HTV to screen new series

HCM CITY— HCM City Television this week will begin broadcasting a new TV series about King Ly Thai To, born Ly Cong Uan, the founder of the city Thang Long (now Ha Noi).

The 40-episode Ve Dat Thang Long (Arriving in Thang Long), which began filming four months ago, is one of the city's projects that are celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of the nation's capital.

Each episode describes historic events taking place in the country and the capital Hoa Lu before and after Ly Cong Uan was enthroned as the first king of the Ly dynasty.

In 1010, King Ly Thai To made an important decision to move the capital from Hoa Lu in present Ninh Binh Province to Thang Long.

The script for the TV series, which is directed by Tran Ngoc Phuong, is written by well-known author Pham Thuy Nhan.

Taking part in the series produced by HTV in co-operation with M&T Pictures are 80 artists of HCM City with well-known artist Ly Hung playing Ly Cong Uan.

Arriving in Thang Long which will air on HTV 9 at 8.30pm fromThursday to Sunday every week, beginning on January 1.

Capital to open music centre

HA NOI — The Ha Noi Musicians Association is planning to launch a Centre for Music Development in June 2011 to support composers in developing and publicising new works, said association chairman Ho Quang Binh.

The establishment of the centre was approved by the association's 10th Congress.

Cham site found in Quang Ngai

QUANG NGAI — The remnants of a Cham Temple dating back to the 10th century have been discovered in Mo Duc District in the central province of Quang Ngai.

The temple, named Dinh Ba So (Mother of Cham Land) by local residents, contains stone linga and yoni believed to be the first found in Quang Ngai, said Nguyen Dang Vu, director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Writers to discuss war themes

HCM CITY — Writers Da Ngan and Wayne Karlin, one Vietnamese and one American, will hold a talk about the themes of war at Hoa Sen College in HCM City today, with visiting American students from George Mason University to participate.

Ngan will discuss different aspects of the war and its aftermath in Ngan's novel Gia Dinh Be Mon (An Insignificant Family). While in Viet Nam, the American students are expected to visit the family of martyr Hoang Ngoc Dam, depicted as one of the main characters in Karlin's novel Wandering Souls.

HCM City to host audio-visual expo

HA NOI — The Recording Industry Association of Viet Nam will host an audio-visual expo in HCM City from December 31 to January 2. Gathering 14 companies from around the country, the fair will display over 5,000 products, including CDs and DVDs at discounted prices.

Pop singers and cai luong (reformed opera) performers are scheduled to appear to encourage customers to buy authorised, non-pirated products.

Capital cracks down on superstition

HA NOI — The Ha Noi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has ordered communities in the capital city to set up steering committees and organising boards to manage and control superstitious activities at traditional festivals as well as the burning of paper offerings at relic sites.

The department has also asked localities to ensure security, traffic safe and food hygiene at cultural events. — VNS

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Five-star resort opens on island

Con Dao Island will get its first five-star hotel when the Six Senses Resorts & Spas throw open their doors on Monday. The project was developed with investment from the Indochina Capital fund.

The hotel's 50 villas sit along a stretch of sandy beach, with stunning vistas of the sea and the curve of the bay, sheltered by green forested hills behind. All building materials were taken from natural, sustainable sources, using local materials where possible. Teak wood was reclaimed and includes over a thousand beautifully carved panels.

The resort's curved swimming pool, shaded by mature, wild mahogany trees, sits at the edge of the beach, which offers various water sports, including coracles, kayaking, snorkeling and diving in what is recognised as the best coral reef in Viet Nam, as well as boat trips to neighbouring islands.

Saigontourist eyes Japanese partners

The HCM City-based Saigontourist Holding Co is looking for Japanese partners for 12 new hotels and tourism complexes it plans to build. The company's general director, Nguyen Huu Tho, said Saigontourist is looking for both investment and management co-operation. Saigontourist also plans to buy hotels in Japan to expand its operations.

The company operates around 100 hotels, resorts, and restaurants around the country, and reported revenues of VND8.2 trillion (US$420.6 million) last year. It hopes to boost the figure to $1 billion by 2015 by which year it also plans to add 4,000 new rooms.

