VietNam Culture

Monday, October 18, 2010

Photo exhibition shows Thai Nguyen-Hanoi links

More than 50 photos on the northern midland province of Thai Nguyen
taken by photo journalists of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) are on
display at an exhibition which opened on October 18 in Thai Nguyen city.

The event, jointly held by Thai Nguyen provincial
People’s Committee and the VNA, is aimed at marking the XVIIIth Thai
Nguyen Party Congress, advancing to the XIth national Party Congress.

The exhibition depicts relations between the late
President Ho Chi Minh, leaders of state and party, with Thai Nguyen
province as well as authorities and ethnic groups of Thai Nguyen,
provincial Party Congresses and the province’s achievements and
potential.

Visitors will also have a chance to
understand more about historical milestones in Thai Nguyen, which used
to house the headquarters of the Party and government during the
resistance war and now is the centre of the northern midland region.

On the occasion, VNA Deputy Director General Nguyen Duc Loi presented
the provincial leaders with a special bird’s-eye view photo of the grand
ceremony to celebrate the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The photo exhibition will run until October 23./.

Katazome painting show marks Hanoi’s birthday

Katazome (stencil dyeing) paintings by Japanese painter Toba Mika are
being showcased at the Nara Yakushiji temple in Nara prefecture from
Oct. 16 to Nov. 10.

The exhibition, themed “Taking
Nara and Hanoi closer through Katazome arts”, aims to celebrate the
1,000 th founding anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and 1,300 years of
the ancient capital of Nara .

Prompted by her
love for Vietnam , since the 1990s, Mika has created many paintings
depicting major changes in Vietnam during the process of national
industrialisation and modernisation.

Mika organised
exhibitions in Hanoi in 2003 and the former imperial city of Hue
two years later. She is planning to join hands with the Japan Culture
Centre in Vietnam to hold another show at the Temple of Literature
and Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum from Dec. 6-25, 2010.

On Oct. 16, a seminar highlighting Vietnamese and
Japanese cultures took place at the 1,300-year-old Yakushiji temple, a
UNESCO world heritage site.

While talking of
cultural and historical similarities between the two nations and between
Nara and Hanoi in particular, speakers emphasised the fact that a
Vietnamese Buddhist monk brought folk songs with him when he came to
manage the Todaiji temple in Nara prefecture in the 8th century.
That was vivid evidence of cultural exchanges between Vietnam and
Japan./.

Da Nang dethroned at National U.21 tourney

Da Nang dethroned at National U.21 tourney Defending champions Da Nang were dethroned in the final round of the National U.21 football championship after a 1-1 tie with Nghe An in their last Group B stage game in Pleiku on Tuesday.

After a 1-2 defeat to An Giang on Friday and a 2-2 tie with Dong Nai on Sunday, Da Nang had to win the match against Nghe An to advance to the semifinals of the 14th edition of the Thanh Nien-sponsored competition.

However, the task was made even more difficult for Da Nang when Nghe An took the lead midway through the first half.

Da Nang, who won two consecutive championships of the country’s major youth football event in 2008 and 2009, could only manage an equalizer in the final minute of the game.

With the Tuesday victory and a 3-1 win over An Giang on Sunday, Nghe An, who claimed three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002, finished second behind Dong Nai, who beat Nghe An 1-0 on Friday and An Giang 1-0 on Tuesday.

In the semis, Dong Nai will meet Binh Dinh while Nghe An will clash with hosts Hoang Anh Gia Lai for a place in the final match to be played on Sunday, October 17.

Dong Nai wins U.21 trophy after penalty shootout

Dong Nai wins U.21 trophy after penalty shootout Dong Nai took the 2010 National U.21 football championship after beating powerhouse Nghe An 5-4 in a penalty shootout at Gia Lai Province’s Pleiku Stadium on Sunday.

They had already beaten Nghe An 1-0 win in their group’s opening match, but this was a much closer match.

Nghe An played with lots of caution, but had to pick up after conceding the first goal just five minutes into the game.

They succeeded in scoring an equalizer just 10 minutes later, Trong Phi firing a shot that goalkeeper Thanh Diep could not reach.

Charged up by the equalizer, Nghe An’s young players launched more attacks, putting Dong Nai under great pressure. The team showed why it was able to three consecutive national U.21 championships from 2000 to 2002.

The team capitalized on one of the opportunities they created to take the lead midway through the first half.

After the break, Dong Nai’s striker Tuan Anh collected a neat pass from The Hung and made the score 2-2 after taking a neat pass from The Hung.

However, the team fell behind shortly afterwards, with Nghe An’s fast counterattack paying off. Trong Phi and Dinh Bao combined beautifully before striker Dinh Bao beat goalkeeper Diep with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area.

Dong Nai refused to give up, and just minutes from full time, they found the equalizer when Thanh Tan scored from a free kick.

No more goals were scored in the match, and the champions had to be chosen after a penalty shootout.

Both sides were successful in their first four tries but Nghe An’s Trong Phi failed to get his shot past the Dong Nai custodian, while Van Quyen fired in Dong Nai’s fifth shot without fuss.

Dong Nai’s victory in the National U.21 football championship is all the more impressive considering it is only the second tie that they were participating in the event.