VietNamNet Bridge – A new photo exhibition honouring the beauty of provinces and cities in the Red River Delta opens in coastal Hai Phong City today.

Prize-winning picture: Lang Uoc Le (Uoc Le Village) by Nguyen Tien Nam features an old woman carrying straw on her shoulders and passing through her old village. The award-winning image is one of the most popular on display at a Hai Phong exhibition honouring the Red River Delta.

The show features 162 outstanding photos chosen from nearly 3,000 works submitted to the contest since it began in March.

The images reflect on the region's culture and civilisation and its landscapes and local lives. The aim is to promote tourism in the area and drum up interest from potential visitors.

The undoubted highlight of the show is the 16 photos that were named the very best of the submissions. Two black-and-white photos titled Lang Uoc Le (Uoc Le Village) and Trua He (A Summer Noon) have particularly won the hearts of the public.

The first was taken by Ha Noi-based Nguyen Tien Nam and centres on an old woman carrying straw on her shoulders and passing through old gates of the village.

With Trua He, HCM City photographer Tran Thi Tuyet Mai shows the peaceful ambience of a summer noon in the typical northern countryside, with playful children biking through green clumps of bamboo.

"We hope that visitors to the exhibition will leave with a deep feeling of the people, culture and the landscapes of the Red River," said Vuong Duy Bien, deputy minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and head of the exhibition's organising committee.

"We highly appreciate the photos on display which have high aesthetic and human value. They show part of the diverse and contemporary life in the region."

In addition to the delta photographs, a connected exhibition will display 153 pictures showing the daily life of naval soldiers guarding the country's territorial waters.

These images were also chosen from submissions to a contest, themed Bien Dao Que Huong (Homeland: Sea and Islands). The work features soldiers garrisoned on islands in Hai Phong City and Quang Ninh Province.

These photos help deepen visitors' understanding and pride about the honourable work of the country's armed forces.

The exhibition runs until September 6 at the Fine Arts and Exhibition Centre located at 1 Nguyen Duc Canh, Le Chan District, Hai Phong City. The 10-day event is part of activities to welcome the National Tourism Year 2013.

Source: VNS