8th century coins discovered in Vinh Phuc

VINH PHUC — A local man recently found a pot containing 8kg of coins dating from the 8th to the 12th century while building a house in Van Hoi Commune in the northern province of Vinh Phuc's Tam Duong District, according to experts from the provincial museum asked to identify the discovery.

Each coin was 2.4cm in diameter, had a square central hole and Chinese characters on each side.

Zing Music Awards honour pop singers

HCM CITY — Singer Dam Vinh Hung bagged two major awards at the Zing Music Awards 2010 ceremony in HCM City on Wednesday, including nods for Impressive Performing Style and Artist of the Year. In addition, his songs Qua Con Me (After Dream) and Khoang Cach (Distance) were listed in the awards' Top 10. Singer and model Ho Ngoc Ha shared the Impressive Performing Style award with Hung.

The band V.Music received the award for Favourite Band, while the Most Promising Singer awards were given to Duong Trieu Vu and Vinh Thuyen Kim. Veterans Dan Truong and Thanh Thao were honoured as Favourite Male and Female Singer, respectively.

The awards were organised by the music-sharing website mp3.zing.vn.

Museums eye preservation methods

HCM CITY — A discussion on how to better preserve items on display in HCM City museums was co-hosted here on Wednesday by the City's departments of heritage and culture.

The discussion aimed at building budget estimates to improve humidity and dust control systems, storage, and the overall quality of the museums in the city.

Firefighter portrait wins national contest

HA NOI — The photo of a fire-fighter at work, Silence, taken by Diep Duc Minh won a gold medal at the national artistic photo contest.

Launched in September, the contest, Portraits of Today's Vietnamese People, received 4,112 photos from 767 professional and amateur photographers nationwide.

The organising board, the Viet Nam Photographic Artists' Association, selected the 119 best photos for an exhibition, of which, 12 have received awards.

The awards ceremony and opening of the exhibition will take place on January 24 at Gallery 45 on Trang Tien Street in Ha Noi.

Artist shows love for Mong people

HA NOI — Nguyen Quang Huy's exhibition Love opens today at the Art Viet Nam Gallery, Nguyen Khac Nhu Street, Ha Noi.

He showcases 25 portraits, landscapes, video and light sculptures of the Mong people in the mountainous province of Ha Giang, the result of his trips over the last 15 years.

"For me their life is with love, a special way of loving," Huy says. "The emotion is very direct, very unlike my ideas and what I know about love. Their love is more basic, natural, and difficult to quantify".

The exhibition will run until February 12.

Show pays tribute to late songstress

HA NOI — A concert of ca tru (ceremonial singing) to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of People's Artist Quach Thi Ho will be organised this Sunday at Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology, Nguyen Van Huyen Street, Ha Noi.

Artists from the UNESCO Ca Tru Centre will perform at the concert.

Ho (1913-2000) was one of the few Vietnamese traditional artists recognised internationally. In 1978, she was awarded an honourary diploma by UNESCO's International Music Council and the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies for her contribution in preserving "traditional music of great artistic and cultural value."

She was the first and only ca tru artist to have been granted the highest artistic title of People's Artist. — VNS

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Architectural heritage crumbles

Safe as houses? This unique two-storey wooden house in Gia Hoi Old Town is in a bad shape, but local authorities remain unsure how best to protect it. — VNA/VNS Photo Thai Loc

THUA THIEN HUE — Historic buildings in two localities that functioned as commercial port towns during the Nguyen dynasty are in a severely dilapidated condition.

The Bao Vinh Town, which hosted a busy port in 18th century, had 39 old buildings standing at the end of the American War.

Meanwhile, Gia Hoi, a bustling port town in early 19th century, had 140 old buildings featuring traditional Vietnamese, Chinese as well as French colonial architecture.

These buildings have been so badly damaged by the rampant urbanisation of last two decades, that only 15 of them still stand in Bao Vinh, while Gia Hoi has 55.

Residents complain that they are caught in a bind. One the one hand, they cannot repair their houses to make them safe or expand it to meet their needs because authorities have banned such actions. On the other hand, the authorities themselves have taken no action to preserve the old buildings.

"Many old houses in Bao Vinh are in ruin and vulnerable to floods and hard weather," said Nguyen Van Bon, chairman of Huong Vinh Commune.

A conservation project to protect the two towns was set up by Thua Thien Hue Province in 2003, but only three houses were repaired with funds from the French Parliament. In Gia Hoi, one pagoda had its gate and entrance restored.

Experts have called on authorities to act before it is too late.

"Architecture reflects history, so there is a need to protect Bao Vinh and Gia Hoi. Authorities should promptly come up with ways to deal with the conflict between conservation and locals' benefits," said Nguyen Viet Tien, chairman of the province's Planning Association.

Nguyen Xuan Hoa, former director of the province's Culture Department, said it was not possible to restore Bao Vinh as an old town because not many old house remained in it.

