HCM City displays Tet culture

Signature tradition: Artists at work at the calligraphy market in front of the Youth Cultural House on Pham Ngoc Thach Street in HCM City's District 1. — VNS File Photo

HCM CITY — HCM City is preparing for traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) with music shows, charity activities, art exhibitions and calligraphy markets.

The Youth Cultural House has launched a Tet Festival for city residents, especially for students who cannot return to their hometowns during Lunar New Year festivities.

Famous singers including Phuong Thanh, Hien Thuc and Quang Linh will perform at a music show at the cultural house today.

At the Aám Tinh Mua Xuan (Warm Spring) concert, an auction of Viet Nam's largest paper crane, made of 18,000 cranes, will be held to raise funds for gifts for 15,000 poor children and people.

The city's teenagers will have a chance to learn how to make the southern Viet Nam's traditional cylindrical glutinous race cake, banh tet, at the Banh Tet Festival, held next Monday.

All cakes which are made at the event will be given to needy children.

The cultural house will also organise dozens of cultural, entertainment and sports activities until February 7.

The city's Information and Communications Department, for the first time, will host a book exhibition on Mac Thi Buoi Street, a section from Dong Khoi Street to Nguyen Hue Street, from January 31 to February 6.

The Uoc Mo (Wish) exhibition will display more than 1,000 titles of children books and thousands of other titles from eight publishers and distributors, including the HCM City Book Distribution Corporation (FAHASA), Dai Truong Phat Company, Vinabook, Sai Gon Media, the General Science Library, and Cuu Duc, Nhan Van and Thanh Nghia bookstores.

Visitors can read books on-site, borrow them, or bring their own books and exchange for others at the exhibition.

Calligraphy

As one of Vietnamese traditions, before Tet, people visit calligraphers (ong do) asking for New Year greetings that wish people happiness, healthy, wealth or longevity.

Nearly 100 young and old calligraphers wearing the traditional Vietnamese costume ao dai (traditional long dress) gathered on the city's main streets last Saturday to compose the greetings in black and yellow ink on red paper.

As usual, a red covering is on the front of the Labourer's Cultural House on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in District 3.

The annual calligraphy market features 35 stalls, including members of the cultural house's Vietnamese Calligraphy Club and students from city universities.

Thanh Loc, a tour guide of Viettravel, said he took part in the event when it was first launched four years ago.

"However, it took me 10 years to practise calligraphy to have confidence in selling calligraphy to people," he said.

Another calligraphy market in front of the city's Youth Cultural House on Pham Ngoc Thach Street features more than 30 artists from the cultural house's calligraphy club and neighbouring provinces.

Apart from calligraphy, ink and wash paintings, oil paintings and embroidered paintings with calligraphy are also displayed at the market.

The calligraphy works and paintings sell for VND50,000 – 1,000,000 (US$2.5 – 50), depending on the craftsmanship, size, and materials.

Both markets will remain open until February 2 (Lunar New Year's Eve). — VNS

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Antique exhibition to open during Tet

HA NOI — Antique lovers will be able to indulge at a new exhibition that is being organised by Ha Noi's Antiques Lovers Club.

Royal robes that were worn by kings and mandarins from the Nguyen dynasty, ceramic ware from the Le and Nguyen dynasties and paintings by famous Vietnamese contemporary artists will be on display at the event.

The exhibition will be held at the Exhibition House at No 93 Dinh Tien Hoang Street till February 25.

Antique collector Nguyen Truong, chairman of the club noted that an enormous amount of effort was given to preserve the objects on display.

Hue to organise prayer for peace and happiness

HUE CITY — A traditional festival to pray for peace and happiness will be held at Hue City's Huyen Tran Cultural Centre.

The eight-day festival will begin on February 10 (the 8th day of the first month of the lunar calendar), featuring three cultural events that highlight the historic royal city's culture and lifestyle.

Dozens of traditional theatre, music and song programmes will be staged by members of professional and amateur art troupes.

Traditional games such as chess and martial arts will feature several hundred people and masters of kung fu.

Visitors will also enjoy open-air culinary and flower-arranging activities during the festival.

The festival is expected to attract 50,000 people.

