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Drive for learning expressed in folk art
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CONTENT No 1, VOL.8, FEBRUARY - MARCH 2018
8 Master of the game SPORT
10 The daring young man (and woman) on the flying trapeze RITUAL
12 Breaking the sun and moon CRAFTS
14 The secret foundries where the past comes to life 16 The traditional fishing tool that’s also a staple of international home décor COMMERCE
22 A fresh crop of fish EXHIBITIONS
24 ‘The line’ belongs to artist Tran Van Thao NATURE
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26 A storied creek with a sacred history MUSIC
28 Gong show
CEREMONY
30 The tears of a clown 34 37 38 40
ART
Drive for learning expressed in folk art WHAT THE PAPER SAY EVENT
DIRECTIONS
Cover photograph: A Dong Ho painting Photo by Le Bich
Published by the Cultural Heritage Association of Vietnam
Publication licence No: 1648/GP-BTTTT from the Ministry of Information and Communications of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for the English-language edition of The Gioi Di San (The World of Heritage) magazine Editor-in-Chief: Le Thanh Hai; Public Relations Director: Bui Thi Hang Managing Editor: Kha Tu Anh; Sub-editing: Erik Johnson, Le Hoai Nam ; Assistant: Van Thanh Nga, Nguyen Dang Khoa; Designer: Thanh Binh; Contributing Photographers: Nguyen Ba Han, Hoang Quoc Tuan, Hoang The Nhiem, Huynh Van Nam, Le Hoai Phuong, Nguyen Anh Tuan; Nguyen Ba Ngoc Correspondent: Pip de Rouvray; Advertising and Circulation: Green Viet Advertising JSC Email: tapchidisanvietnam@gmail.com & vnheritagemagazine@gmail.com; Thuy Phuong 0969 47 3579 Hanoi Advertising and Subscription: The He Moi MHN Viet Nam Co.Ltd, Mr Song Hao: 0903 476 999 Nha Trang Advertising and Subscription: Bach Cat Co. Ltd,; 22/6A Bach Dang Str. Nha Trang City Tel: (58) 360 7070 Fax (58) 387 0099, Email: bachcatprco.ltd@gmail.com Contact in the US for subscription and advertising: 2628 Sturla dr. San Jose, CA 95148
Vietnam Heritage Magazine
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www.vietnamheritage.com.vn
Vietnam Heritage is published monthly, produced in Vietnam and printed at Army Printing House No 2. © All rights reserved.
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AFC U23 Championship Vietnamese warriors in the snow Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre Changzhou, China 27 January 2018 Photo: Phạm Tuấn Hữu
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SPORTS
Photo: Nguyen Khoi
R E T MASTER S A M GAME OF THE GAME OF THE
F
BY TRAN AI
our years after national hero General Vo Nguyen Giap passed away, Vietnam’s streets were once again full, this time in celebration of the U23 football team. The team represented the nation, holding the hopes of millions of fans across the country, and the team’s victory at each game at the tournament was like an achievement for all Vietnamese peoples. When the final tournament of AFC Championship began, not many Vietnamese fans thought their team would advance into the last games of the tournament, as the team was in the same table with giants, including South Korea and Australia. The first loss, to the South Korean team, seemed to bear this fear out. Football is, by nature, unpredictable. The Vietnamese team beat the Australian team 1-0 in the second game, making it a historic win. Cheerful crowds appeared on the streets after that, with young people shouting and bustling from the first victory, as well as fantasizing about more. The team tied 0-0 with Syria to step into the quarter round of the biggest tournament of the continent. Vietnamese fans were cautiously delighted. They wanted to celebrate and idolize the players, but the memory of Quoc Vuong and Van Quyen, who brought shame to themselves, their country and the game by conspiring to fix a 2005 game with Myanmar was still fresh in their minds. This generation of Vietnamese footballers was different, though. They grew up in poor families, like those in the 2005 generation, but it seemed they put passion higher than the wealth in their minds. That was proved by the penalty win of 5-3 over the quarterfinal rival, Iraq. Many people said the win was historic and they should be content with that, not daring to go further. But, the team did even greater things. They grabbed another win at semifinal game with penalty
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Mr Park Hang Seo & Mr Doan Nguyen Duc Photo: Minh Tran
SPORTS
score of 4-2 over Qatar. No Vietnamese dared imagine that their team would go that far, but since then, thousands started fantasizing about the final victory. Almost every home and office across the country prepared for the date of final game on January 27, as if preparing for Tet itself. Unfortunately, the team lost, but they played like the warriors for 120 minutes in the snow and cold and this moved the audiences of both Vietnamese and foreign visitors. They were later welcomed home as heroes returned from great battles. Even the golden generation of Vietnamese football in 1990 praised them as the best Vietnamese footballers ever as Hong Son was quoted in the local newspaper as saying “they were greater than our generation.” Cheers echoed at least ten days after the team returned home, as fans showed their passion for the Vietnamese U23 team. Meanwhile, the players and coach Park travelled to the Central Highlands of
THE NATIONAL CELEBRATION OVER U23 IS DUE TO ONE MAN’S PASSION AND VISION
Vietnam to meet with Doan Nguyen Duc, the chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai-Arsenal JMG Football Academy, as they were grateful for the contribution of Duc to their success. Duc, who is chairman of the economic giant Hoang Photo: Ngu Anh Gia Lai Group, has as his true passion on Vietnamese yen Khoi football and he has invested much in the growth of this form of sports. The man owns a football club in his home province, which also has the name of Hoang Anh Gia Lai and is a proof of the successful businessman’s passion for football. In 2007, he shocked the country’s football fans by deciding to cooperate with Arsenal JMG to open an academy. The enrollment tests for the academy were the greatest events around the country at the time, while hundreds of poor children got chance to be trained in professional football skills for free. And, almost 11 years since the first generation of trainees in the academy began, Vietnamese football has a new page of history: the first victory ever at the continent level. Though Duc has never said today’s success of the Vietnamese U23 team was his, everyone knows he was the first who laid the foundation of victory for the team, with some key players trained in his academy. The story so far is one of passion and gratefulness. While Vietnamese fans are grateful for truly passion of the players, the players themselves have full gratefulness to Duc, whose passion inspires the whole country. n
Photo: Le Trong Khang
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SPORT
THE DARING YOUNG MEN (AND WOMEN) ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE BY NGUYEN HOA
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Photo: Vinh Huong
Photo: Ngo Thanh Minh
winging is an ancient popular game, often played on Lunar New Year and at festivals. It is a form of sport, an entertainment, and a chance for young couple to exchange intimate words. Those who swing feel as if flying like a fairy, so in the old times people called the game ‘fairy swing’. A week before Lunar New Year or a festival, villagers select big, long, straight and strong bamboo poles to build a swing frame which include a buttress, hand rails (for safety) and a platform. The strong buttress is set in the middle of a flat ground or a village temple courtyard. On the festive day, people gather around the swing buttress at the sound of drum beats. The swingers come out to greet the spectators and stand in line waiting for their turn under the cheering of the crowd and the vibrant beat of drums. As the players flex and sway, they fly higher and higher. Their skill is measured by the maximum height they can reach. Some players or couples can even make complete 360o rounds. The game is quite extreme and dangerous so the players must have strong hearts and stable minds. The most popular ways to swing is alone or in a pair. Female singles show the subtleness of a female figure in ancient traditional dress. Male singles show off strength, firmness and the kind of resoluteness usually attributed to men. Male couples stand out by the unison of movements. Female couples make one’s dreams soar. But the most beautiful and attractive are the male-female swing couples. As they stand facing one another and looking at one another in the eyes, spectators applaud them thunderously. The applauds and cheerings grow even wilder when they sway gracefully, harmoniously flying higher and higher.n
The most typical fairy swing game sites include: - The 4th day of Lunar New Year at Gia Vien Village, Phong Hien Commune, Phong Dien District, Thua Thien Province. - Spring Festival at National Special Relic Site of Con Son - Kiep Bac, Chi Linh Township of Hai Duong Province, which takes place from 14th to 17th of the first lunar month every year. - Lim festival at Lim Township, Tien Du District of Bac Ninh Province on 12-13th of the first lunar month. This is one of the biggest festivals of Bac Ninh Province. FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
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RITUAL
BREAKING THE SUN AND MOON TEXT BY Q.D.S ; PHOTOS BY TRAN THIET DUNG
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oong Pooc, meaning ‘Down to the Fields’, is the Giay people’s spring festival, which ends the month of leisure (New Year month) and starts a new working year with new crops. It also includes a ritual of consecration to the tutelary god to pray for his blessing for plentiful harvests, fat domestic animals, peace in the community and health for the people. The elders say that nobody knows when the custom began, but every Giay person in Ta Van Giay Village of Ta Van Commune remembers having been attending the festival on 10th day of the first lunar month every year since the day they were born. The preparation steps for the festival are assigned among the community and conducted in earnest. Five virgin girls are selected to make colorful balls from scraps of fabric. Young men are tasked with finding a tall straight tree, cutting it down and transporting it back to the village but not letting it touch the ground during the whole process to not let the soul of the tree back to the earth. The elders are required to make and decorate the sun-moon ring, covered with a paper film, red on one side to represent the sun and blue on the other side to represent the moon. The ring itself stands for the yin-yang harmony. At a set time, the host ties the sun-moon ring to the festive tree top, about 20 arm-spans from the base. In Giay custom, the Pi-le pipe band is the official signal of the appearance of the host,
village elders, and the tray of offerings to the King of Heaven, gods and Deities. As the tray of offerings is set at the place intended for the festive tree, the elders burn incence and the host turns to the direction of the rising sun to conduct a ritual asking the gods’ permision to plant the tree for the festival to begin. The host casts tablets until he gets the head-tail combination which means the gods have granted them their blessings. Gold votive papers are burned and offered. The host makes a sign for the young men to firmly plant the festive tree with the sun side of the ring turned East and the moon side turned West. After the tree is set upright, the hosts casts his tablets again untii he gets the head-tail combination again, which this time means all gods are present and the activities can begin. Then the host invites the most respected village elders to stand on two sides of the tree, four men on one side and four women on the other side.They begin throwing blessed balls at the paper film covering the sun-moon ring, trying to break the film. One side throws the balls, and then the other side picks them up and throws back until the film is penetrated, which is the good omen for a prosperous new year. As the film is broken, the host casts blessed seeds, which supposedly have divine energy and are powerfully reproductive, for people to scamble to pick up. The day goes on with a lot of fun and games, and the spirit builds up in the cold weather in the mountains. The game of tug-of-war is always the height of all the festivities. After the game, a pair of big, strong buffalos are brought to plough several furrows in a field next to the festive tree, symbolically starting a new crop. n *The article in Vietnamese version was printed on www.quydisan.org.vn
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THE SECRET FOUNDRIES WHERE THE PAST COMES TO LIFE TEXT BY KHANH LE; PHOTOS BY PHO BA CUONG
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n the modern, boisterous and hectic Saigon everything is exposed, it seems. And yet hiding behind lustrous facades is the century-old bronze cast trade village of An Hoi in blocks 6 and 7 of commune 12, Go Vap District. The bronzemelting fire shows its red hot dance every night in the commune’s deep alleys. Coming to these street blocks, I only saw Lego houses, just like any other street of Saigon. Foundries are nowhere to be seen. I had to ask three xe om to find the way to foundry of the most famous artisan of the village, Mr Tran Van Thang at house no. 50 of Nguyen Duy Cung Street. Mr Thang’s 300 m2 workshop, full of clay moulds, machines and firewood in disorder, hides behind his spacious three-storey house. ‘All bronze workshops around hide behind the houses, just like mine. They used to be exposed, shaded only by the lush canopy. Since the village was urbanized, they look like they are locked behind the bars of the streets,’ the 70 year-old artisan remarked. While we talked, a dozen workers, men and women, devotedly kneaded clay forms and drew patterns on them with sharp metal twigs. Some busied themselves with chisels and hammers, ornamenting newly cast bronze urns. Mr Thang told me some history, ‘Late in the 19th Century, two bronze masters from Hue capital came and founded the bronze trade at Phu Lam, Cho Quan villages about 10km from here. My grandfather learned the trade there and passed it down to us.’ In the golden age from 1961 to 1975, the village had as many as 33 businesses employing over 500 workers and masters. Their products were sold all over the South and exported to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. As the war ended in 1975, An Hoi Village sank into deep recession because the foundry owners had no money to buy raw material. Not until 2000-2005 did the village come back to life again. ‘Everyday people from England, France, and The Netherlands came to visit us. They loved to give a hand to our workers to make the clay moulds. Before New Year’s, traders came from everywhere, and life was festive,’ Mr Thang recalls.
