Tam Ky, the capital of Quang Nam Province, has won the 2015 Asian Townscape Award from the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

The award seeks to honor significant efforts made by Asian cities and organizations for the improvement, revitalization and creation of a beautiful and harmonious townscape that is safe and sustainable and respects history and local cultures.

Last year the city released a comprehensive plan for until 2030, which aim to develop Tam Ky into a green, environment-friendly and sustainable city. The plan was designed by Japan’s Nikken Sekkei Civil Engineering.

Tam Ky is around 50 kilometers from the popular tourist town of Hoi An.

Vietnam tourism road show in Belarus

Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has held a Vietnam tourism road show in Minsk city in Belarus with the aim of promoting the country’s tourism destinations and services while creating cooperation opportunities for the two tourism agencies.

Addressing the event, Deputy Director General of VNAT Nguyen Quoc Hung noted that the number of Belarusian arrivals to Vietnam has fallen short of expectations, thus, Vietnam is paying heed to its communication efforts. 

He believed beautiful natural landscapes, attractive sea and island tours, rich tourism resources, and friendly locals will attract Belarusian visitors. 

Vietnam has offered visa exemption to Belarusian citizens. Accordingly, tourists from the Eastern European country are allowed to enter and stay in Vietnam for up to 15 days without visas regardless of passport types and purpose of visit. 

The policy is effective for five years from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2020. 

Particularly, two Belarusians won a 3-day trip to Mekong Delta and Ha Long Bay when drawing lots for a bonus at the event.

HCMC’s annual concert to raise funds for the poor

The “Giai dieu tinh thuong” ((Melodies of Compassion) concert, aiming to raise fund for the poor will be held at the Ho Chi Minh City Television Theater on November 14.
This year’s event themed “Joining hands to help poor people” includes an exchange with special guests who are beneficiaries of the event share the challenges they face in daily life to the city's audiences.

Launched in 2001, the annual show has become one of the most popular charity events with the participation of well-known singers and artists. 

It is organized by the Viet Nam Fatherland Front in HCM City in partnership with Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV9).

The concert will be broadcast live on HTV9 channel.

For contributions, contact the Viet Nam Fatherland Front in HCM City, 55 Mac Dinh Chi Street, District 1; account number: 1000000123456789 at the Social Policy Bank of Ho Chi Minh City.

People flock to Ha Giang to watch buckwheat flowers

Hotels in the far northern province of Ha Giang are booked in advance of the Buckwheat Flower Festival which won't start until November. 

Because of the huge demand for accommodation, guest houses, hotels and motels in Dong Van can't host the large number of expected visitors, meaning many people will have to sleep in the markets or Dong Van Stadium.

Tong Thu Hien, vice director of Thang Long GTC Tourism Company, said people have flocked to Ha Giang since mid-October, when the buckwheat flowers started to bloom.

From Friday to Sunday of October 23 to 25, Ha Giang received 12,388 visitors, while numbers shot up in the last three days of last week to just over 7,000. 

In order to prepare for the festival, the provincial tourism association had to add 140 four-person tents and 20 seven-person tents. Authorities in Meo Vac District planted flowers in the shapes of stars, triangles or waves to attract visitors. Entertainment and food areas that provide Dong Van's specialties will also be added.

Various activities will be held as part of the event such as an H’Mong panpipe festival and a tourism fair and a photo exhibition about the Dong Van Karst Plateau, which was recently recognised as a member of the Global Network of National Geoparks for the 2015-2018 period.

The festival will be held from November 12 to 15.

Winners of NA’s song composition contest announced

The National Assembly (NA)’s Office and the Vietnam Musicians Association on November 2 announced winners of a song writing contest about the NA.

The contest is part of activities marking the 70th anniversary of the first general election of Vietnam’s NA (June 1, 1946-2016).

The campaign was held in two phases – Phase 1 in Hanoi from March 21 to June 30, and phase 2 in Ho Chi Minh City from April 3 to September 30 – collecting 99 works from 87 professional and amateur composers across the country in various forms themed democracy, solidarity and unification.

According to the organisers, the songs honour history and the development of the NA over the past 70 years, affirming its important role as the highest representative organ of the people and the highest state power body of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

After the preliminary and final rounds, the organisers awarded the first prize to musician Vu Duc Tao for his song ‘Quoc hoi sang ngoi niem tin’ (The NA radiant with faith), an adapted poem from Pham Van Anh.

