Ministry names top 10 activities of 2010

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism together with 120 journalists have compiled a list of the 10 outstanding achievements of 2010.

1. Major events included the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Viet Nam; the anniversary of the Hung Kings on the 10th day of the third lunar month; the 35th anniversary of the liberation of the South and the unification of the country; the 120th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday; the 65th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2, and the 80th anniversary of the Viet Nam National United Front.

2. Major cultural, sports and tourism activities to celebrate 1,000 years of the founding of Ha Noi included a parade in Ba Dinh Square on October 10; the official opening of the Cultural Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups; the Festival on Traditional Arts and Crafts, and Vietnamese Films Days.

3. UNESCO recognised as Intangible Heritage of Humanity the Hoang Thanh-Thang Long Citadel, the Giong Festival in Phu Dong and Soc temples in Ha Noi, together with 82 stone steles of the Le-Mac dynasties at Van Mieu (Temple of Literature) in Ha Noi.

4. Cultural activities abroad to popularising Vietnamese land and people included the Shanghai EXPO 2010 and Vietnamese culture weeks in Cuba, Mexico, Germany, Belgium, Cambodia, Japan, South Korea, Russia, China, and India.

5. Ha Noi also held an international photo arts exhibition, an international film festival, an international piano contest, the Miss Earth Pageant in the central province of Khanh Hoa's Vinpearl Land, and the International Football Cup.

6. Director and People's Artist Dang Nhat Minh was honoured by the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his great contribution to Vietnamese cinematography.

7. The sixth National Festival for Sports was held in the central province of Da Nang attracting thousands of athletes.

8. At the 16th ASIAD in China the Vietnamese delegation won 33 medals, while at ASIAN Para Games 1, Vietnamese disabled athletes won 17 medals, which helped the team finish 11th out of 42 delegations.

9. The Viet Nam tourism sector welcomed the five millionth international tourist.

10. The Tourism Promotion Programme 2010 entitled "Viet Nam – Your Destination" helped generate a turnover of VND100,000 billion (US$4.76 billion). — VNS

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Top ten culture, sports and tourism events in 2010

Vietnamese film director Dang Nhat Minh (R) was honored in Los Angeles, US by the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Photo: Tran Hoang Anh

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Thursday announced ten outstanding cultural, sports and tourism activities in 2010 for Vietnam including president Ho Chi Minh’s 120th birthday and the Hanoi millennium anniversary.

Following are top ten events in 2010:

1. The US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored Dang Nhat Minh, renowned Vietnamese director of “Don’t Burn” in Los Angeles November 10

2. Cultural and fine art activities to celebrate the 80th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, late president Ho Chi Minh’s 120th birthday, the 65th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2 and the 80th anniversary of the Vietnam National United Front

3. Cultural, sports, and tourism activities marking the grand celebration of the Thang Long-Hanoi millennium anniversary including the biggest-ever parade held at Ba Dinh Square on October 10

4. The Saint Giong Festival and Soc Temple in Hanoi recognized by UNESCO as humankind’s intangible cultural heritage

5. Vietnam hosted some international cultural and sport events for the first time including International Fine Art Photo Exhibition, International Film Festival, International Piano Contest, Miss Earth 2010, and the Thang Long-Hanoi International Football Cup

6. The sixth national sports festival

7. The Vietnamese sport delegation bagged 33 medals including at five Olympics sport events for the first time at the 16th Asian Games, Guangzhou, China

8. Vietnamese disabled athletes secured 17 medals, ranking 11th out of 42 delegations at the first Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China

9. Vietnam warmly welcomed the 5 millionth international tourist - Chinese auditor Zhou Zhing who was presented with gifts, a medal, a return ticket for the trip, and a Hue-Da Nang tour for two

10. Vietnam launched the tourism promotion campaign “Vietnam – Your Destination”, aiming at attracting foreign tourists to Vietnam and promoting domestic tourism. The country’s tourism industry has received more than 5 million visitors from abroad and is estimated to earn more than VND100 trillion (US$5 billion)

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Con Dao listed in top 10-best islands

HA NOI — Viet Nam's Con Dao Island has been named as one of the top ten romantic destinations in the world for 2011 by the UK's Lonely Planet magazine.

Other islands on the list were Yemen's Socotra in Yemen, Australia's Torres Strait Islands, Japan's Yacyana, French Guiana's Iles du Salut, the Republic of Korea's Ulleungdo, Panama's San Blas archipelago, Chinese Taipei's Penghu, the Bay Archipelago and Hog Island off the coast of Honduras and Uganda's Ssese.

Con Dao Island has a strong political and cultural history. Under the French, Con Dao was used as a major prison for opponents of French colonialism.

Con Dao National Park, one of the country's top six biodiversity hotspots for both land and sea, contains thousands of plant and animal species, and provides a range of eco-tourism options.

The island is home to playful black and brown squirrels, many species of native and migratory birds, and even endangered marine animals like the sea cow, green turtle and hawk's bill turtle.

According to the Sai Gon Travel Service Company (Saigontourist), in the wedding season this year Con Dao was one of the most popular honeymoon destinations for young couples.

Quang Binh reserves 21 ancient ca tru tunes

QUANG BINH — Troupes of ca tru (ceremonial singing) in the central province of Quang Binh is now reserving 21 ancient tunes, according to the provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department.
The province now has 10 ca tru troupes with 138 artists.

Some of the troupes often hold ca tru classes for local learners aged between 10-20.
Since ca tru was recognised as a cultural heritage in need of urgent protection by UNESCO last year, ca tru troupes in Quang Binh have held over 30 free performances to raise awareness of the art form.
Ca tru, also known as hat a dao or hat noi which dates back to the 15th century, had also been listed among intangible global cultural heritage traditions in danger of disappearing.

