Nguyen Van Tinh, head of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s International Relations Department, said the stadium will feature a miniature of Ha Long Bay with water, mountain and boat replicas at the ceremony to show off the grandiosity of the heritage.

Tinh affirmed there is only one event for the purpose this Friday evening. Another activity at Ha Long Bay next Tuesday night is just a festive event and acts as part of the   Ha Long Carnival .

Funds for the ceremony will be mobilized from the society. However, the real figures from sponsors are yet to be revealed.

Earlier on November 11 last year, Ha Long Bay was named among the world’s seven new wonders of nature, according to the global poll conducted by New Open World Corporation, an associate of the New 7 Wonders Foundation.

CNN has voted for Vietnam’s Halong Bay as one of Asia’s top five best tropical island paradises.

CNN praised Halong Bay for its” incredible sunsets”, which is a must for visitors.

Asia’s top five sites include Indonesia ’s Anambas Islands , Thailand ’s Similan Islands and the Kok Chang archipelago, Malaysia ’s Langkawi Islands and Vietnam ’s Halong Bay .

The results are based on surveys of tour operators and prestigious Asian journalists.

CNN also described Halong Bay as a stunning place to go cruising with its magnificent mountainous islands and dreamlike coves and one of the most amazing destinations anywhere in the world

UNESCO has previously recognised Halong Bay as a World’s natural heritage.-VNA

Patriarch Alang Vel, who has spent his life making many musical instruments created and played by Co Tu people for years, is admired by both amateurs and professionals.

“By playing our musical instruments, people can see and feel Co Tu’s culture and lifestyle,” said the 89-year-old.

Many visitors are surprised by the depth of emotion and skill displayed by the artisan.

Using his knife, Alang Vel has made several kinds of instruments, including a khen (wind instrument with small bamboo tubes) and an apel (a stringed-instrument in wood), two of Co Tu’s most popular instruments.

Born in a poor family in TaLang, a small village located in BhaLee Commune, Alang Vel has dedicated his life to music.

“I began playing traditional Co Tu music when I was 10,” he said, making several instruments for his own performances.

Some of his most outstanding works include the atoong and ampraay, which are often stored and displayed in local communal houses, or guoi, around the region.

A guoi is the largest and tallest house in the community, located in the middle of the village and made from wood.

The house is used for meetings, rituals, performances and reception of special guests.

An atoong is made of seven wood tubes, one-metre long each. The tubes are attached together by two strings.

The instrument’s music is sweet and strong, depicting the character of the Co Tu people, according to Alang Vel.

Another instrument, ampraay, is a collection of five bells made from a kind of fruit. Its tinkling is heard when the player pushes the instrument on the ground.

Alang Vel said the Co Tu people played their music at traditional festivals and rituals.

“Our instruments are simple in design, but they help the players share their passions and thoughts when playing,” he said.

The artist has displayed and performed his works in HCM City and Da Nang , capturing the attention of many music lovers and folk-music and cultural researchers.

“I love travelling to play Co Tu music because the art helps people learn more about the Co Tu.”

Most Co Tu people live in Quang Nam and Da Nang provinces. They believe and worship Giang (God).

Every year, the Co Tu hold dozens of minor and major rituals worshipping Giang to pray for good luck, good health and bumper crops.

Opened on April 19, the Vietnam Ethnic Groups Cultural Festival  promises to be a good chance to promote the cultures of 13 ethnic groups from eight cities and provinces in the north, centre and south of Vietnam. Yet, many of the event’s shortcomings have greatly disappointed the visitors.

Held at the Vietnamese Ethnic Groups Culture and Tourism Village in Dong Mo tourist area, 40km from Hanoi, the 9-day festival has stunned visitors by displaying Chinese goods next to the traditional products and handicrafts of the ethnic minority groups.

Moreover, many televisions and speakers at the venue blasting out infomercials about the minority communities only detract from already weak ethnic ambience of the festival.

Most disappointingly, the performance of ethnic music falls far short of the visitors’ expectations. Instead of performing traditional music instruments to liven up the festival and draw visitors, local artists only performed for a camera crew. After staffs of a local television station finished their filming, the artists stopped playing the music even though many visitors asked them to continue.

