Vietnamese contender for Miss World not yet licensed

Although Nguyen Thi Loan has been posted on the website of Miss World 2014 as representing Vietnam in their pageant in London this December, local authorities say they have not licensed her yet.

Loan was 2nd runner-up in the Miss Ethnic Vietnam 2013 and is managed by Elite Vietnam. However, the Vietnamese Department of Performing Arts has said that, to date, they have not yet issued a license to Loan permitting her to take part in Miss World 2014.

A representative from the department said, on September 25 that they had not yet received any proposal for granting the license from Elite Vietnam.

He added that if the document for the license recommendation is legitimate, the department would be willing to grant the license to Loan according to law.

Mrs. Thuy Nga, director of Elite, said that, because she is currently abroad, so she is unable to provide information about the issue. Nga added, however, that Loan would make a great candidate for the pageant because of her knowledge, composure and appearance.

Loan, 25, born in Thai Binh Province, is 1.76 metres tall. She once won the Miss Sea title, and was in the top five of the Miss Vietnam 2010 pageant. She also ranked third in the Miss Ethnic Vietnam beauty contest in 2013.

Her actions to protect the environment and other socially conscious activities have been highly appreciated among her fans.

American photographer presents his first exhibition in city

A photo exhibition called “That Little Distance” by American photographer Jamie Maxtone-Graham opened at Galerie Quynh in Ho Chi Minh City on September 25.

The display is a visual performance on the fragility of the daily experience. Pictures were produced in the derelict setting of a former factory; and enigmatic portraits of individuals with his own presence are subdued in deep shadow. Each photo was taken with an exposure of 15 to 20 seconds.

Jamie Maxtone-Graham has been working for more than 20 years in the field of narrative cinematography, engendering an eclectic body of works ranging from independent films, mainstream feature films, episodic television, and photography.

He first came to Vietnam in 1990 for the documentary movie titled “From Hollywood to Hanoi” and returned to Hanoi for several times before calling Hanoi his home.

In 2007 Maxtone-Graham was awarded a Fulbright Research Fellowship to pursue State of Youth, a photographic project on contemporary youth culture in Vietnam.

He has published numerous photography portfolios in notable publications such as burn Magazine, Trans Asia Photography Review, Culturehall, Invisible Photographer Asia, and Photography & Culture.

His photographs have been featured in exhibitions in Europe and Asia including ASEAN, Le Magasin de Jouets, Arles, France (2013); Media/Art Kitchen, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta (2013); Terra Cognita: Noorderlich Photofestival, Groningen, Netherlands (2012); and The Desiring Garden, Kathmandu Photo Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand (2012).

Jamie Maxtone-Graham lives and works in Hanoi.

Sony World Photography Award 2015 competition

The Sony World Photography Awards 2015 are searching for the next generation of talented young photographers and the competition is open to anyone aged 19 and under.

The competition was first organized in 2007, and since then has received more than 700,000 photographs from 230 countries around the globe.

Deadline to receive entrees is January 5, 2015.

The annual awards gala and ceremony is set for April 23, 2015 in London.

HCM City’s actor wins 2014 Cai Luong Singing Contest

Nguyen Minh Truong from Tran Huu Trang Cai Luong Theater in Ho Chi Minh City won the 2014 Cai Luong Singing Contest called Chuong Vang (Golden Bell) Vong Co which ended at Ho Chi Minh City Television Theater on September 25.

The winner of the Golden Bell Award also took home the Audience Choice Awards.

Nguyen Thi Linh Phuong got the Silver Bell Award and the Press Choice Award. The Bronze Bell Award went to Nguyen Thi Ly of  the Vietnam National Cai Luong Theater in Hanoi.

Launched three months ago, the 2014 Cai Luong Singing Contest is organized by Ho Chi Minh City Television. The jury narrowed down from hundreds of contestants to just three in the final round which took place at the HTV Theater in HCMC on September 25.

Besides discovering young talent, the annual competition also aims at keeping alive the tradition of Cai Luong and fostering a love for folk opera among young people.

Historical revolutionary relics in Hanoi marked

As of September 25, the Hanoi Municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has fulfilled the task of plaque attachment at 15 historical revolutionary relics and the restoration of eight revolutionary relics to mark the 60th anniversary of Hanoi Liberation Day (October 10).

