An additional five airlines have registered to launch or resume flights to Vietnam between now and the end of this year. They include Air Hong Kong, Jeju Air (the Republic of Korea), Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudi Arabia), United Airlines (the US), and Air China Cargo (China). Silk Airlines of Singapore, which is currently conducting flights to Danang, is also keen on opening an air route to Hanoi.

 According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), as many as 48 foreign airlines are operating in Vietnam. In 2011, about five million visitors travelled to Vietnam by air, up 35 percent over the previous year. Vietnam is upgrading infrastructure at Noi Bai, Cam Ranh and Danang Airports, and implementing a project to build Long Thanh Airport to meet the increasing demand for passenger and cargo transport.

 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast that by 2014, Vietnam will be the world’s third fastest growing market for international passengers and freight. The country’s aviation growth will likely reach 10 percent in the next three years, doubling the 2011 global average of 5 percent.


 Vietnam Airlines to open Berlin-Hanoi direct flight 

 The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to launch a direct flight from Berlin to Hanoi on June 25. The information was announced by Nghiem Van Khanh, chief representative of Vietnam Airlines in Berlin, during a meeting with Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany, Do Hoa Binh, on April 18. According to Khanh, the planned direct flight from Berlin to Hanoi is part of activities to mark the inauguration of Brandenburg Airport on June 3.

 Vietnam Airlines will sell tickets (895 Euros, including 40kg luggage) through East Sea Travel Germany. Passengers on the first flight on June 25 can fly back to Germany via regular flights from Hanoi to Frankfurt, where they can travel free of charge by train to their final destination in the country. Ambassador Binh highly valued the opening of the direct flight, saying that it will help promote Vietnam Airlines’ image and contribute to the fruitful relationship between Vietnam and Germany.


 Source VOV / Vietnam Airlines

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Luy Thay is jewel of Quang Binh

Tourists often come to Dong Hoi District in Quang Binh Province for one reason – the magnificent Luy Thay (Master Rampart) on the Nhat Le River. Due to its commanding presence and interesting past, Luy Thay remains arguably the most important attraction in this part of the country. Its rich history covers over 400 years, including what historians have called the 50-year civil war between Trinh and Nguyen families, the two armies that ruled the north and south of the country between 1558 and 1777.

This huge embankment, 34-kilometer long and consisting of three ramparts, the Truong Duc, Tran Ninh (or Dau Mau) and Truong Sa, was built in 1630 under the rule of Dao Duy Tu (1572-1634), a famous high-ranking mandarin of the Nguyen lords. It took four years to complete the system. Made of layered clay and stones, and six meters high and six meters wide at the bottom, the structure was intended to strengthen the capital defense system.

This structure is one of the biggest rampart works of the feudal dynasties in Vietnam. Wars and farther time have taken their toll, and the impressive defense system that once protected the Nguyen lords’ reign from the attacks of the Trinh lords can now only be seen along the Nhat Le River. The 12-kilometer long Tran Ninh rampart is one of the few vestiges of the Luy Thay.

 Another section can be found in the center of Dong Hoi Town, marked by Quang Binh Quan, one of the three gates built along the Truong Sa rampart. Now on Tran Phu Street, the gate was first strengthened with stones in 1825 by King Minh Mang, the second emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). It was repaired again in 1961 but was almost completely destroyed by U.S. bombs during the American War.

 In 1994, the Quang Binh Quan section, which is 8.4 meters long and two meters high, was restored and recognized as a national relic. Coming to the rampart, tourists should take a trek to Nhat Le Lighthouse to take in the panoramic view of the Nhat Le River, witnessing the riverside life of locals and fishermen.


 Source SGT

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Isolated ethnic people of Ba Be Lake nurture the old way of life

VietNamNet Bridge – Awakened by the sounds of birds and frogs in the early morning after escaping from the rapid pace of city life, I started my new day in Ba Be National Park, a massive nature reserve in the northern province of Bac Kan and home to magnificent Ba Be Lake. Located some 240km from Ha Noi, the park has been well-known for years for its unique beauty.

 My three-day visit to the park exceeded my expectations and fed an intense curiosity about the area, as well as letting me enjoy fresh air which can't be found in the city. On the first two days, local guide Nong Van Hieu led me to discover such special landscapes in the park as Ba Be Lake, the Nang River, Puong Cave, and Dau Dang Waterfall. "Ba Be National Park is not only famous for its scenery but also for its daily lifestyle," Hieu said. "It's impossible to experience all the interesting traditions and cultures here in only three days." What he said was true.

