Denmark-Vietnam Cultural Exchange Fund debuts

The Denmark-Vietnam Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF) for the 2011-2015 period made its debut in Hanoi on February 25.

Danish Ambassador John Nielsen said cultural development assistance is an important part in Danish development assistance to Vietnam. He said he hopes to further promote and enhance the two countries’ cooperative ties and the fund will encourage new and creative projects of Vietnamese artists and cooperation projects between the two countries’ artists.
The diplomat also revealed a plan to organise cultural events to mark the 40th anniversary of Vietnamese-Danish diplomatic ties this year.
The US$1.2 million fund will provide support to Vietnamese artists’ contemporary arts projects, consolidate cooperation between Danish and Vietnamese artists and promote mutual understanding between the two peoples.
Ambassador Nielsen is the President of the fund’s new management board.

VNA/VOVNews

Hai Duong, Suwon cooperate in culture, tourism

Vietnam’s northern province of Hai Duong and Suwon City from the Republic of Korea (RoK) will cooperate in developing culture, sports and tourism under a memorandum of understanding signed on February 24 in the Hai Duong Province.

Signatories were representatives from the Hai Duong provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Suwon municipal Department of Culture and Welfare.

At the ceremony, the two sides agreed to step up the training of cultural, sports and tourism management staff, send athletes to Suwon City for further training as well as invite coaches from Suwon to the province to help improve athletes’ skills.

In the field of culture, the two sides will exchange traditional art troupes as well as promote mutual images and tourism products, contributing to strengthening bilateral cooperative ties.

(Source: VNA)

Photograph exhibition on cultural life opens

A photograph exhibition, entitled “All people unite to build a cultural lifestyle” opened at the Exhibition House, 45 Trang Tien, Hanoi, on February 20.

Among 3,000 entries sent to the contest by 600 artists, 8 photographs and 3 collections were awarded by the jury at the opening ceremony.

The first prize went to Trinh Te Ha’s “Telling the story” and the second prize to Vu Thi Huong’s “Ca Kheo performance”. Three third prizes and 3 consolation prizes were presented to other photographers.

Nguyen Thi Huyen (Hanoi) won the first prize for her collection, entitled “Cu Da Mien Village”, Vo Thi Huynh Chau (Tien Giang) got second prize for “Boi singing”, and Hoang Ngoc Thach (Hanoi) third prize for his “Buffalo thrusting festival”.

150 other photos were also chosen for the exhibition which will last until February 26.

Hue Palace gets royal restoration treatment

German restorers are using traditional Vietnamese methods to restore the facade of the Imperial Palace in Hue. Restoration work is currently being carried out on Buu Thanh Gate and screens around King Tu Duc's tomb.

The Germany foreign ministry has commissioned experts from the German Conservation, Restoration and Education Project (GCREP) to renovate six murals dating from the Nguyen Dynasty in the lobby of An Dinh Palace.

The artwork is magnificent, but heavily damaged. Before attempting to restore the murals, team leader Andreas Teufel sent samples back to Germany for chemical analysis.

The team is using traditional mortar made from molasses, lime and sand to restore the works. Teufel said the restored parts of the palace will be indistinguishable from the original work.

"Previous restorers tried to preserve the original works but they didn't know how to do it properly and didn't have access to modern technology," she said.

"That was why relics at the site have largely been left unrestored. The work they did was far from perfect and bore little resemblance to the original. People in the past used different painting techniques. The Vietnamese restorers used modern pigments and techniques," she said. "I discovered that the original painting technique was similar to that used in Italy."

The German restorers have used traditional pigments, which are applied to the wet mortar. The colour will be fixed when the mortar dries. Bacteria will grow on the walls during the drying process, which helps to make the artwork more durable.

The restoration work is in keeping with UNESCO's 1964 Charter.

According to Phan Thanh Hai, Vice Director of the Centre for Restoration of Hue Relics, the techniques used to restore the palace will be applied to other sites.

(Source: VNA)

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VN-TOURS DOT COM is a travel portal belongs to Viet Vision Travel Team, one of the leading travel agencies and tour operators in Vietnam. We have also expended our destination coverage to our neighboring countries: Laos and Cambodia. We offer tour packages, customized trips covering regional flights, transfers, hotel bookings and car rentals. We provide much more than a regular tours of Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia's' cities, villages, landscapes and cultural treasures - our goal is to give you a truly memorable Travel  experience from the moment that you send us an email or communicate with us in any way.

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The heart of resistance

Tan Trao is a historical site in the midland province of Tuyen Quang in the North that was the heart of resistance forces during the French war and against the Japanese.

