A selection of noteworthy artistic and cultural events that will take place in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City this week.

 The HCMC Ballet, Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will stage a concert on March 9 conducted by its music director Tran Vuong Thach.

 Hotels and resorts in Vietnam are offering a host of promotions on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

A concert was held to welcome the Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong-un to Hanoi on March 1.

Celebrities worldwide have left their fans impressed with several sensational styles of outfits made by Vietnamese designer Cong Tri.

 The Vietnam Culture Festival is to take place from March 6 to 10 at Thang Long Imperial Citadel in Hanoi.

The sixth ao dai festival kicked off on March 2 at the Nguyen Hue pedestrian street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

 A photo by Luong Thanh Hai of Vietnam’s meteorological and hydrological agency has won the first prize at a photo competition of the Typhoon Committee (TC).

 More than 3,000 people wearing ao dai (traditional long dress) joined in a mass performance in Nguyen Hue pedestrian street on March 3, part of the ongoing sixth Ao Dai Festival in Ho Chi Minh City.

 Well-known K-pop band Super Junior and singer Chungha will amaze audience in Ho Chi Minh City with their wonderful performances at V-Heartbeat concert, set to take place at Hoa Binh Theater on March 29.

The gong, a musical instrument native to the Central Highlands, is particularly popular in the five provinces of Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong.

 Sin Suối Hồ Market in Lai Châu is 35km from Lai Châu City. The market takes place once a week on Saturday, where locals not only exchange goods, meet one another, but also relax, and have fun. 

 Overseas Vietnamese singers have returned to perform in their homeland after Tết (Lunar New Year), mostly in live shows on large stages in HCM City and Hà Nội.

 Sàn Art, a non-profit fine arts organisation in HCM City, has launched a residency camp for visual artists living in Việt Nam and other Southeast Asian countries. 

 A workshop centering on social media’s impacts on “fashion judgment,” hosted by media studies professor Minh-Ha T. Pham, will take place at the Factory Contemporary Arts Centre in District 2 of HCMC on March 9.

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 Heritage Space Library in Hanoi will hold a talk themed “Finding the Souls of Cities” on March 2, featuring associate professor Pham Thuy Loan as guest speaker and Dr. Dang Hoang Giang as host.

 A press conference was held by the HCMC Ballet, Symphony Orchestra and Ballet (HBSO) on February 26 to introduce the artistic program for the year 2019.

 Nguyen Thanh Tam, a retired teacher in HCMC, has created miniatures of U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un from eggshells.

Do Nhat Ha, winner of Tiffany Vietnam 2018, has revealed some images of the national costume she will wear for the ongoing Miss International Queen 2019, a transgender beauty pageant, taking place in Thailand.