CRAFTS
Starting from 2006, the trade in An Hoi shrank again. Today, there are only five foundries left. The owner of Quoc Kien foundry, about 40m from Mr Thang’s said, ‘Many foundry owners quit because the market is flooded with industrial-made bronze urns. Our purely manual production failed to compete.’ Mr Ut, a worker of the house, described his job, ‘First the top-notch clay is dried and ground into fine powder. Then it is mixed with rice husk ash and kneaded into the urn form. The form is coated with a 5mm-thick layer of bee sap and candle wax. We carve the basic ornamental elements on the wax, plaster clay on the whole form to make a brick and bake it. The wax and sap burns out, leaving a 5mm-thick space between the core and the outer mould. We pour melted bronze into that space, leave it for several days to cool down, and then smash the inner and outer moulds to get the cast urn. The last part is filing, carving patterns and polishing.’ ‘A beautiful incense set is an organic combination of skillful worker hands and years of empirical experience of a master,’ Mr Thang added. A mandatory part of every Vietnamese family altar, each incense urn set includes an urn and two candle stands, all adorned with meticulously carved traditional patterns.n FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
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Photo: Nguyen Huu Thanh
The traditional fishing tool that’s also a staple of international home décor BY LE PHUONG
Photo: Do Thanh Mai
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Photo: Do Thanh Mai
bout 60km from Hanoi, Thu Sy Village in Tien Lu District, Hung Yen Province is famous for the traditional đóweaving trade. Đó is a fishing trap, usually used in Northern provinces in Vietnam.
It’s a typical northern village with three worn out compartment houses under weathered dark brown tiled roofs behind dense green bamboo clumps, all forming a tranquil idylic picture. In Thu Sy, about 500 people are involved in đó weaving, mostly concentrated in the hamlets of Noi Lang and Tat Vien. Villagers here have been doing this for a long time, 200 years, according to the elders. In every village household, one can see the scene of elderly men and women sitting on the front porch exchanging mundane village news with liveliness while their skillful hands turn bunches of bamboo splints into beautiful fish traps. Aged slender bamboo stems with long sections are cut and split into thin splints of equal size which are then whittled smooth and sun-dried. A beautiful product must look proportionately tapered, with splints firmly fixed at an equal distance. It should also be smoked for more durability. Each year, Thu Sy produces about 650,000 đóto be sold to Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces which have plenty of low paddy fields and small irrgation canals. There are three of four kinds of đós. The smoked, cockroach brown ones cost VND30-40,000 a piece, while the white, unsmoked ones cost only VND20,000. Today đó has found a new use as an interior decoration item, quite popular not only domestically, but also in other countries such as US, Singapore, Japan and India.n FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
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Fingers weave magic with bamboo and rattan
M BY KIM SANG
orning around the country bazaar Phuc Tang in Tang Tien Commune, Viet Yen District, Bac Giang Province is a busy time. It’s a scene of flamboyant soliciting, bargaining, selling and buying. But actually all products exchanged here are made of bamboo and rattan only. Just about 5km from Bac Giang City, Phuc Tang Bazaar gathers on the 1st, 4th, 6th and 9th days every lunar month. On these days, visitors can find plenty of everything made of bamboo and rattan, from everyday life objects such as baskets, sieves and winnows to beautiful artistic handicraft items such as sewing baskets, vases, fans, shades, lamps, bags, and dish covers. On kermis days, large bulky baskets of goods are on display, treating the senses with all kinds of woven things. Even bamboo poles are on sale for those who want to build fences. Wholesale traders from Hanoi, Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh come here to get their supply.
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Tang Tien folks have always had to be good at bamboo weaving and trading because the limited area and infertile land can’t provide enough. For generations they have had to find extra income from bamboo which they have in abundance. 90 year-old Than Thi Di’s hands are still very supple and quick on thin bamboo splints as she weaves baskets on her porch. ‘It may be not so simple at first, but weaving is not too hard to master. Skilled weavers can engage in a conversation or watch TV while working. The bamboo has to be selected for good quality. Then it is split into thin splints of equal size. The splints must be polished, then woven into elastic patches. The patches are the rimmed to make round baskets. Depending on the purpose the products can be deep bottomed (to be used as containers) or flat (as in the case of winnows and sieves), which in turn decides the rimming techniques used. The products are then smoked to become termite-
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Phuc Tang Bazaar, Viet Yen Commune, Bac Giang Province, May, 2013. Photo: Doan Viet Hung
proof. It is a very strict procedure,’ she says. All four generations of her family including her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are involved in the trade. Everybody in Tang Tien, men and women, elderly and kids are fluent in weaving. From furrowed, shriveled hands of the silver haired to the bud-like fingers of the 5-6 year-old kids, all are dexterious with soft but strong bamboo splints. The main materials used by Phuc Tang artisans are some
specific species of bamboo with very fine but strong fibers and the rattan from the lowlands which is supple and has a bright yellow color and ivory touch that greatly pleases the customers. A few decades ago, Tang Tien folks only weaved to serve the everyday needs of their own and of the people in the area who frequent the local kermesses. But recently, their products have been widely diversified as the market expanded beyond the province to as far as Japan, US, China, Cambodia and Europe. n FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
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2000KMOI TORHIDCMEC
FROM HAN TO RAISE FUNDS FOR DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN!
The 9th annual charity bicycle ride from Hanoi to HCMC follows sections of the fabled in-land Ho Chi Minh Trail, away from tourists and busy coastal highway 1. In addition to being a great physical challenge, the ride is the best way to see and experience the real Vietnam! H2H is entirely run by volunteers with support from leaders with H2H ride experience. In addition, H2H receives invaluable support from its charity partners and sponsors. The lead charity partner is Saigon Children’s Charity CIO and our lead sponsor is DHL Vietnam and Repsol Vietnam. In 8 years, H2H has raised over $283,000 for local charities. H2H and sponsors cover all expenses so 100% of donations go straight to the charities and help disadvantaged children throughout Vietnam. This year, 21 participants from 8 countries: USA, UK, Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Vietnam will make the ride in just less than a month, starting at Ly Thai To Park - Hanoi on 28th March and finishing at the HCMC Central Post Office on 27th April. Visit us at: www.h2h.team
For subscription and advertising, please call Thuy Phuong / 0969 47 3579 / email: vnheritagemagazine@gmail.com
COMMERCE
Chau Doc Floating Village, An Giang Province Photos: Vo Van Kien
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A fresh crop of fish BY HOA KHANH
rom Chau Doc City, An Giang Province, following the Hau River, one can see hundreds of floating houses along a 3-4km section of the river. This is one of the biggest and most famous fish farming villages of Mekong Delta with a dense network of canals and rivers. The founder of the village was 65-year-old Mr Luu Van Men. As a young boy, he used to fish with his family in Cambodia’s famous Tonlé Sap. At that time, as the large scale amount of fish being caught was overwhelming, Vietnamese fishermen invented a way of keeping them in cages to wait until the prices went up. They fed the fish just to keep them alive, but the fish grew big at a very quick rate. Caged fish farming began spreading as an efficient technique.
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After 1970, Mr Men came back to his homeland An Giang with his knowledge of the technique. In 1972, he bought wood to assemble his first 6m x 12m raft to grow basa fish. A year later, he harvested his first fish batch. The event attracted the curiosity of a lot of people in the area. Seeing Mr Men’s tremendous success compared to paddy work, people around him started making rafts and farming fish. The number of rafts and fish cages quickly increased, and only five years later, the Chau Doc floating village was formed. After a decade of prosperity, the caged fish village of Chau Doc went into recession because the price of basa fish plunged. To sustain themselves, many raft owners began farming other kinds of fish such as tinfoil barbs, java barbs, groupers, and black and white pomfrets.