HTV to host anniversary of reality-show

HCM CITY – The HCM City Television (HTV) will host an anniversary show for its reality shows Ngoi nha mo uoc (A House of Dreams) and Cau chuyen uoc mo (A Tale of Dreams) at the HTV Theatre tomorrow.

The Hanh Trinh Uoc Mo (A Journey of Dreams) show will feature popular artists, including cai luong (reformed opera) artist Uùt Bach Lan, comedian Trung Dan and singers of Nam Khanh and Ha Tram, who have been guests on two reality shows.

The show celebrates the fifth anniversary of A House of Dreams and the third anniversary of A Tale of Dreams.

The shows, which focus on charitable and other humanitarian activities, are supported by Vina Pomina Steel Co. — VNS

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Agency pictures mark Ha Noi anniversary

HCM CITY — Images of Ha Noi in the last few decades captured by Vietnam News Agency photographers are on display at an exhibition at the agency's representative office in HCM City to commemorate the capital's 1,000th anniversary.

The Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh Huong ve Ha Noi – Thu Do Ngan Nam Van Hien (HCM City Looks Towards Ha Noi – A 1,000-Year-Old Capital) features 100 black-and-white and colour photos of people's lives during the wars against France and the US and peace time.

There are also photos of President Ho Chi Minh and other Party and State leaders.

There is a section on HCM City, with 30 photos depicting the city's infrastructure, economy, society, culture, education and activities to mark Ha Noïi's millennium.

The exhibition will remain open until October 2 at 116 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, District 3.

Event to mark death of hero begins festival

THANH HOA — The Central Thanh Hoa Province's People Committee and the Ngoc Lac District People's Committee commemorated the anniversary of the death of national hero Le Lai in Tep Temple, Kien Tho Commune, on Tuesday (the 21st of the eight lunar month).

This event kicked off the 2010 Lam Kinh festival days, celebrating 592 years since the Lam Son uprising, 582 years since the enthronement of king Le Thai To and 577 years since of the death of national hero Le Loi.

Traditional theatre festival organised

HA NOI — As many as 1,000 artists will attend Hanh Trinh Theo Dau Nguoi Xua (A Journey Following Ancestors) festival to be held from today to October 2.

The festival, which imitates the event of moving the capital from Hoa Lu to Thang Long by waterway, begins in Ninh Binh Province and ends at the Thang Long Royal Citadel in Ha Noi.

The festival is organised by Ha Noi Cheo Theatre and aired today on VTV1.

Gala funds seventh primary school

HA NOI — A gala featuring the study encouragement programme entitled Den Dom Dom (The Light of Firefly) was aired on VTV2 on Tuesday.

The building of the seventh primary school Thuong Trach in central Quang Binh Province for remote students was announced during the gala.

The gala was co-organised by the Dutch Lady milk brand and Viet Nam Television.

The total investment for the school was VND 2 billion (US$ 102,67). — VNS

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Ao dai to be honored at Hanoi’s grand anniversary

A magnificent ao dai (Vietnamese traditional long dress) exhibition will take place in Hanoi on the evening of October 1, kicking off the festival of the grand millennial anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Collections of ao dai from northern, central and southern regions of Vietnam will be performed by both professional and amateur models.

The 45-minute performance, which will be broadcast live on television, will be followed by a 15-minute light and fireworks displays.

As part of activities to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, the People’s Committee of the northern province of Bac Ninh and the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha will inaugurate the great Buddha statute on the Phat Tich mountain peak Saturday.

The statue, which 27m in height and weighs 3,000 tones, is one of the biggest stone statues in Southeast Asia.

The provincial library of Thanh Hoa province Thursday announced a collection of Sino-Vietnamese written documents introducing people who have a close connection to the history of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The library inaugurated a reading room that offers 500 books on Thang Long-Hanoi.

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Hanoi ready for millennium anniversary in October

The 1,000th founding anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi will be marked by music and other cultural events from October 1 to 10

Photo: Tuoi Tre

A series of important works to dress up and decorate Hanoi is basically complete with just 30 days left until the millennium anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi takes place.

The capital city has to date completed 33 major projects, making Hanoi greener, cleaner and more beautiful, according to Ngo Thi Thanh Hang, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee and deputy head of the National Steering Committee on the anniversary.

Prominent among the completed works are the Hanoi Museum, the Saint Giong statue, the Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Ton Duc Thang statues, the Hoa Binh (Peace) park, the Hanoi-Amsterdam Gifted High School, Beltway 3, Thang Long boulevard, the giant embroidered picture entitled “Coi Xua” (Old Origins) and the ceramic road along the Red River.

Besides, following the UNESCO’s recognition of the 82 doctor laureate steles under the Le-Mac dynasties in Van Mieu (Temple of Literature), the Thang Long Imperial Citadel has been recently recognized as a world cultural heritage by the UNESCO, she said.
"They are invaluable presents on the threshold of the millennium anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi," said Hang.

The 10-day festival will bring together many politicians, cultural activists and scientists around the world as well as foreign visitors and overseas Vietnamese.

A solemn ceremony will open the festival in the morning of October 1 at the Ly Thai To Garden. The festival will include a meeting and parade on October 10 at the Ba Dinh Square.

As many as 38 foreign and 20 local art troupes have to date registered to perform during the festival, Hang said.

Thousands of antiques have been selected for exhibition, helping visitors understand the world cultural heritages in Hanoi, she added.

The city has almost completed works on decorating and lighting streets as well as attractive lighting systems around lakes and stadiums and on bridges spanning the Red River.

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