Da Nang to offer free wi-fi services

Visitors to the central coastal city of Da Nang will get free wi-fi access from June 2013 under a $1 million IT project funded by the World Bank.

Some 150 wi-fi stations will be installed across the city to help residents and tourists get access to high-speed internet connections.

Da Nang follows in the footsteps of its neighbouring province of Quang Nam which began offering free wi-fi service in Hoi An town last March.

New flights launched to Chengdu

Viet Nam Airlines launched a new service on Wednesday linking Ha Noi with Chengdu, the capital of China's Sichuan Province.
The carrier flies thrice weekly, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, using Fokker 70 aircraft. The two-hour flight departs from Ha Noi at 12.10 and from Chengdu at 16.15 (local time).

It is the carrier's sixth direct flight between Viet Nam and China and takes the number of direct flights operated by Viet Nam Airlines per week to 36.

Trinh Hong Quang, deputy general director of Viet Nam Airlines, said the Ha Noi – Chengdu service would offer more opportunities for economic, cultural, educational, and tourism co-operation and exchanges between Viet Nam and China's south-western region.

Night markets a hit in HCM City

Night markets, which attract visitors with their abundance of goods and remarkably low prices, have become popular in HCM City.
Minh Phung night market in District 6, which opens from 2pm to midnight, sells all kinds of accessories for women – hairpins, jewellery, handbags, cloth, clothes, and others.

With more than 250 stalls, Ky Hoa night market on Cao Thang Street, District 10, is the city's largest night market. It has stalls selling clothes, cosmetics, jewellery, handicrafts, food, and, especially, sale-off products, attracting large numbers of students and young people.

The 100-year-old Ben Thanh market is a prime destination for tourists because it is a veritable symbol of HCM City. The unwritten principle for shopping here is to ask at half the price the seller wants.

Tourists set for cultural activities

The organisers of the National Tourism Year 2012 have announced the list of cultural activities to take place from June to August 2012 in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

They include the 13th ASEAN International Open Chess Tournament (from June 10 to 19); the Central Coastal Food Festival 2012 (June 28-July 1); Lang Co Festival (June 16-17 in Phu Loc District); the 39th National Long-Course Swimming Competition (June 18-30 in Hue); the National Drama Stage Festival (July 14-28 in Hue); the U17 National Football Champion 2012 (July 11-20 in Hue); and the Traditional Martial Arts Competition (August 23-September 1 in Hue).

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News