COMMERCE Today, fish farming gives many families a stable income. A family with two 60m2 rafts can make VND140 million a year. A couple of friends and I hired a five-seat boat for VND200,000 to explore Chau Doc floating village. After a short ride, we saw hundreds of houses bobbing on both sides of the 1.5km wide Hau River. Advancing two km further, I saw that the village had groceries, food shops, cafés and even a gas station. We told the boat owner to approach an average raft and asked permission to board. The deeply tanned raft owner named Phep was quite hospitable. We were pleasantly surprised to see a TV, a fridge, tables and chairs and other comforts of home. ‘This is a house for a family of
five. People live above, fishes underneath. The fish cage beneath us is 9m long, 6m wide, 3.5m deep, made of bamboo, wood, steel and covered with tin net,’ Mr Phep told us. He added, ‘Currently Chau Doc floating village has about 350 cages. Those with little money have one cage, while rich families may have 5-6 ones.’ During the conversation, Mr Phep brought out a bag of fish food to pour onto the water and said, ‘Right now, the fish in this cage are already about 1kg apiece. The cage houses about 25 tons of fish. If you want to see them, just throw the food.’ We dropped pieces of food onto the cage and the fish immediately mobbed and fought for each mouthful, splashing water all around. What a sight! n
Ideally located about 13km from the center of Phan Thiet city, Mui Ne Unique Resort is a harmonious combination of modern architecture and romantic nature of the 150-meter coastline. Staying at this place, tourists can enjoy the fresh air with a range of premium facilities qualified based on 4 star international standards as well as excellent custumer service. Mui Ne Unique Resort features 58 luxurious guest rooms and suites, all of which overlook the andless white sand beach. In addition, tourists can enjoy the dishes carry the characterized food culture of Europe and Asia at a restaurant system overlooking the sea. Especially, the dishes are prepared from the
Hanoi
HCM City
An Giang
Chau Doc city is 250km to the West of Ho Chi Minh City. Every day, many buses depart from the Western bus terminal to Chau Doc. Tickets are priced at VND140,000 - VND150,000. The Western bus terminal is at 395 Kinh Duong Vuong St., Binh Tan Dist. of Ho Chi Minh City.
fresh seafood with distinguished features of Phan Thiet. Alternatively, visitors can sip a cup of coffee at a bar that offers the panoramic view of dreamy Mui Ne Bay, be immersed in the cool water at the pool, hydraulic lake and many other facilities such as Spa Center, Gym, convention room with thet accommodates up to 160 guests, etc. With the whole-hearted and professinal staffs, Mui Ne Unique Resort is always looking forward to bringing visitors a comfortable feeling and a great impression on the resort paradise.
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‘THE LINE’
BELONGS TO ARTIST TRAN VAN THAO
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fter an absence of half a year, Galerie Quynh is back in business with bright and airy new premises in that relatively quiet and secluded quarter of District One that is Da Kao. There are four spacious display floors, three of which were occupied by an exhibition called 'The Line' by the artist Tran Van Thao. Thao needs no introduction to me as I have reviewed two of his shows already for this magazine. I am familiar with his brand of largely abstract work that can have you at times working out themes and what may appear reconstructions of real objects. Thao has the honour of being the first to exhibit at this new venue.
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Upon arrival, I was met by the artist himself who walked me round his exhibition. The individual frames do not have names but numbers - The Line#1, 2, 3-up to 16. The lines themselves feature triangles intersected by other lines and also emanating from the apexes. In previous exhibitions, Thao was more concerned with circles but now he seems to have gone 'straight'. I wondered how good he was at geometry at school. We started on the ground floor where many of the pictures were mainly in a beautiful dark sea blue with blobs of oil looking like pebbles. On the other floors, there was a lack of colour; just grey, black and white. For materials and technique Thao uses acrylic oil, stick and pencil and attaching cotton fabric and papier mache onto the canvass. We reached the upper level gallery. Here was the most striking example of the cotton cloth attachments in the form of a large bow. I am not sure how it added to the lines and triangles, but it was certainly an attraction. Working this out and with the eye constantly moving to follow the lines Thao certainly makes the viewer active. I noticed too that in two of the paintings it appeared to be raining. 'Living in Saigon, I love the rain', said the artist; a feeling which I entirely share.
I asked Thao which Western artists he might like and/or by whom he was influenced. Antoni Tapies came the reply. I looked him up and sure enough the influences are clear to see. Tapies for most of his career was described as expressionist abstract and like Thao liked to attach string and cloth and everyday objects to his canvasses. When you are talking about an artist of Barcelona by this first name of Antoni it can only lead the conversation to the very original and renowned architect, Antoni Gaudi. As an architect, Gaudi, I remarked, was very artistic. 'Yes,his work was sculpture', replied Thao. 'There is a quote by Gaudi', I went on, 'that might apply given its title to your exhibition. ‘The straight line belongs to man; the curved line to God.' Gaudi believed as there were no straight lines in nature. They should not be in buildings. We may agree or not but it is still refreshing to be in the company of one who celebrates the straight line. I hope I have given you a good overview of what to expect from this foremost contemporary abstract Vietnamese artist. Of course, with this kind of art personal reactions depend on the eye and the heart of the beholder. At all events I think you will find the works interesting and worthy of your time. FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
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A storied creek with a sacred history
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bridge crossing Ma River led me to the fish creek at Luong Ngoc Village, Cam Luong Commune, Cam Thuy District of Thanh Hoa Province. The creek is 3m wide, a little more than 100m long, and the crystal-clear water only reaches the calves of my legs. The 50-year-old chief of Cam Luong fish creek tourism management committee Mr Pham Hung Hau led me around the creek. Mr. Hau recounted , ‘People here call it the dốc fish. It has a carp head and grass carp body. According to some research documents its scientific name is Spinibarbichthys denticulatus, listed in the Red List.’ Some colorfully patterned angelfish and silver rasbora also make this place home. Sitting at the water’s edge I can see their every scale. This playful gorgeous fish has a white stomach, a black back with a touch, of gold and a red mouth and fins. It has no fear of people although there are always crowds watching. 65-year-old Mr Truong Hung Dung was nostalgic, ‘When I was a child there were only about 20 huts here. Back then this place was desolate, full of dangerous wild beasts. The creek used to run a long way, not short like this. It was so swarming with fish you couldn’t walk in it without touching them.’
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NATURE
Cam Luong Fish Stream, Cam Thuy District, Thanh Hoa Province, October, 2014 Photo: Nguyen Dang Van
Hanoi
Thanh Hoa
HCM City
Adding to Mr Dung’s words, 61 year old Mr Bui Van Kien recalls, ‘The fish has been there since the beginning of time. When I was a teen, grass covered both sides of the creek and there was a little bridge to cross it. The water is never muddied, and the air is always cool, even at the peak of summer.’ The village elders assigned Mr Dung and Mr Kien to look after the pagoda by the creek. The two men don’t know how long the pagoda has been there. It stands between two shrines dedicated to the snake god and fish god. I entered a stilted house near the creek belonging to 77 year-old Mr Pham Dinh Thuong. He related, ‘My parents were farmers. 3-4 generations of my family have been living here. I used to go to the creek with my mom and aunties to wash clothes. A remarkable thing is, the fish are so crowded but I never saw a dead one.’ ‘Muong people who have been around here long before us say that this used to be a droughty place. There was an old childless couple who lived by catching fish in the creek. One day the woman saw an egg in the creek but didn’t touch it. The next day she saw it again. She took it home and let her chicken sit it. A little snake hatched out and became a family member.’ ‘Since the snake’s birth there is no more drought. People are grateful to the snake for plentiful crops. But one day the snake was found dead by the creek. People guessed that the snake died fighting a water monster to protect the crops. They built a shrine to worship it. After that swarms of fish came guarding the shrine day and night. The villagers believe that the shrine and the fish keep their life happy, and so they always revere and protect the creek and the fish in it.’ Beside the fish creek of Cam Luong, Cam Thuy District of Thanh Hoa also has fish creek Mo Dong in Dung Village of Cam Lien Commune. In 2016 a third fish creek was discovered at Chieng Ban Village, Van Nho Commune of Ba Thuoc District, Thanh Hoa Province.n FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
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Gong show
MUSIC
BY MINH TIEN
Tay Nguyen people bare their souls by playing gongs
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Playing gong by K’ho man, Lang Biang Mountain, Lam Dong Province. Photo: Pham Ba Thinh
n 25 November, 2005, The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization officially included the gong culture of the Tay Nguyen people into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Tay Nguyen gong culture area spans the five provinces of Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, and Lam Dong. It is a cultural genre unique to ethnicities of Bana, Xedang, Mnong, Coho, Romam, Ede and Giarai that live there. Experts say that gongs are perhaps descendants of stone instruments which were used during the primeval times in every event of family and community life of the Tay Nguyen people. Gongs are the main ceremonial instruments in all events, from the infant ear-blowing ritual to the grave abandonment ritual, from water pipe divinization to new rice blessing, from shed shut-down to buffalo sacrifice. To Tay Nguyen people, gongs are priceless as a part of their being, one that speaks the universal language connecting this world and the other, expressing human
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Playing gongs, Dak Lak Province. Photo: Dang Van Tran
MUSIC
Hanoi
Tay Nguyen HCMC
An Ede gong troupe, Central Highlands . Photos: Ngo Du
thoughts, emotions and feeling in everyday life activities. On festive days, the resounding beats of gongs make people stand up, form circles and dance around the community fire, which also seems to dance to the rhythm. In that dance, the material and spiritual worlds, humans and nature, past and the present all merge into a single, lasting moment. Accompanying humans amidst the majestic landscape of Tay Nguyen for thousands of generations, gong art has reached high level of sophistication. Different arrangements and rhythms are adapted to the context of the ceremony being conducted. Here are some of the most typical gong ensembles: Small 2-3 piece ensembles are considered the oldest combination. Brau people use two nippleless gongs, which they call Tha, where as the Churu, Bana, Giarai and Gie-Trieng.people use a set of
three-nippled gongs. Six piece ensembles, mostly consisting of nippleless gongs, are popular among many groups such as Ma or the Gar, Noong and Prong tribes of Mnong people. Xedang people call it Stang, while Kpa tribe of Ede people call it Diek. 12-13 piece ensembles usually consist of three nippled gongs and 8-9 nippleless ones. These are used by Giarai tribe of Arap, Bana tribes of Tolo and Kon K’deh, and Xedang tribe of Steng. Ensembles with three or more gongs are often accompanied by a big drum and cymbals. Churu people even add a six-tune blow pipe. Tay Nguyen gong ensembles are organized as orchestras which can perform multitune music pieces in diferent tune arrangements. Each Tay Nguyen tribe, even each village, has its own tunes and performance styles when it comes to gong music. n
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THE TEARS
CEREMONY
OF A CLOWN BY DR. NGUYEN THI KIM VAN; PHOTOS BY NGO HUY TINH
The burial rites of Tay Nguyen require clowns wearing handmade masks
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rave abandonment is a sacred ceremony that deeply encompasses the spiritual values of the Tay Nguyen ethnic minorities. It is a solemn rite, part of funerals which are organized by the community to bid farewell to a deceased person. Each tribe may have variations of the content, stages and duration of the ceremony but in general, it always includes the three main parts: the charnel house building, the abandonment, and the soul liberation. Among the three, the abandonment is the centerpiece which normally takes place on a moonlit night. As the evening falls, all village activities are centered around the charnel house. The deceased person’s relatives bring wines and meat and put them on the altar. Offerings are hung in the charnel house above dead person’s head. Buffalos and oxen to be given to the ghosts are tied, one to each consecration scaffold. When the moon is high in the sky and the crowd’s mood is enraptured, the host comes in to the charnel house to recount the past and tearfully share the feeling of loss and separation with the dead, while on the outside, young men and women begin to dance to gong music. This is when potual and meu brem (clowns) appear to boost the animation and excitement of the ceremony. Masks are an important component that distinguish the potual and meu brem in the grave abandonment ritual of the Bana and Jrai. It is said that these impersonate the people from the village of ghosts coming to receive the new ghost to the world of ancestors. Masks are generally divided in to two groups: the wearables and the heavy makeup.