CNN praises 17th century Truong Luy rampart

HA NOI — CNN aired a documentary on the Truong Luy rampart on Wednesday.

The television station said the site was of significant archaeological interest and an ideal destination for adventure tourists in Southeast Asia.

Truong Luy, which was built in the 17th century, runs north to south for about 200km through the central provinces of Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh along the Truong Son mountain range. — VNS

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Dong Thap's ‘house of love' proves a popular attraction

by Thanh Ha

Warm-hearted home: The Huynh Thuy Le House is one of the most popular locations for foreign tourists when they visit the southern province of Dong Thap. Style: Vietnamese aspects combine with Western features creating a unique decor which attracts thousands of people per month. — File Photos

DONG THAP — Do you know what is the most famous house in Viet Nam? Maybe you'd answer "No" because even I only discovered it by accident.

The southern province of Dong Thap is wellknown not only for its populous and fertile land, known as the "rice bowl" of the nation, but is also home to the house made famous by Marguerite Duras in her novel The Lover.

Located in Sa Dec, the oldest town of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, the house first became a tourist site in 2007 and has since welcomed thousands of visitors.

The house was the home of the lover Duras took when she was just 15.

Her story tells of a couple who fell in love at first site on a ferry-boat running along the Tien River from Dong Thap to Sai Gon (now HCM City). They failed to have the support of their families who were from different classes and nationalities.

Huynh Thuy Le was a local inheritor of the province's richest family while French Duras was a daughter of Marie Donnadieu, a poor principle at the L'Ecole Primaire de Jeunes Filles de Sadec (Sa Dec Primary Girl School) the oldest school in the province, now renamed the Trung Vuong Primary School.

They fell deeply in love with each other although they could not tell to anyone, especially Le's family whose father had arranged a marriage between Le and a beauty from Tien Giang Province, whom later became his wife.

They knew about the obstacles but could not stop their love from developing for over a year and a half before his family became aware of the affair.

Le had to marry the arranged bride, while Duras and her relatives returned to France.

Years after the war, Le came to Paris and made a phone call to Duras to say his love for her would continue until his death.

Fifty years after their separation, the call relived the memories of the affair for Duras as though it was yesterday; and from those recollections the novel L'Amant (The Lover) was published in 1984.

The novel became a best-seller, with more than 2.4 million copies printed. In its first year of publication The Lover grabbed the Goncourt prize, a prestigious French award. The semi-autobiographical novel was then translated into 43 languages including Vietnamese and dramatised into a movie of the same name by director Jean-Jacques Annaud in 1992 starring Jane March, Lisa Faulkner and Tony Leung Ka Fai.

Apart from the love story, the house also attracts many people because of its beautiful combination of Eastern and Western architectural styles.

The 250sq.m old house at 225A Nguyen Hue Street, was constructed mainly of wood in 1895 by Huynh Cam Thuan – a wealthy local man. The Vietnamese three-roomed house was then upgraded into a French-styled villa which is what visitors can see today.

The floor was paved with patterned tiles imported from Ardeche, France. The 30-40cm-thick wall is constructed by solid bricks covering the wooden structure.

The roof consists of double tiles with two curved gables making it look like a boat, a typical symbol of the Southern waterways region.

The Western architecture is displayed by the house's front, ceiling, windows and balconies. All of them are decorated with Renaissance-styled reliefs. Meanwhile the Eastern aspects, mainly in Chinese style, are the furniture such as wardrobes, beds and altars which are carved and lacquered skilfully with flowers, animals and trees, displaying the original landlord's wealth.

When Le died in 1972, his family moved to live in France and the house was nearly abandoned. The Dong Thap Tourism Company was assigned to manage the house in 2006 and the house welcomed its first visitors a year later.

"The house is almost identical to how they left it, as Le's daughter on a visit to Viet Nam provided us with decorative details that we could copy," said Huynh Thi Kieu Xuan, a company tour guide.

The interior of the house has photos of the French writer and movie scenes on display.

The house which is also known as the Green House because it was previously painted in green [it is white now] while the rooms were decorated with wood and green glass.