The relics of the 1946-1945 period, including Xuan Tao fort (North Tu Liem district), Tu Tong wharf and Ho Ao Sen park (Tay Ho district), Thach Cau Doi pagoda (Long Bien district) and Co Do temple (Ba Vi district) preserve artifacts related to revolutionary and uprising events.

The eight repaired relics are those at 90 Tho Nhuom, 5D Ham Long, 48 Hang Ngang, the Yen Phu Power Plant, Vien Son temple (Son Tay town), Trung Gia revolutionary relic (Soc Son), Xuan Canh fort (Dong Anh district) and the memorial house of President Ho Chi Minh in Can Kiem commune, Thach That district.

The relics will be managed, protected and maintained for communication and promotion of their historical significance.

On this occasion, the department has asked districts and towns to organise tours to the relics for students, so they can learn about the liberation day and the national patriotic tradition.

Tourism week kicks off in Mu Cang Chai

Mu Cang Chai district’s Culture and Tourism Week was launched on September 25 in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai, attracting a large number of local residents and tourists.

The tourism festival is organised during the rice harvest season between September and October each year, in a bid to honour the stunning beauty of the national heritage of Mu Cang Chai’s terraced fields and the unique cultures of ethnic groups in the district.

It is also expected to increase public awareness of the value of historical preservation and strengthen tourism linkages in Vietnam’s northwestern region.

This year’s festival hosts a series of events, including a mobile cinema and library; tours of the terraced rice fields; fashion shows showcasing traditional costumes; displays of traditional tool-, wine- and instrument-making processes; rice cake pounding; and brocade weaving.

Visitors can also visit a mountainous fair with 14 stalls selling local products and specialties, such as rice cakes and traditional herbal medicine made by the ethnic H’mong people.

The culture and tourism week running until September 30 marks the 57th anniversary of the founding of Mu Cang Chai district (October 18, 1957) and World Tourism Day (September 27).

Mu Cang Chai is one of the most popular destinations in the northwest, for both domestic and international tourists, due primarily to the spectacular beauty of its terraced rice fields, which have been cultivated by the H’mong people for centuries.

The fields are visible from virtually everywhere in the district, covering an area of over 2,200ha. The 500ha of fields surrounding the villages in Che Cu Na, La Pan Tan and De Xu Phinh communes were recognised as national heritage sites in 2007 by the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism.

Hanoi welcomes nearly 1.5 million international tourists in nine months

According to the Hanoi Statistics Office, foreign visitors to the city reached almost 1.5 million during the first nine months of this year.

Holiday-makers visiting the city for pleasure accounted for 80.4 percent, up by 16.4 percent compared to the same period last year, whilst business trips accounted for 16.3 percent, up by 20.4 percent.

Notably, visitors from the Republic of Korea (RoK) topped the list of international visitors to the city, with a year-on-year increase of 47.9 percent. Many other nationalities also recorded substantial increase in numbers, such as the UK, up by 42.3 percent; the US, up by 23.3 percent; Thailand, up by 20.9 percent; and France, up by 36.9 percent.

However in September alone, 136.600 international visitors arrived in the city, down by 2.5 percent compared to August, but up by 4.9 percent compared to last September.

The sector’s turnover this month increased by 0.5 percent compared to the previous month and 10.2 percent compared to the same month last year.

Thue Thien Hue steps up tourism promotion

The People’s Committee of Thua Thien-Hue, together with the International Labor Organisation (ILO), launched a conference on destination management on September 25, in a bid to promote the local tourism industry and attract more holiday-makers to the area.

Participants included representatives from local authorities, travel agencies, hospitality businesses, universities and vocational training centres.

Speaking at the event, ILO expert Randy Durband explained the destination value chain, concepts of responsible tourism and techniques to promote the value of local tourism products.

The delegates also discussed issues specific to rural tourism, such as quality control, safety of tourists, and measures to protect local cultures.

Chairman of Thua Thien-Hue’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Phan Tien Dung, acknowledged the importance of destination management in developing the tourism sector, and said it required close cooperation between State authorities and tourism businesses.

The conference provided the opportunity for local tourism experts to assess the quality of tourism services in the area and develop measures to keep up with tourists’ demands.

The province is accelerating tourism promotion activities, such as inviting famtrip groups from Japan, the Republic of Korea and Thailand to research the province’s tourism potential in particular and Vietnam’s central region in general, and launching roadshows in Ho Chi Minh city and Hanoi.

Thua Thien Hue targets to welcome 2.8-3 million visitors this year.