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Wearable masks
These are crafted separately and have a string around the head to hold the mask on the clown’s face. These masks are usually carved out of wood and colored to resemble a face. The Bana and Jrai in Gia Lai Province use only three major colors for their masks. The natural light color of the wood is used in place of the skin and teeth; black color to paint hair, eyes, horns, eyebrows and beard; and crimson red color to paint the mouth and tongue. Bana and Jrai masks have no prototype. They are made completely based on the maker’s imagination and sense of purpose. Being clown masks, they must be strikingly funny, grotesque or eerie. With this unclear but profound guidance, the artisans choose to make faces or entire heads of familiar animals such as buffalos or monkeys or faces of folk tale characters with monstrous ears and noses but with human eyes and mouths; or faces of extraordinary characters with ridiculously long tongue and distorted mouths. The masks may also be made of bulging roots big enough to hide a person’s face. They select the bulbs that look like an animal or human face and then carve, cut and broach it to make the desired mask form. Masks made from this kind of material are normally not painted. The mask makers take advantage of all the natural
CEREMONY unevenness and even the tousled routlets to make surreal, otherworldly faces. Clowns in wearable masks normally cover their body with dry banana leaves, reeds, bunches of roots, or tassels made from scraped bamboo.
The make up
The clown face may also be distorted and painted to get the desired impressiveness. This technique is used for those clowns who don’t wear masquerade outfits, but cover their body with mud. These clowns need a lot more skills, and not everyone can perform their roles. The makeup techniques include pulling the nose upward with a string to expose the nostrils, and using the same string to hold two small wooden sticks on the sides of the eyes in order to stretch the skin around them. A metalic ring is put inside the mouth in front of the incisors to keep the lips wide open. The rest of the face is painted with mud or charcoal. Sometimes these clowns even wear a tail. They have to mobilize all their body parts in addition to the face to perform. *The article in Vietnamese version was printed on www.langvietonline.vnn Hanoi
Tay Nguyen HCMC
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FOOD
ew would argue that Chinese cuisine is not among the world's very best. Being such a vast and varied country, we should be talking about Chinese cuisines. Most would agree that China's haute cuisine is reached in the culinary tradition of Canton with its the rich flavours, inventiveness and attractive presentation. Ho Chi Minh City is blessed with a number of top-class Cantonese restaurants mostly in downtown areas where rents are high. If you wish to enjoy a topquality Cantonese dining experience at an affordable price, I would suggest heading out toward the airport to the Tung Garden Restaurant at the Eastin Grand Hotel which with its Hong Kong chef serves mainly Cantonese style. Another factor leading to the remarkable value for money could be the minimalist decor. Most places of this nature tend to overdo it with the Chinoiserie; lots of dark red tropical wood furniture, ornate screens, willow pattern pictures, large ceramic jars, statues of storks and tortoises and perhaps an aquarium with koi carp and other exotic fish. There is none of that in this dining hall; only pastel shades of the walls and a light green matching table cloth. Just as a Protestant Church is devoid of imagery in an attempt to concentrate the mind on spirituality, here there is nothing to distract from the savouring of the dishes and enjoyment of the conviviality of your company here. Much attention has been paid to the lighting of the hall which together with that streaming in from the vast lobby below provides a uplifting and joyful ambiance. On the weekends, there is a choice of selecting dishes a la carte or taking the all-you-can-eat Dim Sum buffet-those steam buns and other small bites with a multitude of fillings which the folks in Canton and Hong Kong like to take with tea. The latter is a bargain draw at only VND380,000 per head. We wanted to try as many dishes as possible but also included two from the Dim Sum list. My company on this occasion was my wife who is Vietnamese and not only a brilliant cook herself, but also highly knowledgeable about food in general. The table was set with sauces and appetisers of prawn crackers and deep fried whitebait all on a 'Lazy Susan' that turntable which facilitates passing the dishes around and helps you be attentive to
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your dining company. A table with only two is a rarity in a place like this. Indeed that Saturday lunchtime our fellow diners were all families and business groups. Had we been with others, we would undoubtedly have ordered a whole crispy and glazed Peking Duck, several of which we noted being brought to tables and at quite good value at VND850,000 for a whole duck. Instead we ordered a portion of the same. What to drink? When eating Chinese food the green tea, both refreshing and delicious for me, is all I need. However, there is an extensive wine list with a bottle starting at VND1,200,000. There is bottled beer, but most Westerners would be happy to know that draught Sapporo and Tiger are available here at just VND55,000 a glass. Soft drinks are priced at VND65,000 and fresh juices at VND85,000. My wife enjoyed the bright green kumquat juice. One by one, like a slow-motion carnival of sybaritic friezes, the victuals arrived at the table. First came the dim sum, consisting of cream custard-filled dumplings in the form of cute hedgehogs-something to please the children or the child in you. There were also little crusty pies in the form of a crab stuffed with seafood. Not deviating much from normal Vietnamese fare came the main vegetable order of stir-fried
Chowing down on sumptuous Chinese cuisine FOOD
BY RITCH PICKINS
garlic spinach. Then the one I had been eagerly awaitingthe portion of succulent and tender duck. I always think the taste of Chinese duck derives from star anise, but my wife remarked it was saffron that hit her palate most. If you are reading this and are a vegetarian, do not worry you would be well-catered for here; there was an extensive list of meat-free dishes on the menu. My wife certainly knows how to order and with her husband's tastes in mind too. Having savoured the best of the land or the paddy fields, at least we now focused our attention onto the fruits of the sea. I had not eaten cod, which is practically the national fish of my native country England for many a long moon. The Vietnamese call it 'snow fish' which I find rather 'cool'. Scrumptious it was too, but somewhat unrecognisable from our battered cod. The Cantonese give it a regal treatment baked in terriyaki and mint sauce. It came with a layer of rich fat on its skin, no doubt considered a delicacy by the Chinese in general. Knowing the Omega B benefits of fish fat, I am never one to pass it over that. Given its high price in Vietnam, the lobster, our last try, which came in generous portions was the piece de resistance. It was given
the same treatment now in vogue for oysters-baked 'au gratin' (in breadcrumbs and cheese sauce). One can not but think as one is eating Chinese fare that you are eating history- the result of old Cathay's cooks creativity adding to and tweaking recipes handed down by generations over thousands of years. There are plenty of things to do a weekend. What could be more convivial than meeting up with friends, family or colleagues over a lazy meal seated around a lazy Susan chatting and enjoying great Chinese dishes cooked by an excellent team and served by attentive but unobtrusive staff? At the Tung gardens this you do without the demands of your tongue and palate costing you an arm and a leg. Eastin Grand Hotel 253 Nguyen Van Troi Street, Phu Nhuan District, HCMC Tel : (028) 3844-9222 www.eastinhotelsresidences.com FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
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ART
Drive for learning expressed in folk art
Dong Ho painting *
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TEXT BY TRINH SINH; PHOTOS BY LE BICH
istorically, Viet people considered that schooling was the only way to advance in life. Scholars were the most respected class in the society, above farmers, who were second. And the only way to become a scholar was to go to school. Only when life becomes uncertain due to natural diasters or social upheavals, or when finding the next meal is the constant worry, the farming profession becomes preferable. The drive for learning was expressed not only in folklore literature and proverbs, but also in folk art. Take a look, for example, at the Dong Ho painting ‘Toad Scholar’. Toad, a familiar and usually ignored animal in a farmers’ mundane life was personified as a guru solemnly sitting at a table and teaching
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kids. It’s a familiar scene in the old times in Vietamese villages. Confucianist scholars, usually those who hadn’t yet succeeded in official selection exams, often opened a school to educate village youth. There were also successful ones who renounced their high career to go home and spread wisdom, such as the celebrated scholar Chu Van An. The class shown in the painting is simple and rigid. One pupil is spanking another with a whip, obviously for being unattentive or mischievous. Another pupil is respectfully pouring tea for the teacher. The rest of them are reading their books. A few brief brushstrokes in ‘Toad Scholar’ say it all: respect the teacher and study hard, or receive harsh punishment. The picture shows the philosophy of strict education of the past, ‘Whipping is
ART
Dong Ho painting *
the expression of love.’ The forging of letters and personality is done by the whip. The principle ‘First learn the code, then learn the letter’ has forged a countless number of great scholars who made up the ‘Sap of the Nation’ (words of academician Than Nhu Trung), who made history, and whose names are eternalized on stone stelae at the Temple of Letters, Hanoi. Living in hardship, farmers of the old times strove to change their lives, hoping their children would succeed through learning. The image of poor buffalo kids devoutly absorbing knowledge is abundantly reflected in folk art, for example, in the image of a boy sitting on a buffalo hungrily devouring a book, or a child with a book in the left hand and the buffalo leash in the right. In the old times, people believed that studying was the only noble line of work; all others were base. Through the image of a handsome little boy in a beautiful outfit, brimming with health and reading a book, our ancestors expressed their dream that their descendants would become learned, successful and happy and continue the family line in glory. The illustrious story about the friendship of Luu Binh and Duong Le is also retold in folk art. The two friends both attended an official selection exam, but only Duong Le passed and became a mandarin. He started, with the help of his beloved wife lady Chau Long, to secretly, motivate Luu Binh to study hard and succeed like himself. Every Vietnamese knows the story by heart.