The entrance fee is VND10,000 (US$0.5) per person. The fee includes a guide who can speak English or French, while tea and sugar-coated ginger are served for free. But interested tourists can also book a homestay here at a cost of $30 per room per night which covers a breakfast and lunch or they can enjoy lunch or dinner with Vietnamese and European dishes readily available.

"The house is on the list of must-visit places among foreigners, especially the French, who have read the book or watched the movie," said Tong Duy Minh, director of the Dong Thap Tourism Company.

"Many of them love to stay in the house and act as what the house owner did in the past although the conditions here are not comfortable for them. There isn't any air conditioning, nor fridge or bathroom inside the house," Minh said.

The house which was recognised as a national relic in 2009 has received an average of 1,000 visitors per month, double the figure of 2009.

"They want to be here also because of the house is next to the river and a market. Visitors can make a walk through and witness local residents living and working. We have already received some students who have booked the room for a week to discover life here," Minh said.

Minh said that the house would be much more beautiful in the future as the provincial museum is collecting more of the house's lost objects from Le's relatives. — VNS

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Cruise ship brings 3,000 visitors

Three international cruise ships brought more than 3,000 visitors and crew to HCM City last weekend.

US vessels Nautica, which came with 7,000 passengers, and SeaBourn Pride, which had 100, anchored at Sai Gon Port last Saturday. The visitors went around HCM City and to the Mekong province of Tien Giang. The Nautica later visited Chan May Port in Thua Thien-Hue and Ha Long Bay before leaving for Hong Kong. The SeaBourn Pride anchored in Da Nang and Ha Long Bay before also leaving for Hong Kong today.

The Italian-flagged Costal Classica dropped anchor at Lotus Port in HCM City and its 2,500 passengers visited HCM City and My Tho. It later went to Da Nang, Hue, and Ha Long before leaving on Wednesday.

Plan to attract Japanese investment

Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Nam provinces and Da Nang plan to set up a joint representative office in Japan as part of a programme to attract Japanese tourists to Viet Nam.

Travel firms, Vietnam Airlines, and a Japanese organisation have pledged support, and the office is expected to open later this year.

"We want to open it soon since Japan is among our important markets," said Tran Quoc Thanh, deputy director of Thua Thien-Hue Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Regional countries to produce 3D tour

Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar will jointly produce a documentary titled Four Countries – One Destination to promote their tourism industry.

It will make use of 3D filming to depict the countries' history, culture, and daily life.

It will focus on exotic destinations like the Temple of Literature, Thang Long royal citadel, and handicraft villages in Ha Noi, the Mekong River, the ancient capital of Luang Prabang, and Thap Luang in Laos, Angkor Wat, the ancient capital of Angkor Thom, and Sea Lake in Cambodia, and the Shwe Dagon pagoda, ancient capital of Mandalay, and Bagas city in Myanmar.

First helicopter tour takes off

An MI 172 helicopter took off from Da Nang Airport last week with 24 tourists on board to popular sites like Son Tra Beach, Mount Ngu Hanh Son, Cua Dai Beach, and Cham Island.

It was the first helicopter tour conducted by the Northern Air Services Co and the Vitours. In the beginning, besides the Russian-made MI 172, a French EC 155B1 will also be used for the tours.

There will be a flight each before and after Tet, with each tourist paying nearly VND6 million (US$300).

Phan Thiet offers Tet festivities

Phan Thiet will hold a series of cultural and sports events from January 30 to February 8 to mark the Lunar New Year in early February.

There will be music performances, sports, folk games, and lion dances in most of the city's 16 wards.

The Bien Xanh theatre group will hold music galas in the communes of Tien Thanh, Phong Nam, and Thien Nghiep.

Tien Loi - Tien Thanh Tourist Park will have a fireworks display on New Year's Eve on February 2.

A boat race will be held on the Ca Ty River on the February 4 and the Mui Ne Sand Hill Run will be held two days later.

Furama Resort to hold Tet market

The five-star Furama Resort Da Nang will organise a Tet market for tourists from January 27 to 30, offering guests the experience and colour of a Vietnamese country market and craft village.

