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The first-ever UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Performance Festival will be held in the northern province of Phu Tho, featuring art troupes from 13 provinces and cities in the three regions of Vietnam. Troupes from Hanoi will perform ca tru (ceremonial singing) and rituals of Giong Festival of Soc Temple and Phu Dong Temple. Other cultural items to be showcased included  don ca tai tu (southern folk music), xoan singing at Phu Tho, and Cham pottery. The festival consists of Intangible Cultural Heritage Performance and Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition.  People flock to Hung Temple Festival. Photo: Ngoc Tu/The Hanoi Times According to Ho Dai Dung, Vice Chairman of the Phu Tho People’s Committee, there include performances of  xoan  singing, Inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2019, in three types: Worship singing, Ritual singing, and Festive singing. In additio...

Priceless antiquities from Toulouse, France, and Hanoi, Vietnam, are revealed at an exhibition at Hanoi’s Thang Long Imperial Citadel. Opened on April 13, the event “From the Underground to the Museum: A Journey of Artifacts” highlighted the similarities between Toulouse’s and Hanoi’s heritage preservation. The exhibition, organized by the Hanoi People’s Committee in cooperation with the Toulouse City Government and the French Development Agency (AFD), is part of the 12th Vietnam-France Decentralization Conference on April 14-16. It shows the connection and history of cooperation between the two cities, heritage conservation, and promotion of UNESCO heritage sites.  Artifacts on display at the exhibition. Photo: Ngo Minh/The Hanoi Times The exhibition explains heritage research and presentation, with the contribution of experts on archeology, history, architecture, design, and museum studies. The showing includes three themes: Hanoi and Toulouse build a shared an...

The Xu Doai Tourism Festival, with the theme “Xu Doai Culinary,” will be scheduled to take place in June or August in Ao Vua (King’s Pond) Tourism Area in Tan Linh Commune of Ba Vi District, Hanoi.   Ao Vua  Waterfall, Ao Vua Tourism Area in Tan Linh Commune of Ba Vi District, Hanoi. Photo:  Ao Vua Tourism Area The Xu Doai or Xoai region including the seven districts and cities of Ba Vi, Son Tay, Phuc Tho, Dan Phuong, Hoai Duc, Thach That, and Quoc Oai, is located west of Hanoi. The region is considered the cradle of early Vietnamese culture. The Xu Doai Tourism Festival is a venue to showcase regional specialties from the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program and other tourism-related products, according to Deputy Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department Nguyen Hong Minh. “Gastronomy is the strength of Hanoi tourism, especially the unique cuisine of Xu Doai,” he said. “This first-ever tourism festival on Xu Doai cuisine will help promote Han...

Boasting some 2,000 miles of coastline plus a handful of renowned island destinations, Vietnam naturally has no shortage of beautiful beaches. Sure, you could just stick to cities, what with the colonial architecture and history of Hanoi, the imperial charms of Hue, and the bustling nightlife of Saigon. But you’d be remiss to plan a Vietnamese vacation without hitting the water at least once—plus, most cities are just a day-trip from the coast, if not on the coast already, according to Forbes. 1. Sao Beach, Phu Quoc Photo: Dang Thi Duyen Bai Sao Beach, aka Star Beach, located around 25km from the capital of Phu Quoc island is an ideal place to escape from the hustle and bustle of a busy life. It has a perfect beach, white powdery sand, jungle backdrop and so many swaying palm trees for tourists to enjoy. There are so many reasons why Bai Sao is so popular to visitors worldwide. First of all, we should talk about its beautiful white sand. Then, you can sit and enjoy a fr...

Songrit Pongern is a Thai journalist and cultural researcher who has visited Vietnam many times. In his perception, Vietnam has a unique indigenous diversity reflected in the beliefs, lifestyles of the people, methods of production, especially in agriculture. According to Songrit, the diversity in Vietnamese culture is also reflected in the richness of regional customs, traditions and art forms. It is proved by the fact that Vietnam has dozens of cultural features recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Some can be listed such as Hue Royal Court Music, Central Highlands Gongs, Bac Ninh quan ho folk singing, ca tru, xoan singing in Phu Tho, don ca tai tu singing in the Mekong Delta or vi dam folk singing in Nghe Tinh area. Having been to Lac village in Mai Chau , Hoa Binh during his first visit to Vietnam more than 30 years ago, Songrit is still impressed with the beautiful scenery, ...

About 40 US artists will participate in the exhibition which has been designed in two spaces. The first space, themed “Finding Parkinsons” will display artworks by painter David Thomas who was born in Portland, Maine, in 1946. He joined the US Army in 1968 and was subsequently sent to Vietnam to serve as a combat engineer/artist for one year from April 11, 1969, to April 10, 1970. After leaving the US Army, Thomas then joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to protest US involvement in Vietnam, with many of his artworks focusing on the anti-war movement. In 2000, he was awarded the “Vietnam Art Medal” by the Vietnamese Government in recognition of his contributions to the arts. The second space will bring together artworks of 37 members of the Boston Printmakers. Originally founded in 1947, the mission of the Boston Printmakers is to promote public knowledge of printmaking, encourage and support artists working in printmaking, as well as promoting both excellence and inn...