Some talented young men, mentioned in historical records as geniuses, achieved success very early in life, becoming great mandarins, or ambassadors to represent our nation at the Chinese imperial court with dignity and therefore command respect. Esteemed by the Royal court and cherished by the people, they were bright examples for the whole society to follow. One successful man meant pride and honor for the whole clan, the whole community. Many paintings depict the scene of a newly-appointed scholar coming home to recieve due respect from the community and to pay homage at the ancestral altar. This painting is quite good. The newly-appointed mandarin leisurely rides on horseback, with servants carrying flags to clear the road and parasols to keep him in the cool shade. The recognition paid to yesterday’s poor student, who is now triumphant, cliché though it may be, proves the worthiness of the investment and endeavor of the family and the whole clan. Ancient Vietnamese never suffered lack of lucidity or humor. The glorious scholar with scholarly degree may be depicted as a rat. Sometimes the whole procession is depicted as one of rats behind a rat scholar riding on a horse, looking back at four rats carrying a palaquin with his lady rat inside. The leading rat carries a flag with characters ‘Top scholar’. A rat plays a drum, another blows a fanfare, and yet another one offers a fish to a big cat on the roadside. The ancient artist couldn’t resist inserting an ironic message, which said FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
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ART
Hang Trong painting **
even high scholars have to obey unwritten rules and bribe the local authorities. The corrupt nature of village officials is manifested even during the happy occasion of recieving a talented and successful son of the community who comes back to pay homage to those who brought him up. There is another version of this painting which is no less famous but titled ‘Rat Wedding’. The two paintings use the same scenes between rats and cats but with different title and annotation, perhaps because the intended meanings are different. Whatever the case, these are beautiful paintings in which ancient folk artisans used the image of rats to encourage learning. Another image seen frequently in folk paintings is that of a highranking scholar, constantly holding a book in his hand. Perhaps
reading is a never-changing feature of the erudite mandarins, and the common people always wish it to also be the image of their descendants. Sometimes, being illiterate and wishing their descendants to be given a chance to good education, people revered letters and hung letters on the altar at home. They also used to hang character paintings during New Year’s. The whole painting contains only one character: Godsend, Longevity, Happiness or Prosperity. In folk art, these characters also contain graceful and elegant brushstrokes seen in paintings of other kinds. Folk paintings are an invaluable aesthetical heritage. They perpetuate the aspiration for learning and knowledge of the Viet people.n
* Dong Ho woodblock prints appeared around 17th century. They are from a school of Vietnamese folk art which originated from Dong Ho
Village, Song Ho Commune, Thuan Thanh Dstrict of Bac Ninh Province. Dong Ho prints vividly reflect ancient Vietnamese agricultural society and the personality of Vietnamese farmers through their customs and everyday life activities. To produce a single print, multiple print blocks are made, one for each color. The black print is the most important one. The paper used for printing is the traditional poonah paper coated with a mix of ground seashell and rice flour. The colors are natural extracts. Yellow is taken from Japanese pagoda tree, red from day lily, white from ground seashell, and black from bamboo leaf ash. Dong Ho folk art is a National Intangible Cultural Heritage of Vietnam.
** Hang Trong art is another form of folk visual art in Vietnam, beginning mainly in Hang Trong and Hang Non streets of ancient Hanoi about
400 years ago. This school of art is almost extinct today, with some of its best known products still being displayed in museums. Artisan Le Dinh Nghien is the only person left from this art school. Hang Trong pictures were half printed and half painted. The print block only contains black lines. The rest is painted with a broad soft brush, one side of which is dipped in color and the other in water in order to use blurring techniques. From an original carved block, multiple pictures are printed using pure Chinese ink. The painting part is done, of course, manually. The paper then is strengthened by pasting one or more layers of paper on its back side. The number of layers depends on the intended frame and use. As the glue dries, the picture is painted again. One picture may take three to four days to be completed.
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WHAT THE PAPER SAY
Air in Hanoi fresh only
12
million
US dollars for unexploded devices removal
Vietnam News, the national English daily newspaper, announced that central Quang Tri Province would receive $12 million to resume the search for and defusal of unexploded explosive devices left by the United States Army after the war in the province. The fund comes from the US Department of State and other international sources; and the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) will do the job, commencing this year. An estimated 85,000 residents in the province will benefit from the project, which will benefit locals by helping them reclaim the soil, not to mention making it generally safer. Quang Tri was on the border between North and South Vietnam during wartime. It received tons of bombs released by the US Air Force, making the province the top locality for unexploded devices both on land and underground. Wartime explosive devices occupied 83 per cent of its total land area. The province also has the highest percentage of disabled people caused by post-war explosive devices in the country, more than 80 per cent.
4,300
illegal railroad crossings exist
Also on Vietnam News, the country’s railway authorities said there are at least 4,300 illegal and unofficial railroad crossings around the country. These crossings account for 70 per cent of all rail-related accidents. Illegal crossings have been a headache for the railway sectors for decades and it also reflects the ill-planned residential areas across the country. More importantly, residents living nearby the railroads endure the nuisance from crossing the railroads. The railway sector said they would need at least $75 million in 20172020 to address long-standing rail accident hotspots at illegal level crossings. Nearby residents are enthused at the prospect of having safer trips.
38
days in 2017
Tuoi Tre, one of the leading Vietnamese language newspaper, carried a story saying that Hanoi residents burned 528 tons of pressed coal a day for cooking. The pressed coal releases large volumes of CO and CO¬¬2 while burning. The coal is favoured by housewives as well as street eateries thanks to its low cost and the large amount of energy it produces. However, Hanoi has the most severe air polluted city in the country. The scientists who provided the research results for Tuoi Tre revealed that Hanoi residents enjoyed only 38 days of fresh air in the entire year of 2017.
0.5
Vietnamese spend almost
billion
dollars for fast food each month
Thanh Nien, another leading Vietnamese language newspaper in the country, revealed that Vietnamese spent $573 million a month for fast food. A big amount for a country that is famous for family tradition, which said most Vietnamese prefer meals at home at least twice a day. Fast food market segment, however, is dominated by foreign suppliers, including Lotteria, KFC, Dairy Queen, Domino’s Pizza, Burger King, Starbucks and McDonald’s. The number of fast food consumption means Vietnamese are contributing much to the growth of international brands while they harm both local business and culture.
416 Vietnamese spend
million
dollars for imported beef
Dan Viet, an online newswire, said in a report that Vietnamese spent almost 416 million to consume imported beef in 2017, giving another shock over food consumption by Vietnamese. The report said the beef is mainly imported from the US, Australia, and India. But it also included the luxurious Kobe beef from Japan. The amount of $416 million equals to 41,000 tons of beef and it makes people curious about the consumption by Vietnamese while local beef is much cheaper and domestic husbandry sector is struggling to survive. FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
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EVENTS
EXHIBITIONS
HANOI
‘Augmented Reality Exhibition Joy’ by 12 artists in the field of illustration, typography, directing, and GIF will be held at L’Espace till 11 March. The exhibited artworks will become more lively when viewed via a mobile application. A fun and poetic experience where audiences travel with craft and digital artworks, paper and screen, silence and sound. L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien St, Hanoi. Free entry.
The Art of Writing 9 to 22 February
MUSIC
The Calligraphy Fair will take place from 9 to 22 February, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Temple of Literature, 58 Quoc Tu Giam St, Ba Dinh Dist, Hanoi. The event includes a calligraphy demonstration, hands-on experience of Vietnam’s traditional crafts, folk games and cultural activities. New Year Paintings Till 25 February More than 80 paintings, diversified in style, materials and themes to celebrate Lunar New Year are on at Vicas Art Studio till 25 February. Also, there are paintings for sale at reasonable price. Vicas Art Studio, 32 Hao Nam St, Hanoi. Whatever For Till 27 February The exhibition named ‘Du & Doi’ by artists Ngo Xuan Binh and Le Van Thin is on Hanoi Museum till 27 February. The event includes more than 300 artworks created with various media: lacquer, oil, dó paper and mixed media. The exhibition focuses on the mental concept of traditionality and modernity with an aim to realize that the world has always been miraculous, loving and brandnew. Hanoi Museum, Pham Hung St, Nam Tu Liem Dist, Hanoi. Interactive Arts Till 11 March
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History Comes Alive Every evening except Tuesday
OTHERS The History of Tet Till 27 February Celebrations of Vietnam’s New Year (Tết) is on till 27 February, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, 19C Hoang Dieu St, Ba Dinh Dist., Hanoi. Ticket: VND30,000. This is where children get to know more about the traditional New Year holiday through archives of the French museum Albert Kahn, and wood carvings by Henri Oger that depict traditional Tết rituals and ceremonies. They can also enjoy traditional games and performances, and traditional paintings of different genres such as Dong Ho, Hang Trong, Kim Hoang. Several other rituals, ceremonies and cultural performances will also take place. Heaven’s Kitchen serves up a grand festival Till April
The Quintessence of Tonkin, the latest tourism product from Tuan Chau Hanoi Joint Stock Company, a member of Tuan Chau Group, will be launched every evening except Tuesday, 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m, Baara Land Entertainment Complex, Da Phuc Village, Sai Son Commune, Quoc Oai District, Hanoi. The site is approximately 40 minutes by car from central Hanoi with shuttle bus service on offer. The show will bring spectators a chance to explore Vietnamese history and culture form a contemporary perspective, with over 200 performers, an interactive stage, and state-of-the-art technology. It highlights compelling elements of Vietnamese culture but presents them in modern and innovative ways. The show draws inspiration from the spiritual history of the nearby Thay Pagoda, telling the story of the pagoda’s founding by venerable monk Tu Dao Hanh, and explains the ancient union between religion and the monarchy. Tickets range from VND800,000 to VND1,200,000.
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
The Huong Pagoda festival (at Huong Son Commune, My Duc District, Ha Tay Province, 60 km from Hanoi), is Vietnam’s longest-running festival. It starts in February and lasts until late April. Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims and visitors come to petition the gods for luck, wealth and happiness in the numerous pagodas scattered around a mountainous area. A visit to the pagoda includes a boat ride through winding streams and hours of mountain-climbing. The main pagoda, Thien Tru (Heaven’s Kitchen), was built in 1686. The most popular destination is Huong Tich Cave, which contains a great many altars honouring a variety of deities. There will be crowds of people and hawkers in the pagoda; beware of scams such as over-priced drinks and demands for big tips from the boatwomen.
EVENTS DANANG
NAM DINH PROVINCE
Festival for Mother 28 March Ba (Lady) Thu Bon, the female spirit considered the Mother of Quang Nam Province, will be honoured by a festival held at Duy Tan Commune, Duy Xuyen District, Quang Nam Province, 28 March. The celebrations include boat races, a palanquin procession and folk games.
The haggling market 23 February Vieng Market is held only once a year, on the 8th of the first month in the lunar calendar, in Trung Thanh Hamlet, Kim Thai Commune, Vu Ban District, Nam Dinh Province. Trading is expected to begin at midnight on 22 February and go into the morning of 23 February. Goods for sale include plants, agricultural tools, meat and antiques, but the goods are not really the point; a transaction at Vieng Market is reputed to confer luck for both sides for the entire new year. According to market tradition, sellers don’t ask exorbitant prices and buyers don’t bargain. However, the market has changed a lot; nowadays, true antiques are rare and bargaining– and even arguments – are seen.
Danang Festival 2 to 4 April The Quan The Am Festival will be held at Quan The Am Pagoda at the foot of Kim Son Mountain belonging to Ngu Hanh Son mountain chain at Son Thuy Commune, Hoa Hai Ward, Hoa Vang District, 8 km from the centre of Danang City. The festival consists of a religious ceremony featuring flower offerings and prayers, and cultural activities such as performances of folk songs and classical opera, games of chess, music, painting, carving, a lion dance, and lanterns on the Truong Giang River. The festival takes place from 2 to 4 April.
