Central city, town seek to entertain visitors with Tet galas  
 
The folk game, co nguoi, a traditional Vietnamese chess game in which people play the pieces, never fails to attract attention.

Da Nang city’s March 29 Theme Park will host a Vietnamese traditional Tet celebration with many ancient cultural festivities during the lunar New Year holiday.  

Floral displays, folk theater and games will be part of the festival.

Many local legends like the story of fairy and dragon, deified as Vietnamese ancestors; and the scramble between the dragon and kylin for a pearl will be adapted for the stage.  

Tourists will also have chance to attend many folk games and enjoy ethnic costume shows.    

In Quang Nam province’s Hoi An town, one of most popular tourist destinations in the country, the fourth annual competition for lantern makers will light up streets and lanes in the town's old quarter from January 21 to February 6.  

Besides the lantern contest, music and dance shows, fashion shows and martial art demonstrations will be held during the festival.

Other highlights of the Tet feast in Hoi An will be a fireworks display and the night festival of flower garlands and colored lanterns.

Canadian expat publishes 2nd book in Vietnamese  

Joe Ruelle, a Canadian expat well-known in Vietnam with the nick name Dau tay has just published Nguoc chieu vun vut (Zigzagging against traffic), his second book in Vietnamese language, Nguoi Lao Dong (Laborer) newspaper reported.

Ruelle, 33, has studied Vietnamese, hosted a weekly television show, appeared in comedy skits and maintained a newspaper column in Vietnamese, according to the report.

Famous movie director Le Hoang says he is a foreigner who "writes better (in Vietnamese) than Vietnamese."

The latest book is a collection of more than 60 articles he wrote, most of which were published in newspapers and magazines, in the last four years.

Ruelle has edited the book himself.

He told a newspaper that the difference between his second book and first was the same as that between a 12-year-old and six-year-old.

The first was about love stories while the second is about the thoughts of a person of marriageable age who prefers to remain single.

Among the stories in the latter are those on an expat's angst during Lunar New Year, the life of single women, and positive culture shocks -- like when an expat, who is scared of banh chung, the square sticky rice cake, is confronted by a Vietnamese family that wants to share its culture with him by sharing a cake.

He says culture shocks are sometimes a good way to get to know other cultures.

'Vietnamese We' wows Paris  

Paris is currently hosting "Vietnamese We", an exhibition of works by Vietnamese French photographer Bui Huy Trang, the VietnamPlus web site reported.

This exhibition showcases 30 photos taken by Trang during recent trips to different regions in Vietnam. These were selected from 1,700 photos from his book and CD with the same name that has been published in Vietnamese, French and English.

"Vietnamese We" is a visual journey to Vietnam which captures moments in the daily of Vietnamese people.

With the background of Vietnamese folk songs by famous singer Thanh Lam, the exhibition has created a strong impression on the French audience, especially those who have never been to Vietnam.

Bui Huy Trang moved to Paris when he was five years old. He is an engineer loves to dabble in visual culture and has successfully combined images with music and text.

Trang has said that wherever he is he spends a lot of time studying the Vietnamese language, and that he loves to write and create photo essays to introduce Vietnamese culture and art to the world.

Truong Sa Island, main theme of Spring Flower Festival 2012  
The entrance to the Spring Flower Festival 2012, being held at the Tao Dan Park in District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, is decorated like blue waves moving up and down, bringing visitors nearer to the Truong Sa Island.  

The Spring Flower Festival 2012 is themed on the Truong Sa Islands with a replica of its sovereignty landmark made from hundreds of flower baskets. The 6m high landmark carrying the words “The Socialist Republic of Vietnam” and Vietnam’s red national flag with yellow star is surrounded by small fishing-boats.

The ground around the replica is covered with white stones and fossil shells collected from the archipelago, along with an S-shaped map of Vietnam made from 4,000 quartz stones.

Thanks to soldiers who protect the sovereignty of the archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, we have a chance to enjoy the beauty of nature at the colourful Spring Flower Festival in a peaceful and happy environment during Tet, said the organization board of the HCMC Park and Green Tree Company. The company has offered 66 yellow apricot trees as Tet gifts for Truong Sa soldiers.

Truong Sa has come nearer to the mainland with such cultural activities organized throughout the country themed on the islands.

The festival also presents to viewers imitations of Mot Cot Pagoda, Ngo Mon Gate and Nha Rong Harbor representing the North-Central and Southern regions.