With just three days left until the new lunar new year begins, people are either busy with preparations for Tết or already packing up and ready to return home.

 HCM City collected fees of more than VNĐ16.49 trillion (over US$712.5 million) last year for changing land-use purposes, according to the city Registration Office for Land Use Rights.

 Every year ahead of Tết (Lunar New Year), Mỹ Tân Commune in Nam Định Province is filled with splendid flowers.

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong extended Tt greetings to leaders of the Party, State, Vas well as all Vietnamese people in and outside the country at a meeting in Hanoi yesterday.

 Six more century-old trees in the northern port city of Hai Phong and the central province of Thanh Hoa have been recognised as heritage trees by the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment.

 The Vietnam National University – Hanoi (VNU) remains the top in Vietnam with the 1090th place globally, up 216 steps from the ranking announced in August 2018. 

 Ancestor worship, an ancient Vietnamese tradition, is a ritual practice paying tribute to deceased family members and reminding people of their roots.

 At Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, each ethnic group in Vietnam has its own culinary specialties that reflect the culture of their people and are used as offerings to worship their ancestors.

 The Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) said with a young population, great potential and increasing trade growth, Vietnam is offering big opportunities for Japanese firms to expand their market.

 The Ha Long - Van Don expressway was put into operation on February 1, shortening the travel time from the capital city of Hanoi to Van Don to 2.5 hours from four.

Vietnamese e-commerce floors have been bustle with many items serving buyers and sellers as the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday is coming. 

 Vietnam allocates 20 percent of State budget spending or 5.8 percent of national gross domestic product (GDP) each year for education, according to Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha. 

 The book street festival and the Nguyen Hue flower street celebrating the 2019 traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) holidays opened in Ho Chi Minh City on February 2.  

Vietnamese pho has been named the world’s 20th best food experience by world travel guide book publisher the Lonely Planet.

Despite challenges arising, the real estate market in Vietnam ended 2018 in a good place, and expects to remain stable this year.

Dai Hoang or Vu Dai Village in Ha Nam Province has been busy again in order to prepare their special braised fish during Tet.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Spain Ngo Tien Dung on January 30 chaired the first regular meeting of the ASEAN Committee in Madrid (ACM) in 2019.

Russian experts have said 2018 was a fruitful year for the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia. 

Xoan-singing clubs in the ancestral land of Phu Tho have become busier welcoming both domestic and foreign tourists after the folk genre of music was added to the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in late 2017.

Traditional martial arts have been developing for centuries in Vietnam, with hundreds of styles nationwide, including Nam Hong Son, Tay Son Binh Dinh and Vovinam.