HO CHI MINH CITY Flower festival 13 to 19 February
VALUE FOR MONEY
To celebrate Lunar New Year, Saigon Prince Hotel will offer a buffet dinner including Vietnamese traditional cuisines, sashimi & sushi, Singapore dishes with Yee Sang and Braised pork knuckle and a variety of seafood for barbecure. The price ranges from VND599,000++/adult and VND299,000++/ children. There is a 15 per cent off for two days advance booking and a 10 per cent off for 1 day advance booking. Saigon Prince Hotel 63 Nguyen Hue, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. 028 3822 2999 www.saigonprincehotel.com
BARIA-VUNG TAU PROVINCE Sea Gods Festival 26 to 28 March Dinh Co Festival is one of the big events of the fishermen living on the Southern coast of Vietnam. The festival includes the ritual of worshipping Sea Gods and the ritual of worshipping of Mother Goddess. Every year it is held from the 10th to the 12th of second lunar month (26 to 28 March) on Dinh Co Temple located on a side of Thuy Van Mountain, Long Hai Town, Long Dien Dist., Baria-Vung Tau Province. The temple was built to honour ‘Co’ or Miss who believed that protecting the villagers. There are many activities in the festival including rituals of welcoming Sea Gods from the ocean, art traditional performances, lion and dragon dance.
An annual Tet flower festival to celebrate the lunar new year will be held from 13 to 19 February in Nguyen Hue St, Dist 1, Ho Chi Minh City. With the theme ‘Aspiration to reach further’, it features a 720m flower street, including flowerarranging contests, folk songs, lion dancing and Tet souvenir shops. This year, the event takes inspiration from the Phu Quoc Ridgeback, a breed of dog that is well known for being agile, intelligent and brave and is from Phu Quoc Island, off the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.
Located in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, Sama Sama Vegetarian is an ideal place for those who love vegetarian food. The restaurant is a combination between Western and Asian architecture, bringing a tranquility and peaceful ambience to diners. It offers over 138 dishes and drinks. Food are made from many kinds of vegetable planted in Vietnam in Japanese method. Chefs calculate the ingredient carefully to create not only delicious nutritional dishes but also reviving the health. Sama Sama Vegetarian Restaurant, 385D Nguyen Trai St, Dist 1. Tel: 098 900 0188
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DIRECTIONS
HALONG
(TELEPHONE CODE: 033)
Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence in September 1945, is a complex of historic sites.
Syrena Cruises
Hung Thang new urban area, Bai Chay, Halong. Tel: (033) 3847-043 Hanoi Sales Office: Syrena Tower, 3th Floor, 51 Xuan Dieu St, Hanoi Tel: (04) 3719-7214 Email: se@syrenacruises.com www.syrenacruises.com
Lapaz Hotel & Resort
Tuan Chau Island, Halong Tel: (033) 3842-999 www.holidayvillahalongbay.com
Vinpearl Halong
Cot Co Tower
28 Dien Bien Phu St, Ba Dinh Dist, Hanoi Cot Co Tower, the so-called Flag Tower, is now part of the Vietnam Military History Museum complex. The Tower was built in 1950, under the Nguyen Dynasty, with the help of French engineers. The tower has 36 flower-shaped windows. At the top of the tower flies the flag of Vietnam.
66 Nguyen Thai Hoc St, Ba Dinh Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 3733-2131 www.vnfineartsmuseum.org.vn Open 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entry fee VND20,000 ($0.95)
Hanoi Opera House
Vietnam Military History
1 Trang Tien St, Hoan Kiem Dist, Hanoi Designed by a French architect along the lines of the Paris Opera House, it is embellished with wonderful Gothic statuary. For many decades, Hanoi Opera House has been a centre for theatre, traditional music and dance, symphonies, traditional and classical music. This, the largest theatre in Vietnam, was completed in 1911.
Hoa Lo Prison
‘La Maison Centrale’, the prison on Hoa Lo Street in Hanoi, was built by the French in 1896 and became the place where generations of Vietnamese freedom fighters were held.
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St Joseph’s Cathedral
Reu Island, Bai Chay, Ha Long, Viet Nam. Tel: (033) 3556-868 www.vinpearl.com
HAI PHONG CITY Avani Hai Phong Harbour View 12 Tran Phu St, Ngo Quyen Dist., Hai Phong. Tel: (031) 3827-827 www.avanihotels.com
Hanoi Museum
2 Pham Hung (next to Vietnam National Convention Centre), Me Tri Commune, Tu Liem Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 6287-06 04 Opening hour: 8 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Free entrance
TRAVEL
Emeraude Classic Cruises
46 Le Thai To St, Hanoi Tel: (024) 3935-1888 www.emeraude-cruises.com
19 Ngoc Ha St, Ba Dinh Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 3846-3752 www.baotanghochiminh.vn Open: 8 a.m. to noon (Monday and Friday), 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (other days) Entry fee: VND25,000
3rd Floor, 66A Tran Hung Dao St, Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 3828-2150 www.exotissimo.com
Imperial Citadel of Thang Long
Topas Travel
12 Nguyen Tri Phuong St/ 9 Hoang Dieu St, Ba Dinh Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 37345427 www.hoangthanhthanhlong.vn Open: 8.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Closed on Mondays) Entry fee: VND30,000
52 To Ngoc Van St, Hanoi Tel: (024) 3715-1005 www.topastravel.vn SIGHTSEEINGS
Ba Dinh Square
36A Dien Bien Phu St, Ba Dinh Dist, Hanoi. Ba Dinh Square, where President Ho HERITAGE
Vietnam Fine Arts Museum
Museum 28A Dien Bien Phu St, Hanoi www.btlsqsvn.org.vn Open 8 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Closed on Mondays Entry fee VND30,000 ($1.43)
Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
Nguyen Van Huyen St, Cau Giay Dist., Hanoi Tel: (024) 3756-2193, www.vme.org.vn Open 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Mondays Entry fee VND40,000 ($2)
Women’s Museum
36 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hanoi Tel: (024) 3825-9936 www.womenmuseum.org.vn Open 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Closed on Mondays Entry fee VND30,000 ($1.43) TRAVEL
Vietnam National Museum
of History 1 Trang Tien St, Hanoi. 25 Tong Dan St, Hanoi.
I FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
Hue Riverside Boutique
Resort & Spa 588 Bui Thi Xuan St, Thuy Bieu Dist., Hue. Tel: (0234) 3978-484 www.hueriversideresort.com
Imperial Hotel
8 Hung Vuong St, Hue Tel: (0234) 3882-222 www.imperial-hotel.com.vn
Indochine Palace Hotel
105A Hung Vuong St, Hue Tel: (0234) 3936-666 www.indochinepalace.com The hotel is surrounded by lush green gardens that make it an outstanding landmark in Hue and give the city the feel of a resort. This luxurious, international standard hotel is created to appeal to Vietnamese and international visitors to Hue.
La Residence Hotel & Spa
5 Le Loi St, Hue Tel: (0234) 3837-475 Email: resa@la-residence-hue.com www.la-residence-hue.com Step back in time to Art Deco's golden age with a stay at La Residence Hue Hotel & Spa, MGallery by Sofitel. Nestled along the fabled Perfume River overlooking the former Imperial Citadel, La Residence is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece with luxurious cultural and culinary experiences. This former governor's residence with 122 guestrooms and suites offers visitors a warm hospitality and a chance to relive the pleasures of a bygone era.
Lang Co Beach Resort
Oxalis Adventure Tours
Phong Nha Commune, Son Trach Village, Bo Trach Dist., Quang Binh Province. Tel: (0232)3677-678 www.oxalis.com.vn
HUE
(TELEPHONE CODE: 0234) HOTELS, RESORTS
Century Riverside Hotel Hue
Ho Chi Minh Museum
Exotissmo
40 • V I E T N A M
40 Nha Chung St, Hoan Kiem Dist., Hanoi Fresh missionaries built this cathedral in the late 19th century. The small but beautiful panes of stained glass were created in Paris in 1906. Also of note is the ornate altar, with its high gilded sidewalls. MUSEUMS
HANOI
Tel: (024) 3824-1384 www.baotanglichsu.vn Open 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Closed every first Monday of months. Entry fee VND40,000 ($1.82) for adults and VND10,000 ($0.48) for children
463 Lac Long Quan St., Lang Co Town, Phu Loc Dist, Thua Thien Hue Province Tel: (0234) 3873-555 www.langcobeachresort.com.vn
Hotel Saigon Morin
30 Le Loi St, Hue Tel: (0234)3823-526 www.morinhotel.com.vn
DANANG
(TELEPHONE CODE: 0236) 49 Le Loi St, Hue Tel: (0234) 3823-390 Email: res@centuryriversidehue.com www.centuryriversidehue.com Century Riverside Hotel Hue, with its 135 rooms, is located in a vast area of 20,000 square meters. It is surrounded by a garden full of fruit trees, various kinds of flowers and a green pasture. Hue Century Riverside Hotel lies by the side of Truong Tien Bridge and the bank of the romantic Huong River.
