A large ceramic painting featuring images of the historical agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Viet Nam, signed in Paris in 1973, will be hung at the convention hall in the Paris suburb of Choisy le Roi.

Located about 11km south-east of the city, Choisy le Roi is the place where a delegation from the Provisional Revolutionary Government Republic South Viet Nam were based during 1968-1973.

Based on an idea by the governor of the district, the painting will celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the historical event.

Vietnamese female painter Nguyen Thu Thuy, the author of the authoritative book Ceramic Road in Ha Noi, will create artistic ideas for the work.

According to Thuy, the 5m by 4m artwork will consist of images of the Paris Peace Accords, a portrait of President Ho and a famous photo by French photographer Marc Riboud depicting a demonstration against the American War in the US.

The artwork will also include images of typical ceramic products from the Ly-Tran dynasties excavated at the Royal Citadel in Ha Noi.

Other images will be produced by Choisy le Roi's once famous Boulenger workshop.

Using an Italian mosaic technique, the artwork will be created from thousands of ceramic pieces produced at the historic Bat Trang ceramic village in Ha Noi.

Thuy and other Vietnamese artisans will complete the mosaic painting by next year.

* Historic 18th century citadel to be restored in central region

Hoang De Citadel in the central province of Binh Dinh will be restored in a manner that retains its historic and cultural values, the provincial cultural authority has announced.

Located on a 900sq.m site in An Nhon township, the citadel was built by King Thai Duc in the late 18th century on a foundation dating from the Champa Kingdom. Several stone walls and granite-tiled roads remain from the citadel.

The citadel is the only architecture from the Tay Son dynasty remaining that has further potential for archaeological exploration.
A two-month preliminary excavation has been implemented by archaeologists from the Viet Nam Archeology Institute in co-operation with provincial authorities.

VNN/VNS