Best Halong Budget Cruise | Besides water puppetry,tourists to Hanoi can enjoy traditional cheo (traditional operetta) extracts,quan ho (love duets) and chau van. To attract tourists,the Hanoi Department of Culture,Sports and Tourism has designed a special traditional art program at Hanoi Cheo Theatre. It was introduced for the first time to travel firm representatives on June 8. The show is around 60 minute long,comprising typical folk art music of Vietnam like cheo,quan ho,ca tru,hat xam,chau van,martial arts,dan bau (mono-chord),and circus. Luu Duc Ke,Hanoitourist’s director,remarked that foreign tourists have only seen water puppetry in Hanoi. Visitors who stay for several days or return to the city a second time need new shows. Ke praised the Hanoi Department of Culture,Sports and Tourism’s efforts,but recommended that the show should be changed a little in terms of costumes and actors. Phan Duc Man,Kim Lien Tourism Company Chair,added that the content and length are appropriate,but items need to be more lively and the show needs to have exchanges between actors and the audience. Some others proposed that the organizers need to pay more attention to translation and to print leaflets in various languages. This show will be held at the Hanoi Cheo Theatre from 8mp everyday from June to December 2010. Chau van or hat van is a traditional Vietnamese folk art which combines trance singing and dancing. Its music and poetry are combined with a variety of instruments,rhythms,pauses,and tempos. Hat chau van originated in the 16th century and spread quickly. The main musical instrument used in hat van performance is the dan nguyet or moon-shaped lute. The genre is famous for its use in rituals for deity mediumship. Chau Van serves two purposes:to help hypnotize the medium to receive the deities and to accompany the medium’s actions with appropriate music. Cheo is a form of generally satirical musical theatre,often encompassing dance,traditionally performed by Vietnamese peasants in northern Vietnam. It is usually performed outdoors by semi-amateur touring groups in a village square or the courtyard of a public building,although it is today increasingly also performed indoors and by professional performers. Quan ho singing is a Vietnamese folk music style characterized both by its antiphonal nature,with alternating groups of female and male singers issuing musical challenges and responses,and by the fact that most of the songs in the repertoire deal with topics of love and sentimentality. Quan ho was recognised as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. Quan ho originated in what is now Bac Ninh Province,was first recorded in the 13th century and has traditionally been associated with the spring festivals that follow the celebration of Tet (the Vietnamese New Year). There are a huge number of quan ho melodies,with thousands of different songs recorded and written down. Ca tru (also known as hat a dao) is an ancient genre of chamber music featuring female vocalists,with origins in northern Vietnam. For much of its history,it was associated with a geisha-like form of entertainment. Ca tru is inscribed on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2009. Xam or hat xam (Xam singing) is a type of Vietnamese folk music popularized in northern Vietnam,but is considered nowadays as an endangered form of traditional music. In the dynastic period,xam was generally performed by blind artists who wandered from town to town and earned their living by singing in common areas. Xam artists often play dan bau or dan nhi to accompany the songs themselves,sometimes they form a band with one singer and others who play traditional instruments such as drum or phach. Dan bau is a Vietnamese monochord. While the earliest written records of the Dan Bau date its origin to 1770,many scholars estimate its age to be up to one thousand years older than that. Water puppetry is a tradition that dates back as far as the 11th century CE when it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam. Today’s Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique variation on the ancient Asian puppet tradition. The puppets are made out of wood and then lacquered. The shows are performed in a waist-deep pool. A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers,who are normally hidden behind a screen,to control them. Thus the puppets appear to be moving over the water. When the rice fields would flood,the villagers would entertain each other using this form of puppet play. Source:Vietnamnet A week of cultural and tourist activities started in the southernmost province of Ca Mau on April 25 to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the liberation of southern Vietnam and receive the UNESCO’s decision recognising Ca Mau Cape as the world’s biosphere reserve. The event is