Vinpearl Luxury Danang Truong Sa St, Hoa Hai Ward, Ngu Hanh Son Dist., Danang. Tel: (0236) 3968-888 www.vinpearl.com
Danang Museum of Cham
Sculpture 2, 2 Thang 9 St, Danang Tel: (0236) 3572-935 www.chammuseum.danang.vn Open 7.15 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entry fee VND30,000 ($1.43)
HOI AN
(TELEPHONE CODE: 0235) HOTELS, RESORTS
Anantara Hoi An Resort
1 Pham Hong Thai St, Hoi An, Quang Nam Province. Tel: (0235) 3914-555 www.hoi-an.anantara.com
Aurora Riverside Hotel & Villas
NHA TRANG
(TELEPHONE CODE: 0258) HOTELS, RESORTS
Champa Island Nha Trang
Resort & Spa 304, 2/4 St, Vinh Phuoc, Nha Trang Tel: (0258) 3568-888 Email: sales@champaislandresort.vn www.champaisandresort.vn With architecture reflecting nearby Po Nagar temple, Champa Island Nha Trang offers exquisite cuisine and many entertainment services that promise a memorable stay in Nha Trang
Cam Ranh Riviera Beach Resort & Spa 242 Cua Dai St, Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province. Tel: (0235) 3924-111 www.aurorahoian.com
Hotel Royal Hoi An, Mgallery Collection 39 Dao Duy Tu St, Hoi An, Quang Nam Province. Tel: (0235) 3950-777 www.mgallery.com Palm Garden Beach Resort and Spa
Hoi An Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation 10B Tran Hung Dao St, Hoi An Tel: (0235) 3862-367 www.hoianheritage.net Open daily 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
QUY NHON
(TELEPHONE CODE: 0256) AVANI Quy Nhon Resort & Spa Ghenh Rang, Bai Dai Beach, Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh Province Tel: (0256) 3840-132 www.avanihotels.com/quynhon MUSEUM
Quang Trung Museum
Block 1, Phu Phong town, Tay Son Dist., Binh Dinh Province. Tel: (056) 3580-320 Open 7 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Entry fee VND10,500 ($0.50). Free for children under six
Bamboo Village Beach Resort & Spa
Seahorse Resort & Spa
Km 11 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. Tel: (0252) 3847-507 reservation@seahorseresortvn.com www.seahorseresortvn.com
Sea Links City Resort & Golf
38 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. Tel: (0252) 3847-007 www.bamboovillageresortvn.com
Km 9, Nguyen Thong St, Phu Hai Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Tel: (0252) 2220-088 www.sealinksbeachhotel.com MUSEUM
Cham Culture Exhibition Centre
Song Mao intersection, Phan Hiep Commune, Bac Binh Dist., Binh Thuan Province; Tel: (0252) 3641-456. Open: 7.30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Free entrance
Northern Peninsula Cam Ranh, Khanh Hoa Province Tel: (0258) 3989-898 Email: info@rivieraresortspa.com www.rivieraresortspa.com 32-34 Tran Phu St, Nha Trang Tel: (0258) 3887-777 www.intercontinental.com
MUSEUM
Quater 5, Phu Hai Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Tel: (0252) 3828-288 www.aromabeachresort.com With 52 authentic Vietnamese rooms and bungalows, the hotel offers a breathtaking panoramic view of the blue sea
Blue Bay Muine Resort & Spa
InterContinental Nha Trang Hotel
Lac Long Quan St, Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An, Quang Nam Province Tel: (0235) 3927-927 Email: info@pgr.com.vn www.palmgardenresort.com.vn
DIRECTIONS
Mường Thanh Grand Nha Trang Hotel
6 Duong Hien Quyen St, Vinh Hoa Ward, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province Tel: (0258) 3552-468 www.nhatrang.muongthanh.vn
DALAT
Suoi Nuoc, Muine, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Tel: (0252) 3836-888 Email: info@bluebaymuineresort.com www.bluebaymuineresort.com
Hoang Ngoc (Oriental Pearl) Beach Resort & Spa
(TELEPHONE CODE: 0263) HOTELS
Ana Mandara Villas Dalat Resort & Spa
Vinpearl Resort Nha Trang
Hon Tre Island, Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province Tel: (0258) 3598-188 Email: info@vinpearlresort-nhatrang.com www.vinpearl.com MUSEUM
Alexandre Yersin Museum
Pasteur Institute, 10 Tran Phu St, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province Tel: (0258) 3822-406
PHAN THIET
(TELEPHONE CODE: 0252) HOTELS, RESORTS
Aroma Beach Resort & Spa
152 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. Tel: (0252) 3847-858 Email: info@hoangngoc-resort.com www.hoangngoc-resort.com
Muine Mud Bath & Spa
133A Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province. Tel: (0252) 3743-481 Email: sales1@bunkhoangmuine.com www.bunkhoangmuine.com
Le Lai St, Dalat, Lam Dong Province Tel: (0263) 3555-888 reservation-dalat@anamandara-resort.com www.anamandara-resort.com From VND3,150,000 ($150)
Monet Garden Villa
Caty Resort
6 Nguyen Dinh Chieu St, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Tel: (0252) 2481-888 www.catymuineresort.com info@catymuineresort.com
Muine Bay Resort
Quarter 14, Mui Ne Ward, Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province Tel: (0252) 2220-222 Email: info@muinebayresort.com www.muinebayresort.com
3 Nguyen Du St., Dalat City, Lam Dong Province Tel: (0263) 3810-826 www.monetgarden.com.vn
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A 1. B aD inh S quare Ba Dinh Square
D1
rison 2. H oa L oP Hoa Lo Prison
E3
Stt Joseph Joseph’s Cathedral 3. S ’s C athedral
E2
ouse Opera House 4. Hanoi O pera H
F3
Cot Co Tower 5. C ot C oT ower
D2
Women’s 6. W omen’s Museum
E3
7. H oC hi M inh Museum Ho Chi Minh
D2
8. IImperial mperial C itadel of T Citadel Thang Long hang L ong
D1
CENTRE OF
B
C
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9. V ietnam National National Museum of History Vietnam History F3 10. V ietnam M ilitary H istory Museum D2 Vietnam Military History illar 11. O ne P One Pillar
C2
ausoleum 12. H oC hi M inh M Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
D1
13. Ngo on T emple Ngocc S Son Temple
E2
14. Dong Da H ill Hill
C4
15. Dong X uan M arket Xuan Market
E1
2
3
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14 1 4
4
Ms. Thuy Phuong Mobile: 0969 47 3579
STREET GUIDE
Ba Trieu...................E3, E4 Bac Son.........................D1 Bach Dang.....................F2 Bach Mai........................E4 Bat Dan..........................E2 Bich Cau........................C2 Buoi................................A1 Cat Linh..........................C2 Cha Ca....................E1, E2 Cua Bac.........................D1 Cua Dong.......................D2
Da Tuong.......................E3 Dang Tat.........................D1 Dao Duy Anh.................D4 Dao Duy Tu.............E1, E2 Dien Bien Phu................D2 Doc Ngu.........................A1 Doi Can.............A1, B2, C2 Duong Thanh.................E2 Gam Cau........................E1 Giai Phong.....................D4 Giang Vo.....A3 ,B3 ,B2,C2
Hai Ba Trung.....E2, E3, F3 Ham Long......................E3 Han Thuyen....................F3 Hang Bac.......................E2 Hang Bo.........................E2 Hang Bong.....................E2 Hang Buom....................E2 Hang Can.......................E2 Hang Chuoi....................F3 Hang Cot........................E1 Hang Da.........................E2 Hang Dao.......................E2
Hang Dau.......................E1 Hang Ga.........................E2 Hang Gai........................E2 Hang Khay.....................E2 Hang Khoai....................E1 Hang Ma.........................E1 Hang Quat......................E2 Hang Trong....................E2 Hang Chieu....................E1 Hang Luoc......................E1 Hao Nam........................C2 Hoa Ma...........................F3
Hoang Dieu.............D1, D2 Hoang Hoa Tham............... ....................A1, B1, C1, D1 Hoang Van Thu..............D1 Hoe Nhai........................E1 Hung Vuong............D1, D2 Huynh Thuc Khang........A3 Kham Thien.............C3, D3 Kim Ma..............A2, B2, C2 La Thanh.................B3, C3 Lang Ha..........................B3 Nguyen Chi Thanh.........A3
Le Dai Hanh...................E4 Le Duan............D2, D3, D4 Le Hong Phong.............D2 Le Lai..............................F2 Le Thai To.......................E2 Le Thanh Tong...............F3 Le Van Huu....................E3 Lieu Giai........................A2 Lo Duc......................F3, F4 Lo Su..............................F2 Luong Ngoc Quyen.......E2 Luong Van Can..............E2
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Ly Nam De..............E1, E2 Ly Quoc Su....................E2 Ly Thai To.......................F2 Ly Thuong Kiet........E3, F3 Mai Hac De..............E3, E4 Ngo Quyen.....................F3 Ngo Si Lien....................D2 Ngo Thi Nham................E3 Ngoc Ha.........................C1 Ngoc Khanh...................B2 Nguyen Canh Chan......D1 Nguyen Cong Hoa.........B2
Nguyen Dinh Chieu............ .................................E3, E4 Nguyen Du..............D3, E3 Nguyen Huu Huan........ F2 Nguyen Khuyen.............D2 Nguyen Luong Bang.....C3 Nguyen Thai Hoc....C2, D2 Nguyen Thuong Hien......... ........................................D3 Nguyen Van To..............E2 Nha Chung.....................E2 Nha Tho.........................E2
Nui Truc..........................B2 Pham Dinh Ho................F3 Pham Ngu Lao...............F3 Phan Boi Chau.......D2, D3 Phan Chu Trinh..............F3 Phan Dinh Phung..........D1 Phan Huy Chu................F3 Pho Duc Chinh...............F3 Pho Hue...................E3, E4 Phu Doan.......................E2 Phung Hung............E1, E2 Quan Su..................E2, E3
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Quan Thanh...................D1 Quang Trung...........E2, E3 Quoc Tu Giam...............D2 Son Tay..........................C2 Thai Phien......................E4 Thanh Cong...................B3 Thanh Nien....................D1 Tho Nhuom.............E2, E3 Thuy Khue.......................... ....................A1, B1, C1, D1 To Hien Thanh...............E4 Tong Dan........................F2
4
Ton Duc Thang..............C3 Tran Hung Dao................... ...........................D3, E3, F3 Tran Huy Lieu................B2 Tran Khanh Du...............F3 Tran Khat Chan..............F4 Tran Nguyen Han..........F2 Tran Nhan Tong......D3, E3 Tran Nhat Duat..............E1 Tran Phu........................D2 Tran Quang Khai............F2 Tran Qui Cap.................D2
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Tran Quoc Toan......D3, E3 Tran Thanh Tong............F3 Tran Xuan Soan................. .................................E3, E4 Trang Thi........................E2 Trang Tien................E2, F3 Trieu Viet Vuong......E3, E4 Trinh Hoai Duc...............C2 Tue Tinh.........................E3 Yen Phu..........................E1 Yersin..............................F4 Yet Kieu..........................D3
CENTRE OF HO C
Palace 1. IIndependence ndependence P alace
D3
Notre Cathedral 2. N otre Dame C athedral
E2
Vietnam History 3. V ietnam H istory Museum
F2
Fine Arts Museum 4. F ine A rts M useum of of Ho Ho Chi Chi Minh Minh City City E4 E4 Ho Chi Minh City 5. H oC hi M inh C ity Museum
E3
6. Southern Southern Women Women Museum
C1
7. War War Remnants Remnants Museum
D2
8. Ben Ben Thanh Thanh Market Market
E3
9. T Tao Park ao Dan P ark
D3
Post Office 10. P ost O ffice
E2
Zoo oo 11. Z
F2
12. Nha Nha Rong Wharf Wharf
F4
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A
B
C
1
6
2
3
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Ms. Thuy Phuong
4
