UNESCO to attend capital city’s 1,000th birthday

Representatives of 193 UNESCO members have passed a resolution on the participation in the grand ceremony to mark the millennial anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi in October, 2010.

The adoption was made at the 35 th UNESCO General Assembly session on Oct. 22.

According to Pham Sanh Chau, Head of the Foreign Ministry’s Foreign Relations Culture and UNSECO, UNESCO participation in the event is not only an honour for the Hanoians but also for all Vietnamese people.

The news, together with the election of Vietnam to UNESCO’s executive council for the 2009-2013 period, prove the international community’s recognition to the Southeast Asian country’s role, position and contributions to UNESCO./.

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Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival 2010 opens

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan and Secretary of the Ninh Binh provincial Party Committee Dinh Van Hung beat the drum and gong to open the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival 2010 on April 18.

This year’s festival is to mark the 1,042 nd year since Dinh Bo Linh defeated 12 warlords to unite the country, made himself king and named the country Dai Co Viet as well as the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of the Ninh Binh provincial People’s Committee Bui Van Thang highlighted the accomplishments of Kings Dinh Tien Hoang, Le Dai Hanh and Ly Thai To, who founded strong dynasties fostering long-term independence for the nation.

In the opening night, the provincial Cheo (traditional opera) theatre staged a Hoa Lu festive drum performance which took aspiration from a magnificent period in the nation’s history.

A special art performance directed by People’s Artist Pham Thi Thanh provided the audience an insight of the glorious historical period of the Dinh, Le and Ly dynasties in the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, ended with the moving of the capital to Thang Long (now Hanoi ) by King Ly Thai To.

On the morning of April 18, the festival’s organising board held a fire parade from the Dinh King’s Temple in Gia Phuong commune, Gia Vien district – the birthplace of King Dinh Tien Hoang – to the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, a water parade from the Hoang Long River and a palanquin parade by 24 local delegations.

During the four-day festival, there will be many cultural and sports activities, including music and water puppetry performances, wrestling, volleyball, human chess, tug of war and walking on stilts.

From now until the grand celebration of Thang Long-Hanoi, Ninh Binh province will implement a number of works of historical significance such as dredging the Sao Khe River , the waterway which King Ly Thai To used to travel to Thang Long-Hanoi.

Traffic routes to the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital relic, the Trang An ecotourism area, the Bai Dinh Pagoda and the statue of King Le Dai Hanh will be built./.

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Foreign capitals to celebrate Hanoi’s anniversary

Up to 22 capital and cities around the world and foreign embassies in Vietnam have registered to take part in activities marking Hanoi’s 1,000th anniversary that will be held later this year.

According to the National Steering Committee for the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, the city of Fukuoka , Japan , has registered for Japanese culture days in Hanoi .

The capital city of Seoul in the Republic of Korea has offered to organise a wide range of activities, entailing artistic performances, a Seoul-Hanoi friendship night, a Seoul-Hanoi trade fair, and a seminar on the Red river project.

The capital city of Moscow in Russia has proposed organising Moscow days while Berlin , Germany has offered to hold a classical music concert during the event.

The Ile de France region of France said it wants to organise a fashion show and a seminar featuring French architecture in Hanoi , and other French cities such as Toulouse , Lyon and Rouen have registered to participate in street shows, and various musical, circus, and modern dance performances.

The committee said a number of cities and international organisations have registered to take part in projects to light the Long Bien bridge and public works located in the heart of Hanoi , such as the Government Guest House and the Ly Thai To garden.

The Australian embassy has registered with a programme to introduce its country’s ancient and aboriginal culture, while the Danish embassy has offered a street art performance, the Italian embassy, a photo exhibition and a musical concert, and the Argentine embassy, a performance of tango./.

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Veteran composer’s new song marks Hanoi birthday

At 82, composer Van Ky can still get the adrenalin flowing through his veins.

"When I begin to write a new song about Hanoi , I write so fast because my love for the city covers my soul," Ky said.

Ky has just released a new song – Bay Len Vietnam ( Vietnam , Let's Fly) to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of capital Hanoi .

In the song, he opens a huge sky of freedom and captures the desire of not just Hanoians, but Vietnamese people as a whole, to raise their living standards.

The veteran composer, who has 400 songs to his credit, has written quite a few famous ones about the capital city.

He loves Hanoi because it has a hidden beauty that is full of poetry and always contains the country's soul, Ky said.

Born in the northern province of Nam Dinh , Ky started his career as a song writer when he was chief of Nong Cong District in Thanh Hoa Province . His first work came out of the pain of a broken heart. He'd fallen in love with a girl from Hanoi who'd been evacuated to his district in 1946 during the resistance war against the French.