a chance for the province to introduce its economic potentials,especially in ecological tourism and raise the people’s awareness on environment protection amid the modernisation and industrialisation process,Trong said. Truong Vinh Trong,Party Politburo member and Deputy Prime Minister;Ha Thi Khiet,Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for People’s Mobilisation;officials from Mekong Delta provinces and over 10,000 local people attended the opening ceremony of the Ca Mau Cape Tourism-Culture Week 2010. On the occasion,the Deputy PM urged Ca Mau to pay more attention to preserving its wetlands ecosystem and tapping into the economic and scientific potentials of the Ca Mau Cape biosphere reserve in an effective and sustainable way. The UNESCO on May 26,2009 voted for the recognition of Ca Mau Cape as a world biosphere reserve together with 21 other sites in 17 countries across the world at a meeting held in Jeju,the Republic of Korea. Ca Mau Cape,the southernmost part of the country,sprawls an area of 371,506ha with the core zone strictly safeguarded from any poaching and humans encroachments. The core zone comprises of Ca Mau and U Minh Ha national parks and coastal defensive forests to the West Sea in the Gulf of Thailand,boasting different ecosystems;salt-marsh forests and coastal waters. The Ca Mau National Park has a diverse wetland ecological system marked with 93 flora species belonging to 38 families,28 animal species from 13 families and six amphibian species from four families. (Source:VNA) Vietnam tours –Vietnam travel online –Origin Vietnam tour:The Diamond Princess Cruise ship,with over 1,700 tourists aboard,anchored in the central city of Nha Trang on April 19,after visiting Ho Chi Minh City.  Princess Cruise Visitors from the ship made a one-day tour of the city,including the Cai River,Ponagar Tower,villages such Lu Cam ceramic village,the Dien Khanh ancient house,Long Son Pagoda and Dam trade centre. This was the second time in April that Diamond Princess has visited Nha Trang. Its next port of call will be Hong Kong. Nha Trang has so far this year welcomed nearly 9,000 tourists from cruise ships. (Source:VNA)  Origin Vietnam Travel –British and Vietnamese spelunkers have finished a ten-day exploration of the Son Doong Cave,called the world’s largest grotto
The 20-member exploration team joined explorers from the British Cave Research Association (BCRA) and the Hanoi University for Natural Sciences. The explorers penetrated an additional 530 meters into the Quang Binh province cave,increasing the part that has been surveyed to 7.2 kilometers. They confirmed that Son Doong has two entrances,unlike the mammoth karst caves in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (Quang Binh).
Team leader Howard Limbert called Son Doong unsuitable for tourism. It is too deep and its river flows too fast for the safety of unskilled visitors. Thus,although the cave is not very far from the western branch of the Ho Chi Minh Highway,it should be preserved in its natural state,he said. A documentary about Son Doong will be aired after this survey,so adventure fans can look forward to exploring the cave on TV. In mid-2009,the British Royal Cave Society announced the discovery of the world’s largest cave by Ho Khanh,a man in Quang Binh,who had named it Son Doong. The cave is 2 kilometers in length,150 meters at the highest point,and 90 meters wide. Before this site was discovered,Deer Cave in Malaysia was recognized as the world’s biggest cave at 100 meters high,90 meters wide and 2 kilometers long. PV. Source:VNE Origin Vietnam Travel –Path to Heaven Cave being carved
 Work is now on to open a new 4.7km route to Thien Duong (Heaven) Cave in the central province of Quang Binh on April 30. The forest road can be traversed foot,by bicycle,or horse cart. Discovered in 2005,Heaven Cave is in the park’s ecological restoration area. Situated 191m above sea level,it has the most spectacular stalactites anywhere in the park. Tour operator offers huge discounts Sai Gon Tourism Petroleum Services Co Ltd (SPSC Tour) has launched promotional tours offering 30 to 35 per cent discounts and a bonus of VND1 million for making bookings on either March 22 or 29. The promotions are available on a six-day Ha Noi- Ha Long –Sa Pa tour costing VND6.7 million,a four-day Ha Noi –Ha Long –Ninh Binh tour costing from VND4.23 million,a five-day Da Nang –Son Tra –Hoi An –Ba Na tour priced from VND3.6 million,a Da Nang –My Son –Hue –Phong Nha tour costing VND4 million,and a three-day tour of Phu Quoc Island costing VND3.8 million. The VND1 million is available on tours of Thailand,Singapore,Malaysia,Hong Kong,Macau,and the Chinese mainland. SPSC is receiving discounts on airfares from Vietnam Airlines and so tourists are required to book one month before departure,the company said.