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STREET GUIDE
3 Thang 2..........A2, A3, B2 Alexandre De Rhodes........ ........................................E2 An Duong Vuong....A4, B4 Ba Le Chan....................D1 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan...... ........................................C2 Ban Co...........................B3 Ben Chuong Duong........... .................................D4, E4 Ben Van Don...........D4, E4
Bui Thi Xuan..................C3 Bui Vien...................C4, D4 Cach Mang Thang Tam..... ......A1, B1, B2, C2, C3, D3 Calmette.........................E4 Cao Thang.....................B3 Chu Manh Trinh.............F2 Co Bac.....................C4, D4 Co Giang............. ...C4, D4 Cong Quynh............C3, C4 De Tham........................D4
Dien Bien Phu..................... A3, B2, C2, D1, D2, E1, F1 Dinh Tien Hoang............E1 Do Quang Dau...............C4 Do Thanh.......................B3 Doan Cong Buu.............C1 Doan Nhu Hai..........E4, F4 Dong Du.........................F3 Dong Khoi................E3, F3 Hai Ba Trung....................... ...........................D1, E2, F3 Hai Trieu.........................F4
Ham Nghi.................E4, F4 Han Thuyen....................E2 Ho Hao Hon...................C4 Ho Tung Mau...........E3, E4 Ho Xuan Huong.............C2 Hoa Hung.......................A2 Hung Vuong...................A4 Huyen Tran Cong Chua..... ........................................D3 Huynh Thuc Khang........E3 Huynh Tinh Cua.............D1 Ky Con.....................D4, E4
Ky Dong...................B2, C1 Le Duan...................E2, F2 Le Hong Phong.................. ...........................A2, A3, A4 Le Lai.......................C3, D3 Le Loi..............................E3 Le Quy Don....................D2 Le Thanh Ton...................... ...........................D3, E3, F2 Le Thi Hong Gam............... .................................D4, E4 Le Thi Rieng............C3, D3
Le Van Sy.......................B1 Luong Huu Khanh.........C3 Ly Chinh Thang.......C1, C2 Ly Thai To......................A3 Ly Tu Trong......................... ...........................D3, E3, F2 Ly Van Phuc...................E1 Mac Dinh Chi...........E1, E2 Mac Thi Buoi..................F3 Mai Thi Luu..............E1, F1 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia............ ...................C1, D1, D2, D3
N N N N .. N N .. N .. N N
1 3 2 3 .. 2 1 2 3 1 .. 3
CHI MINH CITY D
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6 4 11 11
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10 10
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Ngo Duc Ke....................F3 Ngo Thoi Nhiem ....C2, D2 Ngo Van Nam.................F2 Nguyen Binh Khiem.............. .....................................F1, F2 Nguyen Cau...................D1 Nguyen Cong Tru............... .................................D4, E4 Nguyen Dinh Chieu............ ......B3, C2, C3, D2, E1, F1 Nguyen Du..............D3, E3 Nguyen Hue.............E3, F3
Nguyen Khac Nhu.............. .................................C4, D4 Nam Quoc Cang.....C3, C4 Nguyen Phi Khanh.........E1 Nguyen Sieu...................F3 Nguyen Son Tra................. .................................B3, C3 Nguyen Tat Thanh..........F4 Nguyen Thai Binh............... .................................D4, E4 Nguyen Thai Hoc....D3, D4 Nguyen Thanh Y............E1
Nguyen Thi Dieu............C2 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai........ .................................B3, C3 Nguyen Thien Thuat........... .................................A3, B3 Nguyen Thong........B2, C2 Nguyen Thuong Hien........ .................................B2, C3 Nguyen Trai.............B4, C4 Nguyen Trung Ngan......F2 Nguyen Trung Truc........E3 Nguyen Truong To.........E4
Nguyen Van Cu..............B4 Nguyen Van Thu......E1, F1 Pasteur................................ ...............D1, D2, E2, E3,E4 Pham Ngoc Thach.........D1 Pham Ngu Lao........C4, D4 Pham Viet Chanh...........B3 Phan Ke Binh..........E1, E2 Pho Duc Chinh...............E4 Phung Khac Khoan.......E2 Suong Nguyet Anh........C3 Thach Thi Thanh.....D1, E1
Thai Van Lung................F3 Thi Sach.........................F3 Thu Khoa Huan.......D3, E3 To Hien Thanh................A1 Ton That Dam..........E3, E4 Ton Duc Thang..............C3 Tran Binh Trong......A3, A4 Tran Cao Van.................E2 Tran Dinh Xu...........B4, C4 Tran Hung Dao.......C4, D4 Tran Minh Quyen...........A3 Tran Nhan Tong.......A3, A4
Tran Phu.........................A4 Tran Quang Dieu...........B1 Tran Quang Khai.....D1, E1 Tran Quoc Thao......C1, D2 Tran Quoc Toan......C1, D1 Truong Dinh............C1, C2 Tu Xuong.......................C2 Vinh Vien........................A3 Vo Thi Sau........C2, D1, E1 Vo Van Tan..............C3, B3 Vuon Chuoi..............B2, B3 Yersin..............................D4
DIRECTIONS
HO CHI MINH CITY (TELEPHONE CODE: 028) TRAVEL
Windsor Plaza Hotel
18 An Duong Vuong, Dist.5, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3833-6688 www.windsorplazahotel.com GALLERIES
Asiana Travel Mate
113C Bui Vien St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3838-6678 www.atravelmate.com
Buffalo Tours
81 Mac Thi Buoi, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3827-9168 Email: travelagency@buffalotours.com www.buffalotours.com.vn
Exotissimo
261/26 Phan Xich Long St, Phu Nhuan Dist., Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3995-9898 www.exotravel.com
Apricot Gallery
50 Mac Thi Buoi St, Ben Nghe Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3822-7962
Craig Thomas Gallery
27i Tran Nhat Duat St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Mobile: 0903 888 431 Email: cthomasgallery@gmail.com www.cthomasgallery.com Open: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Mondays and Sundays
Galerie Quynh
Saigon Tourist
45 Le Thanh Ton St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3827-9279 www.saigon-tourist.net
Level 2, 151/3 Dong Khoi St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3824-8284 www.galeriequynh.com Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sàn Art
Trails of Indochina
10/8 Phan Dinh Giot St, Tan Binh Dist., Ho Chi Minh City; Tel: (028) 3844-1005 Email: dosm@trailsofindochina.com www.trailsofindochina.com HOTELS
48/7 Me Linh St, Ward 19, Binh Thanh Dist., Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 6294-7059 www.san-art.org SIGHTSEEINGS
Notre Dame Cathedral
Eastin Grand Hotel Saigon
Cong Xa Paris Square, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Built in 1877, and the Cathedral opened to the public in 1880. The bricks used to build this marvellous structure were shipped from Marseilles.
Ben Thanh Market
253 Nguyen Van Troi St, Phu Nhuan Dist., Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3844-9222 Email: Info@eastingrandSaigon.com www.eastingrandsaigon.com
Park Hyatt Saigon
2 Lam Son Square, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3824-1234 www.saigon.park.hyatt.com
Rex Hotel
141 Nguyen Hue St, Ben Nghe Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3829-2185 www.rexhotelvietnm.com
Sofitel Saigon Plaza
Le Lai St, Ben Thanh Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Ben Thanh market is a trade centre and a favourite tourist destination, offering a wide range of Vietnamese handicraft, fresh fruits and local specialities.
Chinatown – Cho Lon
It was set up at the end of the 18th century when the Minh Dynasty in China was overthrown. Chinatown has many shops and private workshops. The most interesting places are Binh Tay market, Soai Kinh Lam fabric whole-sales market, the street of herbal medicine located on Hai Thuong Lan Ong and Thien Hau Temple on Nguyen Trai Street.
Ticket: VND50,000 The first museum of traditional Vietnamese medicine
The Coast Hotel
Ho Chi Minh City Museum
65 Ly Tu Trong St, Ben Nghe Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3829-9741 www.hcmc-museum.edu.vn Open daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Independence Palace
135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia St, Ben Thanh Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3822-3652 www.dinhdoclap.gov.vn Open daily, 7.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Southern Women Museum
202 Vo Thi Sau St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3932-7130
The History Museum
2 Nguyen Binh Khiem St, Ben Nghe Ward, Dist 1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3829-8146 www.baotanglichsuvn.com 8 a.m. - 11.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. Closed on Monday
War Remnants Museum
28 Vo Van Tan St, Ward 6, Dist.3, Ho Chi Minh City. Tel: (028) 3930-5587 Email: warrmhcm@gmail.com Open daily 7.30 a.m. to midday and 1.30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
VUNG TAU
(TELEPHONE CODE: 0254) HOTELS, RESORTS
Palace Hotel
1 Nguyen Trai St, Ward 1, Vung Tau Tel: (0254) 3856-411 www.palacehotel.com.vn
Petrosetco Hotel
12 Truong Cong Dinh St, Ward 2, Vung Tau. Tel: (0254) 3624-748 www.petrosetcohotel.vn
Petro House Hotel 63 Tran Hung Dao St, Ward 1, Vung Tau Tel : (0254) 3852-014 Hotline: 0961.085.869 Email: info@petrohousehotel.vn www.petrohousehotel.vn
300A Phan Chu Trinh St, Ward 2, Vung Tau City Tel: (0254) 3627-777 Email: info@thecoasthotelvungtau.com www.thecoasthotelvungtau.com MUSEUM
White Palace
6 Tran Phu St, Ward.1, Vung Tau City Tel: (0254) 3852-605 Open daily 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
CAN THO
(TELEPHONE CODE: 0710)
Can Tho Museum
1 Hoa Binh St, Tan An Ward, Can Tho Tel: (0710) 3820-955 Open: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.); Saturday and Sunday (8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. to 9 p.m.). Closed on Friday. Free admission
PHU QUOC
(TELEPHONE CODE: 077) Eden Resort Phu Quoc Cua Lap Hamlet, Duong To Ward, Phu Quoc District, Kien Giang Province Tel: (077) 3985-598 www.edenresort.com.vn MUSEUMS Coi Nguon Museum 149 Tran Hung Dao St, Duong dong Town, Phu Quoc, Kien Giang Province Tel: (077) 3980-206 www.coinguonphuquoc.com
MUSEUMS
Fine Arts Museum of
Ho Chi Minh City 97A Pho Duc Chinh St, Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3829-4441 www.baotangmythuattphcm.com Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays
Fito Museum
17 Le Duan St, Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3824-1555 Email: h2077@sofitel.com www.sofitel.com
46 • V I E T N A M
HERITAGE
41 Hoang Du Khuong S, Ward 12, Dist. 10, Ho Chi Minh City Tel: (028) 3864-2430 www.fitomuseum.com.vn Open daily from 8.30 a.m. till 5.30 p.m.
I FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018
For Subscription
please call Phuong: 0969473579 or email: subs.vietnamheritage@gmail.com www.vietnamheritage.com.vn Six issues Vietnam: VND294,000. Asia & Europe: $42. America & Africa: $48 .
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Happy Lun H Lunar nar New Year Y Y Off The Do Year Dog og
EXHIBITION OF 100 BEST WORKS WORKS SELEC SELECTED TED VIETNAM HERIT IT TA AGE PHO TO A AW WARDS 2017 FROM THE VIETNAM HERITAGE PHOTO AWARDS ham Sculpture Sculpture (N o.2, 2 thang 9 S Danang Museum of C Cham (No.2, Street, treet, Danang C City) ity) March, 2018 till 30 March,
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