The stilt house where General Vo Nguyen Giap stayed for three months from May to August 1945 to conduct the attack on Hanoi

Tan Trao is in the Northwest of the province about 200 km from Hanoi. It is a small valley where military leaders under Uncle Ho commanded operations in 1945. Modern Vietnam’s first provincial government was born there.

One of the sites of military history significance is the Tan Trao Tree, where General Vo Nguyen Giap ordered the first attack to free the capital Hanoi from the French colonists in 1945. The famous tree was almost knocked down by a storm a year ago and is still recovering.  Na Lua bamboo house was home to Uncle Ho, and Hong Thai and Tan Trao communal houses were where other key members of the resistance force worked on their battle plans. The small village of Tan Trao is bound by beautiful lakes and a forest of “nua” – a kind of small bamboo.  

A tourist takes photos of the lake on the way to the bamboo house of Uncle Ho

The native people live in stilt houses that are typical of midland villages. They cultivate the land and raise cattle. During the war, they helped hide the guerrilla fighters from the enemy. Tour guides are available at the information center, near the Tan Trao tree, but it’s even better to sit down with an old local and listen to his stories about the resistance. 

Two days are enough to have a good look around. Rooms are available in Tuyen Quang city for about US$15-20 per night.

(Source: SGT)

Northern provinces map out tourism events

The Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Yen Bai, Lao Cai and Phu Tho provinces on February 15 announced new tourism programs for 2011.

Tours included relics along the Red River from Thuong Temple-Bao Ha Temple in Lao Cai, Dong Cuong Temple in Yen Bai and Au Co Temple in Phu Tho.

The terraced rice fields of Lao Cai and Yen Bai also featured along with various traditional festivals.

Major events included the opening ceremony for “Back to the Root 2011” from February 26 to 28 in Nghia Lo Commune, Yen Bai Province, Thuong Temple Festival from February 16 to 18 in Lao Cai City, Sapa Cloud Festival from April 30 to May 4 in Sapa Town, Hung Temple Festival from April 6 to 12 at Hung King Temple in Phu Tho, Bac Ha traditional boat race in Bac Ha District in Lao Cai, festival at the Ba Waterfall in Yen Binh Commune, Yen Bai Province in June, a contest to conquer Fansipan Mountain in Sapa District from October 27 to 29, Muong Tourist Cultural Week in October in Nghia Lo Commune, Yen Bai and a Mu Cang Chai terraced rice fields culture week and discovering Pu Luong in Yen Bai in October.

(Source: SGT)

Poetry Day in Ha Noi, Nghe An and HCMC

The annual Poetry Day will take place on February 17 in Ha Noi, Nghe An and HCMC. Huu Thinh, chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association, said the occasion would also be used to mark the 100th anniversary of Ho Chi Minh who left the country in 1911 to seek ways for national salvation from the French colonists.

"There will be a soil and water procession at Hanoi's Temple of Literature," Thinh said. "A delegation of writers from the central region will bring some soil from President Ho's home in Sen Village to the temple." They will also bring some water from the source of the historical Pac Bo Cave's Lenin Stream, where the president lived and worked in the 1940s, in the northern province of Cao Bang to the temple. The soil and water will be housed at the association's museum in Hanoi.

Poetry readings will take place in President Ho's homeland, Nghe An province, and at Nha Rong Wharf in HCMC.

At Hanoi's Temple of Literature the busts of 30 famed writers will be displayed. Lanterns bearing 100 verses will also adorn the temple.

The first Poetry Day was held in 2003 at the Temple of Literature.

(Source: VNA)

Foreign visitors to Vietnam rise sharply during Tet

The Noi Bai International Airport received over 1,000 foreign holidaymakers during the first three days of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, according to the airport’s Border Customs Agency. Travelers were mostly from Europe and overseas Vietnamese who visited their homeland for the Tet holiday. On the occasion, the airport’s 82 flights brought nearly 8,000 visitors to countries and territories worldwide. Meanwhile, the number of tourists to Hue on these days increased sharply, reaching about 50,000, some 20,000 higher than last year. A large number of arrivals came from European countries, Japan and Thailand . The ancient capital city celebrated the Tet festival with a wide range of activities and festivals launched in different localities, opening an array of this year’s cultural, sports and tourism events to welcome the National Tourism Year to be organised in the city in 2012. Tourism destinations of the Hue ’s relic site opened for free during the first three days of the Lunar New Year.

Source: VN+

20,000 people visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

(VOV) - More than 20,000 people, half of them foreigners, have visited the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum during the Lunar New Year Festival (Tet), said the mausoleum’s management board.

The board has beautifully decorated the Ba Dinh Square, taking care of the yellow apricot trees presented by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.
The number of foreign visitors to the mausoleum has increased by 3-4 times over the previous year, during the Tet holiday.
The mausoleum was temporarily closed from February 4-7 and reopened on February 8, said the management board.