Vietnam wants to lure more German tourists: official

The Vietnamese government has invested VND4 trillion (US$205 million) in building infrastructures for the tourism industry, a Vietnamese tourism senior official said at a talk to promote Vietnam’s image in Germany.

Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy Chief of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, met with representatives of travel companies owned by Germans and Vietnamese expats in Germany on Monday.

Introducing the country’s tourism potential, sightseeing wonders, and prominent tangible and intangible cultural heritages, Cuong also presented special programs that the tourism industry launched on Hanoi’s 1,000th founding anniversary.

He expressed his hope that tourism cooperation between German and Vietnamese travel companies would be boosted so Germany can eclipse France in terms of the number of tourists coming to Vietnam.

Present at the talks, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Do Hoa Binh noted that the growing ties between the two countries have provided conditions for the development of bilateral cooperation in a wide range of fields, including tourism.

He pledged to create improved conditions for German travel companies to do business with Vietnam.

For their part, many participants urged the Vietnamese tourism industry to equip more tour guides with the German language, along with professional skills and rich cultural knowledge, in order to lure more German visitors.

Last year, the Vietnamese tourism industry contributed $5 billion to the state budget, generating jobs for 1.3 million people.

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Insurer donates school in Phu Yen Province

ACE Insurance Limited Company (ACE Life) on Monday cut the ribbon on Xuan Lam Primary school in the central province of Phu Yen after six months of construction.

The insurance company said it donated VND1.2 billion to develop the primary school in a mountainous area of Xuan Lam hamlet in Song Cau town in Phu Yen Province.

The original school had been completely destroyed during a hurricane last year so ACE Life decided to rebuild it.

The new building has six rooms, of which five are classrooms and one office. It has two floors, offering local pupils a safe facility for learning.

The insurance company, at the opening ceremony, presented the school with extra equipment such as drums, book shelves and concrete benches.

“Primary schools are very important since they provide the first education foundation for children, and we are happy to take part in the social cause to enable more children in disadvantaged localities to go to school,”  Lam Hai Tuan, chief executive officer of ACE Life Vietnam said.

He said there was a demand for good schools for young children at many places around the country as many had fallen into disrepair or been destroyed by floods or storms.

The money to build the school came from a special “Crossing Wave Fund”, part of which was contributed by staff and agents of ACE Life nationwide. Under the framework of the fund, the company has offered a total of 1,144 scholarships to needy students in many universities of Vietnam.

From 2010 onwards, besides the scholarships, ACE Life plans to use a large part of the fund to support the building or renovation of schools in poor provinces.

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Airbus awards student with green thumb

Jean-Michel Caldagues (L), chief representative of EADS in Vietnam with competition winner Bui Ha Thuy Linh - Photo: Courtesy of Airbus

Airbus has picked the winner of a tree planting competition it held at Doan Thi Diem Primary School in Hanoi.

The European aircraft manufacturer launched the contest for the school’s 300 pupils three months ago to support the United Nations International Day for Biodiversity.

Over the weekend, Airbus named grade fiver, Bui Ha Thuy Linh, as the winner for growing the tallest potplant during summer. The winner received a trip for her entire family to Sapa, which is one of Vietnam’s best preserved ecological areas.

“This was really fun,” Linh said in a statement. “The pots were shaped like planes, which was really cool, and we were given a class on how to raise plants and taught about the importance of making our country and our world more green.” Airbus also delivered 10 consolation prizes including notebooks and books about nature.

In late May, Airbus presented each of the students with a special pot and a small seedling to care for during summer. “We are amazed by how these children embraced this program, and it certainly shows us an enthusiasm for environmental concerns among young Vietnamese, and a willingness to get involved in greening up their lives, their city and their country for future generations,” said Sean Lee, communications director of Airbus for Asia.

Dao Thu Thuy, vice headmaster of the school, said the pupils were thrilled to join the Green Wave program to celebrate the International Day of Biodiversity. “This was a fun, fascinating and meaningful activity that has helped our children have a better theoretical and practical awareness of environmental issues, and had them contribute in their own little way to making the earth cleaner and greener in future.”

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A walk through Bui Xuan Phai’s Hanoi

In recognition of painter Bui Xuan Phai (1920-1987), the Goethe Institute Hanoi will hold an exhibition of his paintings on his birthday September 1.

The exhibition that opens September 1 will feature 36 works chosen by the artist’s son, Bui Thanh Phuong. It is the first in a three exhibition series “City in Art” that presents artist’s impressions of Hanoi from foreigners’ and Vietnamese perspectives. The next two shows will start in November.

