On March 26, there will be a kite demonstration by 6 kite clubs from Ho Chi Minh City, Bien Hoa, Nha Trang and Binh Thuan province, and the host.  

At the event, 900 students will fly 1,000 kites to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi capital.

Book of Vietnamese records published
 
The HCM City-based Vietbooks and Vietnam News Agency’s Publishing House have released a collection of Vietnamese records.

The 400-page Vietnam Records Directory 2009 lists more than 700 records that individuals and organisations set in 14 different fields, including the arts, literature, music, science and economy between 2004 and 2009.

Fifty percent of the records are new ones.

The book also features records set by the first Vietnamese emperors, and records that are expected to be set this year in celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi.

The publishers released the first-ever Vietnam Records Directory in May 2008.

Adrift enters Film Festival in Beijing
 
The film Choi voi (Adrift), directed by Bui Thac Chuyen, is being shown at a Film Festival in Beijing, China.

The event has drawn the participation of 20 countries and films selected for participation will be shown to audiences over a period of one month.

The 110-minute film, Choi voi (Adrift), was produced in 2009 and is subtitled in English and Chinese. It will be shown on March 12 and 20.

The organizing board will hold a vote to select the best films via the internet. The final result is expected to be announced on March 29.

Books published to mark country’s anniversaries 

Set of book series featuring Vietnam’s grand anniversaries have recently been made public.

This was announced in a press conference jointly held by the People’s Army Publishing House and Minh Thanh Publisher on March 3.

In which, the set of 107 books on the grand ceremony of Thang Long-Hanoi millennium anniversary introduces the history, culture, military and poetry of Hanoi.

Another set of 72 works celebrates the 120th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh and the campaign of studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s moral examples.

On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the liberation of South Vietnam and the national reunification, there are books focusing on three subjects: history review, reminiscences and literature, featuring the remarkable Vietnamese military art.

In addition, two sets of books entitled ‘Quintessence of Vietnam’s Culture’ and ‘Vietnam Geography Anthology’ can help readers get access to full and detailed information on the culture, land and people of Vietnam.

These sets of books, comprise more than 400 titles of key books with over 500,000 copies will be published nationwide.
 
Press Award to mark Thang Long – Hanoi anniversary

A National Press Contest on Thang Long – Hanoi has been launched nationwide as part of activities to promote and celebrate the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi.

Reporters and journalists at home and abroad are eligible to join the contest. Entries should cover Hanoi-related issues, including history, tradition, culture, achievements of Thang Long – Hanoi and activities to celebrate the 1000th anniversary.

Entries which are published between June 10, 2009 and August 19, 2010 can be sent from now until August 19, 2010.

The best writing will be awarded First Prize worth VND 20 million.

The contest is jointly held by the Central Committee for Propaganda and Education, the Vietnam Journalists’ Association and the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Yearbook of Hanoi’s history published
 
A yearbook on Hanoi’s 1,000-year history and cultural relics has recently been published by the Publishing House of Culture and Information.

The yearbook provides readers with full and detailed information about the origins and construction processes of cultural relics in the ancient capital of Thang Long, now Hanoi. It also covers topics of interest, such why Thang Long was renamed Hanoi, and the history of its tramcars, as well as famous schools and bridges in the capital.

In addition, the book features poems, novels and pictures published in Hanoi, cultural and artistic activities and historic events the city has witnessed.

Also included are records set by Hanoi over the years and visits made by heads of states in the early 21st century.

The yearbook was compiled by Professor Vu Ngoc Khanh, a leading expert in Vietnamese literature, history and folk culture.

Titanic statue of Saint Giong nearly finished
 
The casting of the enormous statue of Thanh Giong (Saint Giong) was completed on March 5 at the peak of Da Chong Mountain, Soc Son, Hanoi, in the presence of State president Nguyen Minh Triet and Buddhists from Hanoi and its adjacent cities.

The statue, more than 11m high and weighing nearly 100 tonnes, sits near the Vietnam Buddhist Academy. More than 50 workers had spent six consecutive months heating 77 tonnes of bronze, four tonnes of tin and four tonnes of lead for casting it.

Legendary Thanh Giong represents patriotism and solidarity in Vietnamese history.

This statue is a creative work, both artistically and spiritually, in celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

PV