Charm seekers faint at chaotic Tran Temple fest

Photo: Tuoi Tre

A not so charming scene occurred yesterday evening at the Tran Temple Festival held in the northern province of Nam Dinh when dozens fainted after jostling and elbowing one another to lay their hands on a lucky talisman being sold there.

Traditionally thought to bring good luck, the yellow charms are officially priced at VND20,000 (US$1) each but since many could not reach the sale points, the amulets were sold 10 times more expensive by scalpers.

Charms were in so high a demand that the festival’s management board sent more employees to sell them but still could not meet pilgrims’ needs.

Although the festival officially opened at 11:00 pm yesterday, nearby roads were flooded much earlier.

From 20:00 pm, police set up barriers to prevent tourists from elbowing one another to reach the amulets but this proved fruitless.

Some extremists shouted and climbed over the barriers.

The packed, frenzied atmosphere caused dozens to faint, mostly elderly people and women.

The Tran Temple Festival is held annually on the death anniversary of General Tran Hung Dao, falling on 15th day of the first lunar month.

It takes place at the historical site of the Tran Dynasty at the outskirts of Nam Dinh.

The festival features solemn rituals, such as palanquin procession, and traditional cultural activities.

Related Articles

• Residents compete in legendery Ha Noi rice cooking festival
• Writers’ temple to display bronze drums
• Vietnam poetry festival highlights Uncle Ho
• ASEAN role sought to resolve temple conflict
• Northern natural beauty, traditions call out to adventurous travellers

Bilingual food festival held

HA NOI — The Vietnamese-Korean food culture festival will be held this weeken in the National Agriculture Exhibition Centre.

Visitors will engage in cultural activities, see traditional martial arts and enjoy the countries' traditional dishes.

Eight Korean dishes and two Vietnamese dishes, each for VND5,000 (US$0.25), will be served.

All proceeds will be donated to charity.

Dance for AIDS awareness

HA NOI — Dance for Life in Viet Nam will be held at American Club in Ha Noi on Saturday and aired on VTV6 at 6pm.

As many as 1,000 Vietnamese youth and thousands from 27 other nations will dance together to raise HIV/AIDS awareness. The programme will also attract well-known local artists.

Royal conferments donated

HA NOI — Pham Van Khoi, the ninth generation of the Pham Family, living in Quang Ninh District of the northern Quang Binh Province, has donated 15 royal conferments to the National Archives of Viet Nam.

The conferments were appointed to Pham Si, the sixth generation of the Pham Family and the second-ranking mandarin, who contributed to the protection of security within the court from the reigns of King Minh Mang (1791-1841) to Khai Dinh (1885-1925).

Ballet tells story of citadel

HA NOI — A classical ballet entitled Love Story of Co Loa Citadel, adapted from the historical love story Magic Crossbow, will be performed tonight in the Ha Noi Opera House.

The show is organised by the French Embassy and the Viet Nam National Opera and Ballet. It will be directed by Vietnamese artist Pham Anh Phuong and choreographed by Bertrand d'At of the National Opera Ballet Theatre in France's Rhin Province. — VNS

Related Articles

• December is food festival month in HCMC
• Long jail terms upheld for couple who tortured teen
• HCMC begins to think about giving up meat
• Viet Nam tops travel polls
• Vietnam’s tra fish export to Egypt still down

China to partner in Mid-Autumn Fest celebrations

Photo: Tuoi Tre

China will be the partner country this year in the annual celebrations to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival to be held in Hanoi this month.

The Vietnam – China Mid-Autumn Festival, to be held from September 17 to 20, will feature some spectacular shows like the dance-drama Journey to the West by Chinese artists and boi singing, lion and dragon dances, and water puppetry by Vietnamese artists.

The Journey to the West, the event’s highlight, is one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature.

Boi, a kind of Vietnamese traditional music, will be performed by Vietnamese Southerners, and other shows like lion-dragon dances by local artistic dancing teams and water puppet by Hanoi-based Chang Son puppetry.

There will be several Vietnamese and Chinese traditional games in which visitors can take part. They can also enjoy Chinese tea and try their hand at baking traditional cakes from the two countries and making lanterns, kites, and masks.

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, the Museum of Yunnan ethics and Yunnan Opera Institute from China, and the Chinese embassy in Hanoi will organize this year’s festival.

Last year Japan partnered in the festival, and in 2007 it was Korea.

Tickets, available at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, Nguyen Van Huyen Street, cost VND25,000 (US$1.3) for adults, VND 3,000 for children, and VND5,000 for students.

Related Articles

• IFC: Vietnam needs to increase PPP to support economy
• Writers’ temple to display bronze drums
• Naval forces boost global co-operation
• Culture Vulture
• ASEAN's socio-cultural issues promoted at Da Nang meeting

HCMC begins to think about giving up meat

HCMC's first vegetarian festival to be held this week will seek to promote tourism and vegetarian habits among the populace

Ho Chi Minh City’s first vegetarian festival to be held this week will seek to promote tourism and vegetarian habits among the populace.

The event, to be held at 23-9 Park in District 1 by the HCMC Union of Business Associations, Hi Ma Lap Son Company, and Youth Advertising Company, will also highlight Vietnam’s commitment to environmental protection by reducing meat consumption, one of the causes of greenhouse gases.

Two-thirds of the 80 booths at the festival will be set up by vegetarian restaurants in the city and other provinces.

Several pagodas will also bring their vegetarian dishes.

There will be a speech by Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Hung titled “What you don’t know about vegetarianism,” vegetarian cooking lessons, and a forum on the “Modern tendency towards vegetarian food.”

A candle-light night themed “I love you, Mom” will be held by the park’s pond, while a musical night titled “Grateful to Mom” will mark the Vu Lan festival on August 27. Known as Mother’s Day in Vietnam, it is celebrated on the 15th of the seventh month in the lunar calendar.

The vegetarian festival will be held from August 26 to 29.

Related Articles

• Booklet confronts discrimination against children with HIV
• Booklet hopes to confront AIDS discrimination against children
• New decree hopes to protect holders of convertible bonds
• Saigon-Hanoi charity caravan heads north
• Intel to fund high-tech computer lab at RMIT