 The final day of my visit broadened my horisons and left an impression of the daily lives of the ethnic minority people who are allowed to reside in the park as unique from any others I have encountered across the country. I was lucky to be taken to one of the villages that border the lake called Pac Ngoi. The Tay ethnic village, with about 80 households, is remarkable for its traditional stilt houses built on stable mountain cliffs. On the way to the village, Hieu told me a great deal about Tay cultures and traditions. "Most of clothes here are handmade," said Hieu. "The locals continue to use looms to create fabrics. The most popular is 2m long and 80cm wide.

 They also plant and harvest their own cotton before dying and weaving it to create the finished fabrics. "Tay people used to hunt and trap forest animals, but now they have moved closer to the lake to catch fish. Fishing is their daily work apart from farming and raising cattle." We reached the village when the sky was getting dark. I found that half of the households in Pac Ngoi offered home stays. I chose the house of Nguyen The Gia, 47, to stay the night at a cost of US$15. By 10pm, all of the people were asleep. My deep sleep was broken at the crack of dawn by the tour guide.

It was 5am, and we quickly had a breakfast of bread and fresh milk and continued our journey. Amazingly, we saw many local fishermen already out fishing along the bank of the Nang River Their method of catching was different from any I have ever seen. They throw nets while wading in the water, which is too shallow to fish by boat. The nets are designed very uniquely and are a bit tricky to get ahold of, but the fishermen bring in a haul of various kinds. Fisherman Tran Trong Kien, 54, satisfied my curiosity about the fishing methods by asking me to jump into the river.

He guided me to use the nets, and the cool water motivated me to get familiar with the unusual way of working. I caught five small and medium fishes in my first throw. We stopped fishing at 6am with 15kg of fish. "Usually I can sell this much fish for VND200,000 ($10)," Kien said. "It's rainy season, so there is a lot of fish as the lake builds up in size. In the winter, when there's less rain, there's less fish." Muong fish, according to Kien, is the most delicious food in the park.

The people often select muong fish, clean them, then bind them between two pieces of wood and cook them over hot coals for about 10 minutes, turning them a couple of times. We ate our fish, which was soft and flavourful, and chased it down with maize wine. We sat around a wooden table and sang some of the songs of the ethnic group with poetic and thoughtful lyrics, leaving us with a feeling of the colourful lifestyle of the place and a sense of pride in the country's valuable traditions and cultures.


 Source VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

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PM passes new Vietnam-UK aviation pact

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a new aviation transport pact already signed by officials of Vietnam and the United Kingdom to enhance air transport ties between the two countries as well as investment and cooperation relations. This year's theme, "Viet Nam will become more prosperous and stronger from the sea", highlighted the crucial role of sea resources to the country's economic development and national defence, said director of the ministry's Viet Nam Administration of Sea and Islands Nguyen Van Cu.

Among a series of events will be a parade to commemorate the World Environment Day and the World Oceans Day, a televised ocean-themed ceremony and art performance, the fourth sea brand forum under the theme "Economic opportunities and eco-systems of Viet Nam's islands and archipelagos" and the third Viet Nam marine economic forum.

The biennial award, "The homeland's blue sea", will be held this year to honour individuals and organisations that have demonstrated great efforts in protecting the resources and environment of the country's seas and islands. Viet Nam is among several countries on the East Sea, a strategic position of regional and international importance. Its sea area is three times bigger than the land area, with more than 3,000 islands including the particularly resource-rich Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.


 Source VNA

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Ha Long Bay formally becomes world wonder

HA NOI — Thousands of people gathered at the My Dinh National Stadium last night to witness the official naming of Ha Long Bay as one of the New7Wonders of Nature. Addressing the ceremony, Bernard Weber, president of the New7Wonders Foundation said: "The competition was lively and fair… which was a great success for all 15 countries that own the new seven wonders." Weber added that his goal was to bring inspiration, to create motivation and participation on themes everyone could understand, themes that had real and lasting value.

At the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan thanked thousands of Vietnamese people living in and outside the country and international friends of Viet Nam, who had enthusiastically voted for Ha Long over the past four years. He also hoped local authorities and concerned agencies would make more efforts to preserve and bring into full play the natural values of the bay in the near future.

Weber then gave a commemorative plaque recognising the bay as one of the new seven wonders that had been cast by hand in bronze in Munich to Culture, Sport and Tourism Minister Hoang Tuan Anh and Nguyen Van Doc, chairman of Quang Ninh Province's People's Committee. The same plaque will be given to Quang Ninh authority on May 1 at the annual Ha Long Carnival event. The ceremony was followed by an art performance by more than one thousand artists and students.

