ends the sacrificial part and conjures up a dead person’s soul to access a boy’s body. At this point 12 boys begin dancing on hot coals.

“To Pa Then people, the fire dance involves the whole community, thus everyone has fun on this occasion,” Son said.

From the Central Highland province of Dak Lak, Gia Lai, E De and Mo Nong artisans will demonstrate brocade weaving and rattan products.

They will also perform wind instruments and folklore songs. Plus, a ceremony praying for good health will be revived.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, head of Dam Sam College, said: “We will introduce Central Highlands traditional dishes, like nhip leaf; rattan browse and lo o tree-tube rice.”

On Wednesday, the neu tree will be taken down in a ceremony expected to welcome the participation of State leaders.

Nguyen Duc Thang, an official from the Cultural Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups, said the new year’s tree was set up as a symbol for safety on the 23rd day of lunar December and taken down on the 7th of lunar January.

“The tree is considered a bridge for the gods and forefathers’ spirits to travel between Heaven and Earth. Tet will end after the neu is taken down and people will be ready to go back to work,” Thang said.

Folklore games and sports activities will be held during the four-day festival. In a common house, each ethnic groups will decorate their traditional houses and welcome tourists with Tet customs by singing and dancing.

The spring festival will mark the opening of the 2013 programme at the Cultural Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups.

The ethnic groups involved in the festival include Tay, Pa Then, La Ha, Mong, Lo Lo, Co Lao, Nung, E De and Gia Lai from the northern mountainous provinces of Ha Giang, Son La, Hoa Binh, Bac Giang and Lang Son; the central province of Thanh Hoa; the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dak Lak; and the central province of Ninh Thuan.

Actor refuses role in famous year-end satire show

Meritorious Artist Chi Trung has refused the Transport God role in the annual Tao Quan (the Kitchen Gods), one of Vietnam’s most highly anticipated satire shows because the transport situation is improving, making him afraid that his role would be boring.

The withdrawal of Chi Trung, a well-known Vietnamese comedian, has surprised many fans.

Tao Giao Thong, or the Transport God, is one of the biggest roles in the show and shows a bitterly satirical side to the problems of traffic jams, accidents and bribery.

Trung said he regretted to leave the role, which he played for six years.

“Audiences like the character, which has become something of an icon. But I've decided, out of self-respect, to stop playing the character,” Trung said.

He explained that some years ago, the traffic situation in Vietnam was much worse, and that he had many things to say the role in a satirical way. However, this year, the situation is much better.

Chi Trung and some other actors in last year's Kitchen Gods

“My role of being the Transport God would be boring with nothing special to say about the local traffic situation this year, which would also affect the success of the production,” the artist added.

Trung said that he intended to quit last year as he watched his role become less attractive compared to other "god" roles.

“I don't want to give up a role that has gained so many fans, but I also do not want to act in a role which is boring. On the other hand, being a Vietnamese citizen, I'm happy to see the country’s traffic improvements,” Trung said.

Despite refusing the role of Transport God, Chi Trung is still willing to play another role in the Kitchen Gods if he is gets an offer.

The annual Kitchen Gods show is a much-awaited programme by Vietnamese audiences during Tet. The show includes different Gods such as Health God, Transport God, Culture God and Economics God along with some other characters like Jade Emperor. The characters focus on social issues.

Source: VOV/VNS/VNA/Nhandan/VGP/Dantri