Holland presents Hanoi with 22,000 tulips

Hoan Kiem Lake and Dinh Tien Hoang Street will be decorated with 22,000 tulips on the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The flowers are a gift from Holland’s Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Gerda Verburg, to celebrate Hanoi’s flower festival from December 20-January 3.
A pair of giant wooden clogs from the Netherlands will also be displayed in the city center during the same event.

Cambodian culture week opens

Songs and dances will be performed by Cambodian artists in Hanoi and Hai Phong as part of “Cambodian Culture Week” from December 23-29.

Cambodia Culture Week, the second of its kind, will include art performances, a photo exhibition and film show in Hanoi to give people a better understanding of the traditional folk art and culture of Cambodians.

About 30 artists from the Cambodia Art Troupe will perform special dances such as the Robaim Tevet royal dance, Suoy traditional pan-pine dance, Tes dance, Kandob Ses dance and Chhaiyaim dance. Cambodian singers will also perform Vietnamese and Cambodian songs in praise of the two countries’ traditional friendship.

Photographers win multiple gold medals

Vietnamese photographer Dao Tien Dat has won seven gold medals at the International Artistic Photo Contest, sponsored by the Federation of International Artistic Photography and the Photographic Society of America (PSA).

The contest received 5,000 entries from 601 photographers of 47 countries and territories.

Meanwhile, Hoang Quoc Tuan is the first Vietnamese to be honored with the prestigious title M.FIAP (Master Photographer) by the FIAP for a collection of photos highlighting environmental issues. He is only the second Southeast Asian photographer to receive the award.

Bronze drums cast for millennial anniversary

The casting of 100 bronze drums to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi commenced in Thanh Hoa on December 22.

Ninety-nine of the 100 bronze drums, which are 60cm in diameter and 48cm in height and decorated with dragon patterns, will be cast in Dong Son, the home of bronze drums in Vietnam.

The remaining drum will be decorated with 1,000 dragons and will be cast in the Hung Temple complex.

The entire 100 bronze drums are expected to be completed on August 15, 2010.

Vinh Phuc hosts Chau Van (trance) festival

The first Chau Van (trance) singing festival in the Red River Delta will be held in March 2010 in Vinh Phuc, announced the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Artists will sing songs in praise of the Party, late President Ho Chi Minh, national heroes and Thang Long-Hanoi.

Singers will come from Red River delta provinces of Ha Nam, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Vinh Phuc, Hai Phong city and also Hanoi.

Chau Van singing is a spiritual genre of music used to invoke spirits during ceremonies. It is highly rhythmic and trance-oriented. It combines trance singing and dancing. Chau Van is a religious art used to extol the merits of beneficent deities or deified national heroes. Its music and poetry are mingled with a variety of rhythms, pauses, tempos, stresses and pitches.

The art of Chau Van singing originated in the Red River delta in the 16th century and spread throughout Vietnam.

Halong City to organize tourism festival

A tourism festival will be held in Halong City from April 29 to May 2, 2010 to promote tourism and voting for Halong Bay as one of the seven new natural wonders of the world.

The Quang Ninh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism says that all activities will be held in the city center and at Bai Chay resort.

Visitors will have a chance to indulge in a vivid and colorful carnival, enjoy delicious food at a gastronomy fiesta and capture various photos of cultural activities such as a lion dance festival and a beauty pageant.

Quang Ninh will host the East Asia Inter-regional Tourism Forum (EATOF) to be held in 2010.

Thailand-Vietnam-Laos Miss Friendship Pageant opens in Thailand

The pageant is being held in Sakol Nakol, Thailand from December 19-27 as part of the “Each Village, Each Product” program aimed at promoting cultural exchanges between Vietnam, Thailand and Laos.

Vietnam’s three contestants in the event are Nguyen Quynh Hoa (Miss Vietnam-China Friendship 2005 and first runner up at the Miss Hanoi Contest), Tran Thi Kim Thanh (Miss Vinh Phuc 2006) and Pham Thi Ngoc Ha (Miss Ao Dai at the Miss Tourism Contest 2008).

PV