In addition, the choice of venue is also a disappointment to the visitors. Established in 2010, the Ethnic Groups Culture and Tourism Village has but a few constructions to showcase the ethnic minorities’ cultures, besides some bamboo houses which have been damaged due to termites.

The village’s managing board said that the houses were built on the same design and materials of ethnic people’s houses, and they were “planning to repair the houses with more durable materials.”

The central City of Da Nang will hold many special cultural and artistic activities to mark the 37th anniversary of the liberation of South Vietnam and the 2012 Da Nang International Fireworks Competition which will take place on April 29-30.

The spotlight of this occasion’s activities is a charitable music festival which is the biggest-ever program in Da Nang , gathering many famous artists. All the collected money will be donated for people with disabilities and the poor through Vietnam Television.

“Dreams of Da Nang ” is also a unique feature of the event “Culture-GasEconomy-Tourism and Real Estate”. It shows the vital and modern development, the beautiful landscapes and the ideal, friendly environment for living and working in the city. It includes an exhibition space to introduce the image of Da Nang City, a festival space with colorful activities combining traditional and modern culture and a food space with the participation of about 60 food businesses nationwide.

Also on display on the banks of the Han river are more than 100 stone sculpture works which are made by two famous stonemasonry firms in Ngu Hanh Son district.

On the occasion, tourists can visit famous tourism sites in Da Nang such as Ngu Hanh Son beauty spot, Non Nuoc stone carving village, Da Nang Museum , Ba Na Hills and Son Tra peninsula

Young women and men prepare their most beautiful costumes for the coming festival at Khau Vai Love Market, where parted lovers forced apart meet once a year has become the venue for a festival featuring many cultural activities.

“The market attracts many tourists to the region who readily join in cultural activities in search of the local character,” Ngoc said.

“This year’s festival will be held alongside Culture and Tourism Week to introduce visitors to the most unique features of the region and to promote culture and tourism,” he added.

While authorities expect that organising the festival imposingly would help promote tourism, tourists express worry that the noisy festival with outsiders may damage traditional culture and custom of the locals.

Glenn Phillips, from Australia, twice visited the love market and enjoyed learning about Mong culture and other hill tribe people. He and his friends drank a lot of ruou ngo (maize wine) and even picked up some ethnic words.

Admiring the beautiful landscape, Phillips expressed concern that the number of large tour groups visiting the love market could have an impact on culture.

“I think authorities should look to the love market in Sa Pa, northern Lao Cai Province, as an example of how tourism can damage cultural experiences,” he said.

“The days when young men and women would meet there and fall in love are long gone, because there are just too many tourists with cameras nowadays,” he explained, “Authorities in Ha Giang Province should learn from this mistake, and work with the local people to protect their living culture.”

Ngoc said locals participating in the love market naturally feel a need to make a date and meet each other, taking full advantage of the day to have fun.

Men often carry pigs to the market, and even though they might fail to sell it, they still have a great time, he added.

“The Khau Vai love market used to be known as a place for parted lovers, but now, it’s also a rendezvous point for young men and women who come to find partners.”

“They come to the market and sing and dance to entertain each other. I guarantee that all ethnic people welcome tourists to join in their performances,” Ngoc said.

During the four-day festival, tourists will be treated with cultural programmes including a Lo Lo ethnic ceremony to pray for rain, a Mong pan-pipe demonstration, a beauty contest presenting traditional costumes and an art performance in which artists play out the traditional love story.

“The people not only pray for rain, but also for prosperity and happiness,” Ngoc said, “On the occasion, they meet each other and exchange experience in farm works.”

Besides nightingale and bull fighting, a goat fighting competition will also be held for the very first time.

“The Stone Plateau, covering the main part of Ha Giang Province, is an attractive destination, but brings locals much difficulty in cultivation and production, with most remaining poor,” Ngoc noted.

“We expect that by attending the festival, tourists will appreciate the culture, tradition and moral strength of locals,” he added.