 The whole stadium redesigned to resemble a huge stage in the form of a small Ha Long Bay with fake mountains, water and boats, where various dancing and singing performances praising the bay as well as other wonderful sites in Viet Nam such as the Ho Dynasty Citadel Remnants, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, Hue Citadel, My Son Sanctuary and Hoi An City. The show also featured examples of intangible cultural heritage in Viet Nam such as Phu Tho Xoan Singing, quan ho (northern love duet singing), ca tru (chamber singing), nha nhac (Hue royal music), don ca tai tu (southern amateur music) and Central Highland's gongs.

Selected from more than 440 locations in 220 countries, Ha Long was an eventual finalist along with the Amazon (in South America), Iguazu Falls (in Argentina and Brazil), Jeju Island (South Korea), Komodo (Indonesia), Puerto Princesa Underground River (the Philippines) and Table Mountain (South Africa). The results were announced last November. Ha Long Bay was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, in recognition of its outstanding, universal aesthetic value.

 In 2000 the World Heritage Committee additionally recognised Ha Long Bay for its outstanding geological and geomorphological value. "It has been the best-selling destination for tourists," said Nguyen Van Tuan, director of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism. "That's why establishing and advertising the tourism trademark of Ha Long Bay is the first and foremost duty of the tourism sector."


Source VNS

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Italy clinches global fireworks competition in Danang 2012

The Parente team from Italy won the fifth Da Nang International Fireworks Competition over the weekend with their colourful performance entitled Rainbow of Da Nang. It's the second time in a row the Italian team has claimed the coveted title in the annual competition. Teams from France and China shared second place, while Canada and host Viet Nam tied for third.

With over 32,000 spectators, the Italian team sparked the sky of cultural coastal city, lighting up the Han River for 23 minutes to put themselves on the victory podium for the second time. They introduced the performance with a crescendo of emotion with a music track, August's Rhapsody, composed by Mark Mancina.

They closed their performance with purple, the colour of energy, vitality and calm. The French team, Jacques Couturier, depicted the famous Marble Mountains of Da Nang, with sweet scents and romantic music. On the opening night on Sunday, the Canadian team raise the curtain on their show to the strains of O Fortuna before lighting up the night with I Gotta Feeling, Dance of the Reeds and the Butterfly Lovers concerto.

The Vietnamese performance included 5,300 individual fireworks for a 23-minute show, while China's Liuyang dancing fireworks team told the story of Peach Blossom Valley on the Han River. Canada's Davis Whysall won the first prize in 2008, while China's Liuyang Dancing team took the title in 2009. France's Jacques Couturier Organisation clinched the first prize in 2010. According to the organising committee, the city saw about 400,000 tourists arrivals during the two-day festival.


 Source VNS

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Halong Festival 2012

HA LONG CITY — The rich culture of ethnic communities in northern coastal Quang Ninh Province and northeastern regions was highlighted at the spectacular Carnival Ha Long 2012 held last night. An event to mark the province's Ha Long Bay being listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature, the carnival was the biggest ever since first held five years ago. Thousands of people, including many foreign tourists, enjoyed special performances featuring the hospitality and beauty of Quang Ninh's people and land.

Several famous artists, including the People's Artist Quang Tho as well as songstresses Ho Quynh Huong and Ngoc Anh, took part the event. In addition, performances by art troupes from South Korea, China, Laos and the Philippines created extra cultural diversity at the event. A vivid parade gathering thousands of ethnic people living in the province took place on the city's main street alongside the beach.

Unlike other previous carnivals, where most of the performers were professional artists, this year's event gathered more than 3,000 ethnic performers drawn from the San Chay, San Diu, Tay and Dao. "Only the ordinary people are able to expose their culture truly and vividly," said the carnival's general director, People's Artist Le Tien Tho. The tourists also had a chance to learn about the unique cultural of different ethnic groups when several traditional festivals and customs were presented.

They wallowed in the festive atmosphere of a traditional wrestling competition of Quang Yen District, or a rice-planting kick off ritual from women of the Ha Nam Island in Yen Hung District. While the San Diu group living in Van Don replicated a traditional wedding, the Dao, Hoang Bo and San Chay groups presented folk dances. The carnival became more beautiful with a spectacular fireworks performance presented by French artists.

The parade was also joined by a group of 300 local Buddhists, aiming to promote the spiritual culture of the province, considered as a cradle of Vietnamese Buddhism. The 1,068m above sea level Yen Tu Mountain in the province is the place where King Tran Nhan Tong in the 13th century founded the Truc Lam Zen School.

The site attracts thousands of pilgrims every year, contributing significantly to the province's socio-economic development. Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hoang Tuan Anh, President of the New7Wonders Foundation Bernard Weber and representatives of other New Seven Wonders of Nature participated in the event.


 Source VNS

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