Two second prizes, three third prizes and six consolation prizes were also presented to winners at the Monday evening event.

German publishing house releases Vietnamese-German picture dictionary

A Vietnamese-German picture dictionary for children has recently been released by the German Horami Publishing House.

A ceremony was held at Dong Xuan Trade Centre in Berlin on November 1 to introduce the publication to the public.

The dictionary was compiled by the publishing house’s director, Hanh Nguyen-Schwanke, an Overseas Vietnamese in Germany, and was illustrated by Hanoi-based Studio Cloud Pillow.

Entitled ‘Meine kleine Welt’ (My Little World), the 53-page publication features 20 topics in the daily life of a child, including school, family, festivals and the city.

The dictionary also includes interesting exercises to stir-up children’s curiosity and inspire them to learn Vietnamese.

Speaking at the ceremony, Hanh Nguyen-Schwanke said that the publication was released with a hope to help children learn more about the life and country of Vietnam, thus making a comparison in similarities and differences between life in Vietnam and Germany.

Director of Dong Xuan Trade Centre, Nguyen Van Hien, highly appreciated the publication of the bilingual dictionary, praising it as a whole-hearted project of a young author and her partners which significantly contributes to preserving Vietnamese cultural identity in Germany.

Established in June 1, 2014, the Horami Publishing House has so far released two Vietnamese-German picture books for children aged between 2 and 3.

Music night connects overseas Vietnamese with homeland

A music night, themed ‘Your Winter’, was organised free-of-charge for the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic at Sapa shopping centre in Prague on October 30.

The music night drew the participation of ten artists from Vietnam, all of who are professional dancers, singers, bandsman and comedians.

Besides offering singing, dancing and laughter originating from and inspired by the homeland, the artists also presented 500 educational books on Vietnam’s culture and national history to Czech-Vietnamese children.

The books, donated by Vietnamese publishing houses, aim to help the young expats learn about the traditional values, language and culture of their homeland.

Similar programmes will be held for overseas Vietnamese in Denmark, Germany, France and Italy.

The event is considered as a bridge connecting overseas Vietnamese with their homeland.

Japan, Vietnam cultural festival kicks off in Can Tho

On November 3, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in Can Tho held a press conference to announce it will sponsor a Japan-Vietnam cultural festival on November 19-21 in Can Tho.

The VCCI said approximately 100 Japanese exhibitors have registered to participate and the event it is expected to draw 50,000 festival goers.

In addition, the festival will provide a variety of practical activities that are diverse in both content and format in order to show and strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations.

Psy show in Vietnam indefinitely postponed because of poor ticket sales

The organizers of a show featuring K-pop sensation Psy in Vietnam have suddenly announced an indefinite postponement as the number of tickets sold “did not reach expectation.”

In the announcement released on November 1, the organizers of the Super X Festival committed to reimburse those who had already bought tickets.

“We understand that one of the factors determining a show’s success is the care and support from audiences,” the announcement said. “After considering your responses, we have decided to postpone the Super X Festival.”

“We understand your expectation and will come back with a better and more complete show,” it added.

In mid-October, the Super X Festival made headlines in local media as the organizers promised to bring Psy together with other K-pop names like GOT7, Big Bang, Awesome Baby, and others to Vietnam.

The show, which was expected to be held in Hanoi on November 20 and Ho Chi Minh City one day later, was also scheduled to include performances by Vietnamese singers Son Tung M-TP, Noo Phuoc Thinh, Min St. 319, and Dong Nhi.

Tickets were priced from VND550,000 (US$24.62) to VND3,990,000 ($178.63)

Recent years have seen a number of shows featuring K-pop stars like JYJ, T-ara, and Lee Min-ho canceled because of poor ticket sales.

Salt farmers' plight portrayed on TV

A young female salt farmer is the focus of a 38-episode TV series Man Hon Muoi (The Bitterness of Life) being shown on HCM City Television.

Directed by Nham Minh Hien of M&T Pictures, the series portrays the lives of salt farmers living in Phan Rang of Ninh Thuan Province.

Thuy faces several problems related to farming work and her family.

Because the price of salt fell over the years, the family was forced out of business.

In the series, Thuy decides to help her villagers produce and sell salt at better prices. Her challenges are difficult, but she continues.