Central provinces unveil island tours

The tourism authorities of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai unveiled plans to launch a tour combining islands and inland destinations.

Do Tuan Cuong, deputy director of the Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the tour, to be launched next year, will begin in Hoi An to explore Cham Islet before speed boats for two hours to Quang Ngai's Re Island.

HCM City luxury hotel rates fall

Room rates in three-star to five-star hotels in HCM City fell by 10 per cent this year on average to US$98 per night due to a sharp increase in supply, according to the city Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The city has 68 international standard hotels with nearly 9,230 rooms. Newcomers include three four-star hotels, namely Oscar Sai Gon, Liberty Central, and Norfolk which have a total of 312 rooms, and nine three-star hotels with more than 580 rooms.

Tour operators offer discounts

To encourage people to travel during the Christmas season, travel agencies are offering tours at low prices, meaning they are unchanged from last year or are just 5-7 per cent up.

Ha Noi Redtours expects to serve around 1,000 outbound travellers and 500 clients who will undertake domestic and inbound tours. This represents an increase of 20 per cent compared to last year.

Vietravel said its business is likely to be 25 per cent higher than last year.

The most popular destinations for domestic travellers are Ha Noi, Sa Pa, and Ha Long Bay in the north and Ba Na, Da Lat, Phu Quoc Island, and Nha Trang in the central and southern regions. The most popular overseas destinations for Vietnamese travellers are in Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Russian carrier flies to Cam Ranh

A Vladivostok Air aeroplane carrying 80 passengers landed at Cam Ranh Airport in Khanh Hoa Province on Wednesday to mark the beginning of the Russian carrier's service from Vladivostok and Khabarovsk.

The carrier said it will operate seven flights each from the two far eastern Russian cities to the central Vietnamese destination between mid-December and March next year.

To create favourable conditions for the direct flights from Russia, the Central Airport Company said it has offered a 50 per cent discount on all ground services at Cam Ranh Airport. — VNS

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Viet Nam tops travel polls

Viet Nam has emerged as one of the top destinations for travellers from Thailand, Australia, Japan, and Singapore, a recent survey compiled by Visa and the Pacific Asia Travel Association found.

The survey polled 6,714 respondents in 13 countries and territories and found that among travellers most likely to visit Viet Nam in the next two years, 17 per cent are from Thailand, 16 per cent are from Australia, and 11 per cent are from Japan and Singapore.

Most of the potential tourists listed natural scenery, new places, and affordability as their main motivation for visiting Viet Nam.

They plan to budget more than US$1,200 for their next vacation and pay more for good food and opportunities to experience a new culture.

Food festival month arrives

Rice dishes from around the country and cuisines from around the world will feature at two food and culture festivals to be held in HCM City in December.

Hat Lua Que Toi (My Country's Rice Grain), to be held at the Binh Quoi Tourist Park in Binh Thanh District from December 10 to 12, will showcase some 100 rice dishes.

From December 27 to January 3, the HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will host the Tastes of the World 2010 festival at the September 23 Park in District 1.

It will feature food from 20 countries.

Viet Nam promo in Egypt

Representatives from Egyptian travel agencies attended a seminar held by the Vietnamese embassy in Egypt to promote Vietnamese tourism on Monday.

Besides screening a short film on Ha Long Bay, Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Sa Pa, Da Lat, and some beautiful beaches, the embassy also provided participants a full list of Vietnamese travel agencies and information about the country's economic potential.

Ambassador Pham Sy Tam told them that Viet Nam is a safe and ideal destination for tourists.

Air link from Da Nang to Japan

On December 15 Vietnam Airlines will launch a new route from Da Nang to Narita on the outskirts of the Japanese capital Tokyo.

Seven flights per week will fly the route which will go through HCM City to Japan, departing Da Nang at 2.55am and arriving in Narita at 1.20pm.

After March 31, Vietnam Airlines will begin flying directly between Da Nang and Narita.

The carrier also begins direct flights between the central city and Hong Kong today.

Binh Thuan delays yacht festival

The first international sailing festival in Binh Thuan Province, scheduled to be held from December 8 to 11, has been pushed back to January 15 – 18 due to bad weather.