Thailand tours continue despite unrest Uncertainty caused by the unrest in Thailand has been blamed for the cancellation of tours to the country last week by tour operators. Ben Thanh Tourist said it would stay out of Thailand until the end of April and the HCM City-based Lua Viet,until the end of March. Others like Viettravel and Youth Tourist Company have resumed tours to Thailand but are keeping a close watch on the situation. The latter said it takes nearly 20 clients daily. The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s HCM City Office said airports,tourist attractions,and shopping malls are functioning normally and the protests have not disrupted normal life in Bangkok. Cities mark 50 years of friendship Celebrations to mark 50 years of friendship between Ha Noi,Hue,and Sai Gon were held in Hue from March 24 to 26 during which the Department of Culture,Sports and Tourism in the three cities organised spectacular music shows. On March 24 a Ha Noi-Hue-Sai Gon photo exhibition and a book exhibition celebrating the 35th anniversary of the liberation of Thua Thien-Hue and 50th anniversary of the three cities’sisterhood opened. A ceremony was held at the King Quang Trung monument yesterday,March 25,and it will be followed by a workshop on Ha Noi-Hue-Sai Gon at the International Convention Centre in Hue today. The event also included boat races,performances of Hue traditional songs,and release of lanterns on the Huong River. Nippon offers daily service to Tokyo Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) has announced that it will add two weekly flights from HCM City to Tokyo to offer daily service between the two cities from this Sunday,after nine years’operation on the route. ANA predicts that not only the flow of passengers from Japan and the US to Viet Nam would increase but that the amount of cargo flown into Viet Nam from these countries would increase as well. VietNamNet/Viet Nam News Origin Vietnam Travel –Thousands of spectators will have a chance to enjoy spectacular fireworks displays in the Da Nang International Fireworks Competition 2010,due to be held from March 27-28 in the central city of Da Nang.  With the theme of ‘The Legend of the Han River’,the competition draws the participation of five teams from France,Portugal,Japan,the USA and Vietnam.
The third event of its kind which aims to attract more tourists to the beautiful central city is one of the country’s seven big cultural events to celebrate the 1,000th founding anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi. This year the competition coincide with will be held on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the City’s liberation. So far,everything is ready for the event. The competition’s total cost is estimated at VND 25 billion which has been mobilised from enterprises and units,not from the city’s budget. Da Nang’s sky will be lightened up in a few coming days. According to Director of Municipal External Relations Department Luong Minh Sam,the Da Nang International Fireworks Competition has been organised in an ever more professional manner with diverse cultural activities on the sideline which attract both domestic and international visitors. Vietnam Airlines will provide 25 fights more from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang from March 26-29 to cater for the event. A grand stand with the capacity of 26,000 seats will be set up in the eastern side of the Han River. As planned,the French team will join with a colourful fireworks display giving the idea of a romantic love story themed ‘The Legend of Au Co and Golden Dragon’. It will last in 20 minutes and 30 seconds. Meanwhile,the Portuguese team promises to bring the spectators the ‘Dragon and Fire,Where the Legend Begins’which is full of light and sound effects. In 24 minutes and eight seconds,dozens of different kinds of fireworks using new and creative technologies will be displayed by the US team. The performance will open with the background music of ‘The Melody of the Han River’together with a short speech about the Vietnamese people and the Han River. The team from the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’will combine traditional and modern materials for their performance with the image of ascending dragon. To express the development five basic elements according to Eastern philosophy,the Japanese team will display in five different venues. With the theme of ‘Legend of the Han River’,the host team’s 21 –minute performance will feature five themes:Where the Dragon Delivers,the young days of the Han River,the Han River –The Sorrow of War,the Choppy Han River and the Han River –Love and Aspiration. The competition will also include interesting cultural and tourism activities such as the demonstration of 35 flower boats representing the 35th anniversary of Da Nang Liberation Day,releasing flower garlands and coloured lanterns on the river as well as some installation art and photo exhibitions by local artists.