"Nobody can live without salt, but salt farmers remain among the country's poorest people," said the film's director Hien.

He said that he decided to make a film on salt farmers after seeing a documentary about their lives 10 years ago.

"We want to attract a large audience, despite the domination of films about urban youth and love on local television," Hien said.

Before making Man Hon Muoi, Hien asked his actors to visit salt farming villages in the central coastal provinces of Ninh Thuan and Phu Yen.

"I wanted it to accurately reflect the true lives of farmers. I wanted Thuy's life to be a realistic story," he said.

Hien's film features burning issues on salt farming and farm owners, who took on massive debt to pay for both workers and equipment in a gamble that prices would rise.

Some of them converted their salt fields into fish and shrimp farming ponds to cover their living expenses and debts.

The series shows why the salt industry failed to meet the expectations of the domestic market.

Actress Ngoc Lan, who played Thuy, said: "I met salt farmers and I understand the hardships they face."

For three weeks of shooting, Lan, who has worked as an actress for 10 years, spent many hours a day working in salt marshes, with her back and face exposed to the sun.

"I lost some of my beauty, but I improved my living skills," said Lan, who also lost weight to look more like a salt worker.

"I understand why and how farmers love making salt, a traditional craft that has continued for more than 300 years, despite the hard work. I hope my fans will learn about this from my role," she said.

The Man Hon Muoi series is broadcast at 8pm every night from Monday to Thursday on HCM City Television's channel 7. 

Thousands of Nghe An artefacts at risk

Tens of thousands of antiques and items of great cultural and historical value at Nghe An Museum are at risk of damage due to the lack of appropriate preservation efforts.

The Nghe An Museum in this central province holds more than 25,000 antiques, including many rare, valuable items such as bronze drums, knives and production tools which were excavated at the Vac Village archaeological site in the province.

Many antiques excavated at the Vac Village site date back to the Dong Son culture (700-100 BC). They are made of various materials, including iron, ceramic, stone, glass and wood, but most are made of bronze.

Most of these antiques are being stored in the museum's warehouse instead of being displayed or preserved appropriately.

Head of the museum's research, inventory and preservation office Nguyen Thi Mai told Dan Tri online newspaper that these antiques could suffer some damage in the near future.

Under current standards, these antiques should be preserved in a glass sideboard and kept in rooms equipped with air conditioners and dehumidifiers. However, the museum did not have enough of this basic equipment, and the existing equipment was damaged or outdated, she said.

Many bronze drums dating back 2,500 years had been left on a wooden shelf in a tiny room with just one dehumidifier, she said.

These bronze drums had oxidised due to the lack of preservation equipment and were partially damaged during excavation. Further damage would reduce their value even more, she added.

Many other antiques dating back to the Dong Son culture also faced the same fate, she said, adding that utensils such as bronze ladles and weapons were being stored in drawers, while tens of antiques from the old embroidery and textile handicrafts of Nghe An were piled up in a corner of the museum.

She stressed that unfavourable weather conditions together with inadequate preservation efforts had put these antiques at high risk of damage.

Meanwhile, a project to build a new facility at the museum, worth VND44.2 billion (US$1.97 million), to display and preserve these antiques was approved by the provincial People's Committee five years ago, but it has not yet been finished, acting director of the museum Nguyen Duc Kiem said.

The project was delayed by a lack of funds, he said, adding that meanwhile valuable antiques placed in storehouses had already started to show signs of degradation.

The provincial cultural, sports and tourism sector has also not yet found a feasible solution to this problem.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Thi Quynh Anh told Nghe An Television that the department would urge the provincial authorities to create a master plan to mobilise capital from different sources that could be used to help protect antiques at the museum and fulfill the goal of turning the museum into one of the province's most popular tourist destinations.

Audio guides tourists at Hoi An's Ceramic Museum

The Ceramic Museum in downtown Hoi An in central province of Quang Nam has just applied an audio guide equipment for the benefit of tourists.

The museum on 80 Tran Phu Street, which hosts more than 260 original ceramic and porcelain objects dating back to the 9th-19th century, offers portable audio guides in Vietnamese, English and the Japanese languages.

At the museum, tourists can explore the traditional ceramic-making process of Thanh Ha Village, a 500-year-old local handicraft village, taste local sticky rice cake and green tea. 

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri