Thursday, October 7, 2010

Hanoi ceramic mosaic sets Guinness World Record

Hanoi ceramic mosaic sets Guinness World Record

A 810m section of Hanoi’s ceramic mosaic along the Red River road has
set a new Guinness World Record. Beatriz Fernandez, a representative
from the Guinness Book of World Records, presented the city with a
certificate for the largest ceramic mosaic at a ceremony in Hanoi on
October 5, when a plaque with “in celebration of Thang Long-Hanoi’s
millennium anniversary”, was placed on the mural.


On addressing the ceremony, Ngo Thi Thanh Hang, Deputy Chairwoman of the
Hanoi People’s Committee, stressed on the joint effort made by local
and foreign artists, agencies, companies, volunteers and children,
which, she said, showed the love and friendship that people have for
Hanoi.


Katherine Muller Marin, Chief Representative for UNESCO in
Hanoi, expressed her joy at the work of art with journalist Nguyen Thu
Thuy, who initiated the project, saying that Thuy got local people and
foreigners to create the work, combined with culture, art and history,
to make it more attractive and understandable, which will help to raise
public awareness of the country’s heritages.


The mosaic mural
came from an idea by Thuy, a journalist and painter who works for the
Hanoimoi newspaper with full support from the city’s authorities.


It
was created from 2007 to 2010, involving 20 Vietnamese and 15 foreign
artists and 500 children from across the country and around the world
plus 100 craftsmen from traditional ceramic villages, including Phu
Lang, Bat Trang, Chu Dau and Binh Duong.


The project, which runs
for nearly 4 km along the Red River Dyke, features images of Vietnam’s
history, countryside and traditional craft villages./.

Related Articles

Foreign friends join in Hanoi’s birthday party

Many overseas visitors felt happy and extremely lucky to be in Hanoi
for its millennium anniversary, both those who have lived in Hanoi
for many years as well as newcomers to the city.


The
Palestinian Ambassador to Vietnam Saadi Salama, who has been working and
living in Hanoi for years, said he felt lucky to have the
opportunity to witness Thang Long-Hanoi’s anniversary.


Hanoi
, in his eyes, has a unique beauty, with peaceful scenes, shady streets
and small rivers, especially Long Bien Bridge and the city’s
small residential enclaves. “These sweet memories of Hanoi will
always remain in my heart, ” he said.


The beauty of
the 1,000 year-old city has been captured in his photos. Six of them
were showcased at a recent exhibition on Hanoi through the eyes of
international friends, held by the Vietnam Union of Friendship
Organisations in late September.


The newly-appointed
Chilean Ambassador Fernando Urrutia, who has been in office in Hanoi
for only two months, said he felt privileged to witness Hanoi ’s
1,000 th birthday.


“I am so happy to live and work in Hanoi , it is so rich in culture.”


Having arrived in Hanoi several days before their 10 th wedding
anniversary, Linda and Robert Plummer from Australia had special
feelings about Hanoi .


“I love the dynamic, bustling life
in Hanoi and am very happy to be a part of the city’s most important
anniversary,” said Robert, adding that he and his wife will spend most
of their time in Vietnam exploring Hanoi .


Mr.
and Mrs. Jeff Hurley, from the UK , decided to return to Vietnam for
Hanoi ’s millennium celebrations as they were very impressed by
Vietnam and its people when they visited two years ago.


“While in Hanoi , we will visit the Thang Long royal citadel, a
UNESCO recognised cultural heritage, to learn more about the city,”
said Mr Hurley./.

Related Articles

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Thai star debuts at Vietnam volleyball champs

Thai star Wanchai Tabwises makes his debut appearance Tuesday at the Vietnam national volleyball championship with Duc Long – 5th Military Zone club following a long delay.

The athlete, who was admitted to the Thailand national team in 2005, enlists the club to play the second round of the tournament from October 5-19 in the northern provinces of Hai Duong and Ninh Binh, pursuant to a five-year contract till 2014 at an income of US$7,000 per month.

A total of 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams separated into groups of six are competing in the championship with two best ones in each group to qualify for the semifinals.

As many as 13 male and 17 female foreign players are now playing for Vietnamese clubs, according to a report from the Vietnam Volleyball Federation.

Wanchai actually signed the contract with Duc Long – 5th Military Zone in December last year. However, the Volleyball Association of Thailand and the Asian Volleyball Federation postponed him the day in which the star could start playing for contract violations involving an unidentified club from Bahrain.

The suspension was only lifted on October 2.

The first stage of the championship was organized from March 14-28 in the Central Highlands provinces of Daklak and Gia Lai.

Related Articles

Vietnam to flaunt its fashion in RoK

The Republic of Korea (RoK) Embassy’s Trade and Investment Promotion
Agency in Hanoi (KOTRA Hanoi) will arrange for a delegation of
Vietnamese businesspeople to attend an international textile-garment
exhibition and fashion festival to be held in Busan city, RoK, in
mid-October.


According to KOTRA, the Busan event lasting from Oct. 14-16 will provide
a chance for Vietnamese businesses to promote their products to big
exporters and distributors from the RoK and other countries over the
world.


They will also learn the trend of the 2011-2012
Autumn-Winter season and attend seminars on production, technology and
distribution.


According to the Vietnam Textile and
Apparel Association (VITAS), Vietnam ’s textile and garment exports
to the RoK have sharply increased over recent years, reaching nearly 240
million USD in 2009, and 180 million USD in the first eight months of
this year, marking a year-on-year 45 percent increase.


Vietnam also imported a great volume of materials for the
industry from the RoK, buying 1.4 billion USD worth of fibres in 2009.