The Love Market convenes once a year on the 27th day of the third lunar month based on the love story of a couple from different tribes. A violent conflict broke out between the two sides to oppose their marriage. To stop the bloodshed, the two lovers sorrowfully decided to part, but planned to meet once a year at Khau Vai, which became the meeting place for those in love but unable to marry as well as those in search of partners.

On market day, both wives and husbands attend in search of their respective exes without the interference of jealousy seeing as exchanges remain strictly temporary.

Phillips, who works for Explore Indochina, recommended that local authorities talk to locals who traditionally attend the love market about how they feel about tourists and work with them to manage tourism.

“As access to mountainous areas improves, there will inevitably be cultural change, but local authorities should make sure that the local people have some degree of self-determination over the impact of tourism on their lives, culture and history,” he said.

Preparations for the festival commenced several months ago, according to Nguyen Chi Thuong, chairman of Meo Vac People’s Committee.

The festival will feature food and drink culture, song performances and folk games, ethnic costumes, jewellery and local music instruments alongside culture and art publications.

Tourists will be charmed by specialities including mint honey, men men (steamed maize meal), thang co (horse meat, beef, bones and viscera cooked together), dried beef and vegetables.

Posters and banners introducing the festival will be presented in Vietnamese and English in an effort to lure both domestic and foreign tourists.

The ancient lecythidaceae trees by Hoan Kiem lake are shedding their leaves.

This year, the trees started to turn yellow very late, not just before or after the Tet holiday as usual.

Many visitors have stopped to admire the changing colour of the leaves before green buds burst in the next few days.

A Khau Vai Love Market Cultural and Tourism Week opened with a wide range of activities last weekend in Meo Vac district, the northernmost province of Ha Giang.

The love market which takes place only once a year on the 27th of the third month of the lunar calendar serves as a rendezvous for lovers from ethnic groups such as the Mong, Dao, Tay , Nung,  Giay, and Lo Lo.

During the week-long festival, there are many cultural and sporting events held by ethnic minority groups.

Cow race is a unique activity attracting a lot of local people and visitors.

This year, 27 cows join the race.

Owner of the cow No 20 wins first prize.

The Goethe-Institute has organised the exhibition, inviting 17 young artists from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines to reflect in their work the ecological as well as socio-economic and cultural changes that riverscapes in these countries are currently experiencing.

The Red River and the Mekong Delta, the Irrawaddy and the Chaopraya: Southeast Asia is characterized by big river landscapes like no other place on earth. Yet these lifelines and vital ecosystems are acutely endangered by the consequences of socio-economic development and climate change. The riverscapes, and with them the livelihoods of millions of people, face threat of destruction.

17 art works include multimedia installations and photo series, videos and object installations. The exhibition will run until April 29.

A discussion between Vietnamese artists Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai, Nguyen The Son and Luong Hue Trinh, facilitated by curator Tran Luong took place on April 13.

The “Green Art Weekend” featuring a series of activities such as movies, discussions, a science slam on the issue of climate change, games and creative activities will take place on April 21-22.

The display aims to contribute toward raising awareness about the invaluable ecological and cultural heritage which the river landscapes in Southeast Asia represent and create networks between artists beyond borders.

The event then will be held in Ho Chi Minh City from May 12 – 27.

Goethe-Institute will subsequently present the exhibition in Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Jakarta and Manila.

Ha Long Bay (Photo: Sggp)

The Swiss organisation New Open World announced that Ha Long Bay had been named one of the New Seven Wonders in the world last November.

Individuals and organisations had participated in voting for Ha Long Bay as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Many promotional campaigns had been launched in cities and provinces throughout the country, along with activities that highlighted the spectacular beauty of Ha Long Bay.

The other seven natural wonders of the world include: the Amazon in South America; Iguazu Falls in Argentina; Jeju Island in the Republic of Korea; Komodo National Park in Indonesia; Puerto Princesa Underground River in the Philippines; and Table Mountain in South Africa.

Earlier in 1994, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) had recognised Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh as a World Heritage Site.