After she returned to the city, Ky enshrined his love in his first song – Trang Xua (Old Moon) though he did not know a single note of music then.

Later, Ky, a soldier in the resistance war, was recognised for his musical talent and sent to music classes within and outside the country.

In 1955, he began his music career in Hanoi with important and prominent songs including Bai Ca Hy Vong (Song of Hope) and Troi Xanh Hanoi ( Hanoi 's Blue Sky). After more than 50 years, Bai Ca Hy Vong, the composer's complete belief in the country's victory still strikes a chord in listeners, and Troi Xanh Hanoi has been the theme song for Hanoi Television and Radio for a long time. Ky is now thinking of a "summary" event to mark his music career, but at 82, he is still in no hurry, because "I want to travel more and compose more"./.

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Nearly 10,000 people walk for Hanoi’s birthday

Close to 10,000 people will join a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake on June 13 to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The information was released at a press conference in Hanoi on June 9.

The participants, including students and school children, athletes and their coaches, foreigners and the staff from Hanoi-based embassies and consulate general, will walk along the main streets around Hoan Kiem Lake.

A similar walk was held in Ho Chi Minh City in mid-May, which left a deep impression on the city’s citizens.

The programme has been co-organised by the Vietnam Sports Newspaper and the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and sponsored by Vietnam Television, the Vietnam Sports Newspaper and Q-Mobile, an arm of the An Binh Telecom Company./.

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Green festival marks 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi

This year’s theme for the Ornamental Creature Festival will be the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi. The organising board said the festival is due to take place in Gia Dinh Park, HCM City from August 31 to September 6.

There will be the creations of over 300 clubs from 45 ornamental creature associations nationwide including the Belgian Ornamental Creatures Club and representatives from other countries in the region.

Three Vietnam record holders will also be on display at the festival including a thousand-year old tree, Vietnam’s biggest wooden dragon and Vietnam’s biggest map which were all made by ornamental creatures clubs.

Many social activities will also be held during the festival including the campaign “Children walk for health and the environment”, a children’s painting contest, a flower parade and the voting for the 2010 Ornamental Creature business of the year.

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Buddhist week begins capital’s festivities

A procession carrying the statue of King Ly Thai To from Do Temple to Tieu Son Pagoda to pay respect to monk Van Hanh took place in Tu Son District, Bac Ninh Province on July 27.

This is part of Buddhist Week, a cultural event held in celebration of the 1,000 anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi.

Prominent among the participants were former State President Truong My Hoa, and Ha Van Nui, the Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland’s Front Central Committee, officials from provincial authorities and representatives of overseas Vietnamese and foreign embassies in Vietnam.

The event will help to educate today’s young people of the tradition of students to pay respect to their teachers, said the Most Venerable Thich Bao Nghiem, the permanent Vice Chairman of the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) in Hanoi and head of the Dharma Propagation Section of the VBS Central Committee.

Another procession will be held to take the King’s statue from Tieu Son Pagoda to the former Thang Long royal citadel. After that, a requiem will be held for the Ly and Tran families, war martyrs and ordinary citizens.

During Buddhist Week, from July 27-August 2, there will be various activities, including a grand ceremony to ask for peace and the people’s prosperity, several requiems, a night-time festival with garlands of flowers and coloured lanterns and a theatrical performance themed “Imprints of Thang Long”.

(Source: VNA)

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Overseas Vietnamese invited to celebrate Ha Noi's birthday

Overseas Vietnamese in Vientiane and Paris were called online to join the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long – Ha Noi yesterday.

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Nguyen Thanh Son and Overseas Vietnamese Commission chairman reminded the participants the anniversary was just one of 63 anniversaries the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural organisation, UNESCO, had chosen to associate with during 2010-11.

"We should grasp this once-in-a-1,000 year opportunity to hold a grand ceremony to popularise the nation's images to the world, he said from Ha Noi.

The commission and Dat Viet , The Land of Viet Nam, Newspaper sponsored the gathering as part of a cultural week in anticipation of the anniversary.

The deputy foreign minister also used the meeting to call for young Vietnamese throughout the world to join the Summer Camp 2010 that will be held in 10 provinces in three regions from tomorrow to Tuesday, August 3.

"By attending the camp, we hope the new generation of overseas Vietnamese will return to their origins; witness the changes of their homeland and develop a deeper understanding of Vietnamese history and culture," he said.

A requiem in honour of the soldiers who fell in the war against the Khmer Rouge was also held during the online session.

(Source: VNS)

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