They can witness people making banh chung (square glutinous cake with green bean and pork), fortune tellers in traditional costumes in action, and ong do (calligraphers) drawing "parallel sentences" and creating Dong Ho folk paintings. — VNS

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Their time to shine

Lakeside: Ho Guom (Sword Lake) by HCM City Fine Arts College lecturer Le Xuan Chieu. Talk to the hand: Toi Dang Lang Nghe (I Am Listening) by Tran Thi Ngoc Linh, a student at the HCM City Fine Arts College.

HCM CITY — A group of 52 artists from HCM City is presenting an overview of current lacquer paintings at their exhibition at the HCM City Fine Arts College.

Son Mai Sai Gon 2011 (Sai Gon Lacquer) features more than 50 works in different styles, using the traditional material of lacquer.

Being a native of northern province of Ha Tay (now part of Ha Noi), the influence of Le Xuan Chieu's birthplace can be seen in his art works.

The lecturer of the city's Fine Arts College's highlighted work is Ho Guom (Sword Lake), featuring Vietnamese girls in traditional costume ao dai (traditional long dress) at Ho Guom, a landmark of Ha Noi.

Like Chieu, landscapes and beautiful women are also sources of inspiration of veteran artists like 83-year-old Hoang Tram's Ha Long (Ha Long Bay) and Ca Le Dung's Xom Cau Van (Cau Van Village).

This year's exhibition features works of artists born in the 1980s, including students of the city's Fine Arts College Tran Thi Ngoc Linh and Vu Thi Thuy Dung.

The youngest participant, Linh of the college, brings a modern breath and image to her lacquer work. Linh's Toi Dang Lang Nghe (I Am Listening) portrays a girl in modern clothes listening to music with an earphone.

Held for the first time last year, the event falls on December 21 of the lunar calendar, the day that honours the memory of the ancestor who founded Vietnamese lacquer-making.

The exhibition remains open until February 12 at the Applied Arts Gallery at HCM City Fine Arts College, 5 Phan Dang Luu Street, Binh Thanh District. — VNS

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Artist donates sketches to Hue

Fantastic cat: Four of 12 cat sketches that artist Le Ba Dang has donated to Hue. .

HUE — Paris-based Vietnamese artist Le Ba Dang has donated his unique collection of 12 cat sketches to the city of Hue on the occasion of Viet Nam's Year of the Cat.

The collection will be displayed at Le Ba Dang Arts Centre, 15 Le Loi Street.

The paintings, many dating back to the 1950's, are typical of the first works Dang sold in Paris. Drawn in a Chinese calligraphy style, the ink portraits depict inquisitive, agile cats.

Dang decided he'd try drawing small sketches of cats to sell. He sold over 160 paintings in the first month and after expanding his work to ceramic plates, the business provided his family with a steady income for the next five years.

Dang, who was born in the central province of Quang Tri in 1921, immigrated to Paris in 1939. He joined resistance forces to fight fascism in France but was captured by the Germans and held as a prisoner of war.

After the war, he studied at the Toulouse Arts Institute and became famous across Europe.

He held his first exhibition in Paris in 1950 and in 1989, he was honoured by the International Institute of Saint-Louis, USA. He was also awarded the Culture and Arts Medal by the French government in 1994. — VNS

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Photos spotlight tourist attractions

HCM CITY — Two hundred photographs by journalists working for tourism publications are on display at an exhibition that opened in HCM City on Wednesday.

Sac Xuan Du Lich 2011 (Spring Colours in Tourism) marks the first anniversary of the HCM City Photographers Club, and has colour and black-and-white photos taken last year by 21 members depicting landscapes, people, and other images that attracted the photographers.

La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the HCM City Culture, Sport and Tourism Department, thanked them for their contribution in showcasing the multi-colours and diversity of HCM City and also the country to both domestic and international audiences.

The exhibition, at the Journalists Association's office in District 1, will go on until February 10.

Last year club members held a photo exhibition in February to mark the 1,000th anniversary of capital Ha Noi last year and another themed HCM City – 24 Hours in April.

An exhibition titled Truong Sa Ngay Nay (Truong Sa Nowadays) by Hoang Chi Hung, the club's head, last August raised VND200 million (US$10,000) for soldiers on Truong Sa (Spratly) Island. — VNS

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