Le Thi Thanh Lien, deputy director of the province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the organisers fear the weather will affect the yachts' performance.

Binh Thuan will host the race together with the Viet Nam National Administration for Tourism, Viet Nam Airlines, and XT AsiaINC.

It will feature around 200 yachts cruising from Mui Ne to Cape Ke Ga and Hoa Thang Beach. — VNS

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Kites dance in a peaceful sky

Colours overhead: Participants fly kites during the festival. — VNS Photo Truong Vi

HA NOI — Thousands of visitors flocked to My Dinh Stadium to watch as kites soared across the capital's skyline at the Ha Noi Kite Festival.

The event, which helped to celebrate the capital's millennium anniversary, wrapped up yesterday.

More than 124 kite flyers from the country's three regions, Vietnamese from abroad and foreigners participated in the event, said screenwriter Ngo Hong Tien from the Ha Noi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

"The participants didn't compete with each other, they weren't trying to fly their kites higher than others. At this festival, they perform together to show off their kites' beauty," he said. "That's the reason why the festival was named Ha Noi-Peaceful Sky."

The participants were divided into different groups. The group of northern participants flew traditional kites from the region and played flutes which mimicked the sound of the kite's flying. Participants from the central region performed with kites that were shaped like butterflies, dragons, birds and phoenixes. The southerners flew sophisticated kites that required dozens of people to pilot them.

Participants from foreign countries gathered in a group to fly modern kites. American and Singaporean artists flew kites that could perform acrobatics and fight with other kites. The kites were controlled with four strings and must be piloted by an experienced kite flyer, said Scott Weider from the US, who has flown kites for 20 years.

Weider and three Singaporeans co-operated in harmony as they flew kites together for the first time at the festival.

With respect to Viet Nam and the US's past conflicts, Weider said that he relished in the opportunity to visit and participate in the peaceful festival in Viet Nam.

Under the artist's skilful hands, four kites flew through the sky as if they were dancing to music and at other times looked as if they were fighting each other.

Nguyen Thanh Huyen, 20, and her friends had queued in front of the stadium since the early morning to attend the performance.

"I'm very eager to see it," she said, "we all love to fly kites and have done so since childhood."

Huyen said she likes sport kites that are flown by kite flyers from the HCM City-based Blue Sky Club.

"It's wonderful, the kites look like dancers and athletes in the sky," she said.

Vice director of Ha Noi's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nguyen Khac Loi said this is an opportunity to introduce the refined hobby Vietnamese to the international community.

"Kites come from different regions and they represent those cultures," he said. — VNS

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Park to host tourism fest to mark millennium

HA NOI — A four-day International Tourism Festival will take place at Bao Son Paradise Park, Ha Noi, from Saturday to mark the city's millennium anniversary.

It will feature a wide range of cultural and culinary activities among 400 booths, of them 35 for tourism outlets in five continents. More than 180 booths are for tourism businesses in Ha Noi; 91 booths for tourism enterprises in other provinces, plus the departments of culture, sports and tourism; the other booths will be for sponsors and tourism service providers.

Also to be featured are art performances, folk games and street activities, including Thai ethnic singing, water puppets, ceremonial singing, operetta, central region folk songs, Chinese chess and cooking competitions.

The festival will reproduce the daily activities of Hanoians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including royal doctoral exams and calligraphy performances. Artisans will show their skills through different stages of handicraft production.

Traditional and modern cultures of Viet Nam, through the reform, development and integration will be expressed and pictures of Ha Noi and other regions, locations, famous places, food and culture will be on display.

The event is organised by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, Ha Noi's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Bao Son Group.

Ha Noi's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism deputy director Mai Tien Dung said, "Because of the language barrier, we will select suitable art performances for foreign visitors. The performances will be presented mostly through sounds, actions and images."

The festival is tipped as the most important event of the 2010 National Tourism Year and is expected to draw around 30,000 visitors a day.

There will be artist street parades every morning and evening and a seminar on promoting cultural heritage and traditional craft villages to develop tourism. — VNS

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