By Thanh Loc. Source:Nhan Dan The Tourism Information Technology Center (under Vietnam National Administration of Tourism) on March 25 chaired a seminar on promoting tourist destinations in Vietnam using 3D online media. The seminar had the attendance of tourism managing officials from Culture,Sports and Tourism Departments of Ha Noi,Nghe An,Ninh  Binh and Lao Cai,together with key staff of TITC.
In the presentation,Mr. Terence Mak – CEO of Singaporean 3rd Planet Ptd. –underlined the outstanding effect of 3D online media on promoting tourist destinations,which would be a helpful technical solution to draw more visitors by introducing destinations more lively and effectively. He estimated that there,so far,have been some 580 million people using this media worldwide and the number would increase to 1 billion people by 2018.
The participants also spent time on debating the topic and hoped that the application of 3D technology would be a new approach to tourist promotion,helping improve destinations’ images and attract more tourists to Vietnam. By T.P (TITC) Rare prints composed by world famous Spanish artist Francisco de Goya y Lucientes between 1810 and 1820 are on display for the second time in Vietnam at an exhibition in the HCMC Fine Arts Museum. The 33 etchings are from Goya’s series Disaster of War,which is a collection of painful scenes from Spain’s War of Independence (1808-1814) against the French. The etchings were exhibited in Vietnam for the first time in Hanoi in October 2008. The works were brought to the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum by American Dr Hans Guggenheim,who came to the country to exhibit 46 prints from his personal collection by the Spanish artist to celebrate the 5th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Spain. In 2009,Guggenheim donated 33 of the prints to the Vietnam Fine Art Museum. The etchings showcase Spain’s struggle for liberation against Napoleon’s troops. Hanging alongside Goya’s pieces are 205 paintings and sketches completed during the French and American war by Vietnamese artists such as Huynh Phuong Dong,Thai Ha,Le Hong Hai and Co Tan Long Chau.  While the etchings show the pain,sorrow and death suffered by Spanish people during their struggle,exhibition goer will also see the encouraged and optimistic spirits of soldiers in paintings by the Vietnamese artists,says Ma Thanh Cao,acting director of the HCMC Fine Arts Museum.
The exhibition opening was celebrated by the HCMC Fine Arts Association and the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum to mark the 35th anniversary of the liberation of the South (April 30) and the 1,000th anniversary of capital Hanoi. The exhibition can be enjoyed though April 15 at the HCMC Fine Arts Museum,97A Pho Duc Chinh Street,District 1.(Source:VNA) A painting exhibition opened at a showroom of the Judith Hughes Day Contemporary Vietnamese Fine Art in New York on March 24.  The exhibition,which was part of activities to mark Asian Week in the US,was co-organised by the Boston Properties,the Midtown Arts Common and the Judith Hughes Day Contemporary Vietnamese Fine Art.
On display were unique paintings created by famous Vietnamese artists,featuring beautiful landscape,historical scenes,and depictions of the religious,cultural and spiritual life of the Vietnamese people. Judith Hughes Day,a member of the exhibition’s organising board,said she has visited Vietnam many times and invited Vietnamese artists to introduce their works in the US. Her showroom aims to display works created by Vietnamese artists in both Vietnam and the US. The exhibition will last until April 30. (Source:VOV) Hanoians will have a chance to enjoy a ca tru (traditional ceremonial singing) show by UNESCO’s ca tru club at the outdoor stage of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology on March 28.
 Born in about the 15th century and reaching its golden peak in the 19th century,ca tru,an UNESCO intangible cultural heritage,like many ancient and highly developed arts,has many forms,but the most widely known and widely performed type involves three performers:a female vocalist,a lute player and a spectator (who also takes part in the performance).
The female singer provides the vocals while playing her phach (small wooden sticks on a small bamboo platform) to serve as percussion. She is accompanied by a man who plays the dan day,a long-necked,3-string lute used almost exclusively for the genre. Last is the spectator (often a scholar or connoisseur of the art) who strikes a trong chau (praise drum) in praise of the singer’s performance,usually with every passage of the song.
After enjoying ca tru,visitors can enjoy a puppet water show.
Tickets are available at the museum,Nguyen Van Huyen Street,Cau Giay District,Hanoi and are VND25,000. (Source:SGT) |