Bui Xuan Phai, who is seen by many as the most important Vietnamese painter of the 20th century, was born in Hanoi and spent his entire life there. In his small atelier at 87 Thuoc Bac he worked intensively as a freelance artist and left behind an extensive artistic legacy. He was famous especially for his paintings of the Hanoi ancient city, whose streets and characteristic angles he repeatedly used as the subject in his paintings and drawings.

Bui Xuan Phai significantly influenced the development of modern art in Vietnam, although it was not until 1984 that he was recognized with the first and only solo exhibition in his lifetime.

The exhibition will run untill September 3.

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Old paintings touch a heart

Tezuka Katsuyoshi and his black cat in the Cat gallery - Photo: Thanh Hang

Tezuka Katsuyoshi was once famous for his Japanese-styled pho (beef noodle soup) on Dong Khoi Street in HCMC. But when his restaurant closed down and he opened an art gallery, the people around Katsuyoshi discovered he had another side.

Tezuka has spent 15 years living in Vietnam collecting Vietnamese works of art by the old painters, like Luong Xuan Nhi, Nguyen Sang or Nguyen Gia Tri. His four storey private gallery called Cat houses thousands of paintings and he attests to a strong affinity with them. “I must look at the paintings before I can go to bed. I must look at the paintings before I can go to sleep. I must look at the paintings before I can get drunk.”

What the gallery on Dong Khoi Street lacks in glitz it makes up for with the calm atmosphere of the East. The old paintings depict the slow pace of life of bygone days in Vietnam. They seem to communicate with us in a language lost to the rush of modern life. Asked why he feels such a deep affection with these old paintings, Tezuka answered that he was simply taken by their beauty. Love doesn’t need an explanation, he said.

Tezuka started his collection with no business aspirations – he kept his whole collection in a private storehouse and never showed it to anyone. He was satisfied to enjoy the paintings all alone, but that changed when he decided to open the gallery to the public in early 2010, as he was starting to feel old. None of the paintings in Cat gallery carries a price tag. Any customer who wants to buy one must agree on a price with Tezuka.

Sitting on a Vietnamese traditional bed, stroking a black cat and listening to the tropical storm outside, the old Japanese man rarely more than half-opened his eyes. Though he didn’t say a lot, he didn’t need to, to express the devotion he has to the paintings of Vietnam’s modern masters.

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French and German films at Idecaf in September

Poster film The Gilr From Monaco

The institute for cultural exchange with France (Idecaf), and the Goethe Institute HCMC will introduce to Vietnamese audiences four French and German films in at Idecaf, 28 Le Thanh Ton Street, HCMC’s District 1 in September.

The film The Third Sex, directed by director Veit Harlan and starring Christian Wolff, Paula Wessely, Paul Dahlke, will be screened at 7:30 p.m. on September 7. The film shows how German young people reacted against homosexuality in the late 1950s. The film follows a young artist Carl who hangs out with a gay guy called Manfred. Carl’s parents try to pull him out the affair that they think will lead  to a fate worse than death.

The film Railway Station Novel directed by Claude Lelouch and starring Dominique Pinon, Fanny Ardant, Audrey Dana will be screened at 3 p.m. on September 11. The film is about a successful writer, who is seeking new characters for her next novel about a criminal trying to escape from prison.

A French romantic film You and Me  will screen at 3 p.m. on September 18. The film is directed by Julie Lopes-Curval and stars Marion Cotillard, Julie Depardieu.

The film tells of the love lives of two sisters Lena and Ariane.

The Girl From Monaco directed by Anne Fontaine is on at 3 p.m. on September 25. Bertrand, a lawyer, Christophe, a bodyguard, and a TV weathergirl get caught in a love triangle.  The film stars Fabrice Luchini, Roschdy Zem and Louise Bourgoin.

Tickets are VND15,000 per person.

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Canon Vietnam launches marathon photo contest

This photo, themed Gia Dinh (Family), by Chu Duc Minh of Hanoi won the grand prize of US$7,000 last year

Canon will organize the annual “Canon PhotoMarathon Vietnam″ photo contest next month, which, as the name suggests, will give competitors three themes in quick succession for completion within a given time frame.

The competition, to be held in Hanoi on September 11 and Ho Chi Minh City the next day, is open to all photographers living in Vietnam.

Each participant will be given three separate themes to base their photos on. They will get three hours to complete each, return to the contest location with their pictures, and download them on to the server before getting the next one.

The work will be judged on criteria like creativity in theme interpretation, use of colors and light/shadow, composition of photograph, and relevance to theme.

There will be one winner and two merit-prize winners in each theme.

The best contestant will get an overall grand prize of US$7,000.

Chu Duc Minh of Hanoi won the grand prize last year.

Further information can be obtained at ha_do@canon.com.sg or tuquan_thai@canon.com.sg.

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