"But Gia Hoi has unique architectural values with a national-heritage pagoda, a Hindu temple, the house of a Japanese karate master, overseas Chinese club house, French colonial buildings and palaces of royal family members. It would be interesting to restore the old town," he said. — VNS

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On golden pond

Ba Om Pond

A group of overseas Vietnamese from the US recently travelled to the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, home to Tra Vinh's legendary Ba Om Pond. While there, they visited Ang Pagoda which people claim is the best vantage point from which to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the pond.

Located on the outskirts of Tra Vinh Town, the pagoda complex is a fortress that offers travellers an escape from the heat and dust of Road 52.

One of the group, Duong Quang Chan, an overseas Vietnamese businessman, who has lived in the US for years, was returning on this occasion to seek out business opportunities and said he was considering a tourism project in Tra Vinh, which also happened to be his grandmother's birthplace.

"As we arrived at the complex, we were amazed by the century-old trees. From a distance, their strange stumps looked like giant snakes heading for the sky," said Chan.

The soft whispering of the trees combined with the low murmur of Buddhist monks reciting the scriptures from a distant pagoda to create a blissful atmosphere for those wanting to meditate, he said.

A local photographer Huynh Van Hung said that a great flood may have swept through the area long time ago, shaping it and marking the old trees,

Sitting on a hammock strung between two old stumps, Hung said visitors often come here to enjoy the view of peaceful Ba Om Pond, famed for its pure water.

Hung said although visitors have their own camera they still ask him to photograph the view.

Ba Om Pond is called a square pond, but is actually 300m wide and 500m long. The pond is carpeted with water lilies and lotus flowers which bloom white and purple every summer.

The legendary pond was formed as a result of a bet between young ethnic Khmer men and women. The exact date is unknown but according to the elderly monks known by the Tra Vinh Khmer as Luc Masters, the pond was formed about 500 to 600 years ago.

Nguyen Thu Anh, a guide at the Tra Vinh Khmer Museum, said that long ago Khmer society was matriarchal. Young women had to find partners and present betrothal gifts to the bridegroom's family. This habit made the young men selfish and they asked for gifts of ever increasing value.

Tiring of this, leader of a women's group, a lady called Om, sought approval from officials in the region for men to do what women had been doing for centuries. The clever official asked the two groups to dig one pond each. They were to be a kilometre apart. Whoever finished first would be the winner and could ask the other group to do their bidding.

This decision would benefit the entire region, as two big ponds contained a great deal of water, which was much needed in the dry season.

In a story that mirrors the fable of the turtle and the rabbit, the group led by Om pretended that they was not up to the task and tried to shelter from the sunshine. Om responded by asking some of these lazy women to lure the men by holding a party to last all day and night.

While half of her group were busy with the men, the others lit torches and dig all night. Their pond was finished by the next morning and took her name. The unfinished men's pond can still be seen at the site of Pras Tropeang Pagoda.

There is another legend which states that the two are natural ponds and that both were there before the Khmer settled in Tra Vinh. Indeed, many Khmer people still use the name Srar Cu (twin ponds) when talking about the ponds. The name Ba Om (Lady Om) is also one way of pronouncing the name of the vegetable which grows naturally around the pond. The cows in the region love this vegetable, and their flesh is very tasty as a result. Visitors can try this special beef in food stores in the region.

The Ba Om Pond complex was recognised as a national historical-cultural relic in 1996. It is popular site for Khmer festivals, especially the Ok Om Bok, which takes place in the middle of the tenth lunar month. At that time, the Khmer of the entire Mekong Delta gather there to host traditional customs and games.

Dang Phuoc Tho, director of the Provincial Cultural Centre, said the festival was held for people to express thanks to the moon for good weather and a good harvest.

Last lunar month nearly 30,000 local and foreign visitors watched a boat race on the Ba Om Pond as part of this festival. The event attracted 500 boatmen from the province and eight boats competed over 700m and 1,500m.

The boats, called ghe ngo, are pirogues crafted from tree trunks. They have a curved head and tail and are managed by skilful boatmen.

On the night of the festival, family members gather before the communal pagoda or in their houses, preparing a feast with farm produce like green rice flakes which are the speciality of the Khmer people, ripe bananas, fresh coconuts and mangoes. These are all offered to the moon.

As the moon rises, the ceremony begins. Family members sit on the ground, hands clasped. An elderly man expresses the village's gratitude and recites prayers for continued good crops and good health.

After the ceremony, everyone joins hands and looks at the moon. They receive green rice flakes from the elderly man and make a wish. People then release paper lanterns into the sky and banana-tree rafts decorated with colourful lights and loaded with offerings are set adrift on the river.

Tran Hoang Be, director of the Tra Vinh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the province plans to invest billions of dong to expand the Ba Om Pond culture-tourism complex to 84ha. It will include a Khmer museum, a sports centre, a service-trade and a tourism centre.

The aim is to attract more visitors to the area by preserving and improving the site's original landscape, said Be.

The site welcomes millions of visitors every year.