VITAS also reported that more than 400 RoK businesses have invested in
the textile and garment industry in Vietnam . They include many
well-known ones such as Pangrim, Hansae Vietnam , Han-soll Vietnam
, and Vina-Korea./.

Related Articles

Citadel dances show value of preservation

Citadel dances show value of preservation

The striking performance of ancient citadel dances at Hanoi 's Ly
Thai To Garden last night was a stark reminder of the need to research
and preserve the nation's cultural heritage.


he dances from the Thang Long (former name of Hanoi ) era were
presented at the garden, near the post office on Hoan Kiem Lake ,
to celebrate the city's 1,000th anniversary.


Performed by members of the Hanoi Dancers' Association, they have stood
the test of time thanks to a project led by People's Artist Le Ngoc Canh
in the 1980s to collect 54 ancient dances and recorded and revive them.


Canh said the collection included spiritual Buddhist dances like Luc Cung Dance, Giai Oan Thich Ket Dance.


"However, I regret that many ancient dances have died out," he said.


For instance, he remembered watching a Light Dance at Dong Nhan
village in today's Hai Ba Trung district in 1954, but when he conducted
his study, nobody could remember the dance.


The same fate had befallen the Cup Dance of Moc village, in today's Thanh Xuan district.


Canh said the nation risked losing other historic cultural activities
with the passage of time unless moves were made to record them.


For example, former Ha Tay province still contained ancient cultural
traces which had not been studied properly and documented.


Nevertheless, the dance research that had been carried out in the past
25 years and been very fruitful and had recorded genres in Hanoi
including folk, worship, religious and royal dances and had underpinned
revival performances, such as the one last night.


Canh said many of the royal dances in Thang Long had mingled with those
practised in the Hue citadel under the Nguyen Dynasty while many of
the others were associated with festivals.


"The old dances will live forever, together with the village culture," Canh said.


Bai Bong dance, for example, which originated in Phu Nhieu village,
Phu Xuyen district, was one among the most typical dances from the
project archives to be performed at the concert.


There are now four teams from four generations practising Bai Bong Dance in Phu Nhieu Commune, he said.


Dancer Nguyen Thi Ga, who just died a week ago aged 102, had been
performing Bai Bong since she was 10 and had helped keep the style going
until she got too old.


Canh said that following on
from the archive project, a documentary to record 30 of the dances was
being made and modern choreographers were hoping to use the old dances
to compose modern versions.


"The central matter is
budget," Canh said. "Old dancers have joined the documentary project for
the past five years through their own enthusiasm and got no pay at
all."


The budget for organising old-style dance
festivals in the traditional Lunar New Year periods between 2008-10 had
been limited. Each dancer had received only 10,000 VND (0.5 USD) for
their performance plus a transport subsidy./.

Related Articles

Photos show national heroes, celebrities

Photos show national heroes, celebrities

More than 500 items, documents and photos featuring of the land and
people of Vietnam , particularly Vietnamese heroes and cultural
celebrities, went on display at the Vietnam Revolutionary Museum
on Oct. 4.


The exhibition showcases the lives and careers of more than 50 heroes
and famous men of culture, who made great contributions to the country's
national independence, construction and development during different
periods. They include Le Loi - who successfully led the Lam Son
insurrection which ended Ming domination- and Nguyen Trai - a national
hero and cultural celebrity in the 15th century.


Exhibition goers also have a chance to see valuable documents and items
relating to late President Ho Chi Minh, such as the original copy of his
diary in prison and a picture depicting the President with
representatives of children from three regions of the country which was
painted in blood by painter Diep Minh Chau in 1947.


The exhibition, one of many events to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary
of Thang Long-Hanoi, also spotlights the history, development and people
of the capital city.


"The event expresses the
current generation's gratitude to the previous generations who made
great sacrifices for national independence and want to help educate the
younger generation about the country's history and patriotism," said the
museum director Pham Quoc Quan.


"I am deeply moved
to visit the exhibition, which reminds me of historic moments," said
60-year-old Nguyen Thi Phuong My in Hoan Kiem district's Hang Bai
street .


"I am also very happy to see many young
people here, which means that they are interested in the country's
history," she said.


The exhibition will run until December 31.


On the same day, an exhibition featuring famous battles and campaigns
opened in the Vietnam Military History Museum, including the Battle of
Bach Dang river in 938 against the invading forces of the Nanhan of
China, the Dong Da-Ngoc Hoi battle against Qing invaders in 1789, the
battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 against the French colonialists and the
Ho Chi Minh campaign in 1975 that led to the total liberation of South
Vietnam on April 30, 1975.


The exhibition, held to celebrate the capital city's 1,000th birthday, will last one month./.

Related Articles

Vietnam beat Jordan at Asian U-19 soccer champs

Vietnam overturned Jordan’s initial 1-0 lead to ultimately seal the game with a 2-1 victory on Monday at the finals round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19 Championship taking place in China from October 3-17.

In a game of few clear-cut chances, Jordan took the lead shortly before half time with Mahmoud Za’tara’s goal, but Vietnam’s Le Quoc Phuong equalized with a sublime 55th minute free-kick.

At 17 minutes to time, the South East Asians continued to dominate as Nguyen Van Thanh secured the victory with a second goal.

Jordan continued to press in the remaining minutes in a bid to snatch a late equalizer but Vietnam’s defense held firm to the final whistle.

The victory means Vietnam join Japan with three points each in group C after Keiichiro Nuno’s side defeated defending champions United Arab Emirates (UAE) 2-1 earlier in the day.

Vietnam will face Japan on Wednesday and UAE two days later.

The Vietnamese U-19 team coached by Trieu Quang Ha is one of 16 out of 38 Asian national teams to pass the qualifying round in November of last year.

The Asian U-19 event is held every two years.

Related Articles