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On golden pond

by Ha Nguyen

Tree-lined drive: The Ba Om Pond complex in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh. — File Photos Fairyland: Ang Pagoda, a marvellous Khmer pagoda, welcomes a million visitors a year.

A group of my friends from the US recently travelled to the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, home to Tra Vinh's legendary Ba Om Pond. While there, they visited Ang Pagoda which people claim is the best vantage point from which to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the pond.

Located on the outskirts of Tra Vinh Town, the pagoda complex is a fortress that offers travellers an escape from the heat and dust of Road 52.

One of the group, Duong Quang Chan, an overseas Vietnamese businessman, who has lived in the US for years, was returning on this occasion to seek out business opportunities and said he was considering a tourism project in Tra Vinh, which also happened to be his grandmother's birthplace.

"As we arrived at the complex, we were amazed by the century-old trees. From a distance, their strange stumps looked like giant snakes heading for the sky," said Chan.

The soft whispering of the trees combined with the low murmur of Buddhist monks reciting the scriptures from a distant pagoda to create a blissful atmosphere for those wanting to meditate, he said.

A local photographer Huynh Van Hung said that a great flood may have swept through the area long time ago, shaping it and marking the old trees,

Sitting on a hammock strung between two old stumps, Hung said visitors often come here to enjoy the view of peaceful Ba Om Pond, famed for its pure water.

Hung said although visitors have their own camera they still ask him to photograph the view.

Ba Om Pond is called a square pond, but is actually 300m wide and 500m long. The pond is carpeted with water lilies and lotus flowers which bloom white and purple every summer.

The legendary pond was formed as a result of a bet between young ethnic Khmer men and women. The exact date is unknown but according to the elderly monks known by the Tra Vinh Khmer as Luc Masters, the pond was formed about 500 to 600 years ago.

Nguyen Thu Anh, a guide at the Tra Vinh Khmer Museum, said that long ago Khmer society was matriarchal. Young women had to find partners and present betrothal gifts to the bridegroom's family. This habit made the young men selfish and they asked for gifts of ever increasing value.

Tiring of this, leader of a women's group, a lady called Om, sought approval from officials in the region for men to do what women had been doing for centuries. The clever official asked the two groups to dig one pond each. They were to be a kilometre apart. Whoever finished first would be the winner and could ask the other group to do their bidding.

This decision would benefit the entire region, as two big ponds contained a great deal of water, which was much needed in the dry season.

In a story that mirrors the fable of the turtle and the rabbit, the group led by Om pretended that they was not up to the task and tried to shelter from the sunshine. Om responded by asking some of these lazy women to lure the men by holding a party to last all day and night.

While half of her group were busy with the men, the others lit torches and dig all night. Their pond was finished by the next morning and took her name. The unfinished men's pond can still be seen at the site of Pras Tropeang Pagoda.

There is another legend which states that the two are natural ponds and that both were there before the Khmer settled in Tra Vinh. Indeed, many Khmer people still use the name Srar Cu (twin ponds) when talking about the ponds. The name Ba Om (Lady Om) is also one way of pronouncing the name of the vegetable which grows naturally around the pond. The cows in the region love this vegetable, and their flesh is very tasty as a result. Visitors can try this special beef in food stores in the region.

The Ba Om Pond complex was recognised as a national historical-cultural relic in 1996. It is popular site for Khmer festivals, especially the Ok Om Bok, which takes place in the middle of the tenth lunar month. At that time, the Khmer of the entire Mekong Delta gather there to host traditional customs and games.

Dang Phuoc Tho, director of the Provincial Cultural Centre, said the festival was held for people to express thanks to the moon for good weather and a good harvest.

Last lunar month nearly 30,000 local and foreign visitors watched a boat race on the Ba Om Pond as part of this festival. The event attracted 500 boatmen from the province and eight boats competed over 700m and 1,500m.

The boats, called ghe ngo, are pirogues crafted from tree trunks. They have a curved head and tail and are managed by skilful boatmen.

On the night of the festival, family members gather before the communal pagoda or in their houses, preparing a feast with farm produce like green rice flakes which are the speciality of the Khmer people, ripe bananas, fresh coconuts and mangoes. These are all offered to the moon.

As the moon rises, the ceremony begins. Family members sit on the ground, hands clasped. An elderly man expresses the village's gratitude and recites prayers for continued good crops and good health.

After the ceremony, everyone joins hands and looks at the moon. They receive green rice flakes from the elderly man and make a wish. People then release paper lanterns into the sky and banana-tree rafts decorated with colourful lights and loaded with offerings are set adrift on the river.

Tran Hoang Be, director of the Tra Vinh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the province plans to invest billions of dong to expand the Ba Om Pond culture-tourism complex to 84ha. It will include a Khmer museum, a sports centre, a service-trade and a tourism centre.

The aim is to attract more visitors to the area by preserving and improving the site's original landscape, said Be.

The site welcomes millions of visitors every year. — VNS

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