Nov
09
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Kuala Lumpur – Hanoi flight increses
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The low-cost carrier Air Asia has announced it will increase flights on the Kuala Lumpur – Hanoi route from 7 to 10 flights a week.
The increased schedule will begin from January 22, 2013 utilizing AK441 aircraft from Hanoi at 9pm and to Kuala Lumpur at 11.15pm on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Currently, Air Asia is offering a discount with the lowest airfare of USD55 one way from Hanoi to Kuala Lumpur./.
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Nov
09
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Vietnam's tourism to be introduced at Travel Fair
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The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), in association with the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, will take part in Travex Fair 2013 in Vientiane (Laos) from January 21 to 24.
The joining in the tourism fair aims to promote the beauty of Vietnamese people and landscape as well as introduce specific tourism products to foreign friends.
The fair is part of ASEAN Tourism Forum 2013, the most significant tourism promotion activity of countries in the ASEAN region.
Currently, VNAT is inviting travel agencies to register kiosks of Vietnam’s tourism at the fair. Kiosks of Vietnamese tourism businesses will be displayed on a site of 54 square meters, introducing Vietnam’s prominent landscapes as well as cultural values.
Travex 2013 is expected to attract about 150 ASEAN officials, 800 ASEAN exhibitors, 400 International customers, 150 media agencies, and 100 tourism business in the region./.
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Nov
08
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Festival honours fading tradition
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VietNamNet Bridge – The fourth national then singing festival is being held in Lang Son Province as part of the country's efforts to honour and preserve the traditional art of the Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic groups in north-western Viet Nam.
Artists perfor at the fourth national then singing festival in Lang Son Province.
The festival was also an opportunity to prepare a dossier to submit to UNESCO to recognise the folk singing as an intangible cultural heritage, said Huynh Vinh Ai, deputy minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
"This is a chance to honour, preserve and develop the original traditional art," said Ai.
Then, accompanied by dan tinh (gourd lute) has played an important role in the spiritual lives of the Tay, Nung and Thai for centuries.
The festival aims to promote the unique folk art, strongly associated with the lives of those ethnic groups, while also honouring then artists for their contributions to the preservation and promotion of the art.
The five-day event brought together 500 then artists from nine northern provinces, including Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Tuyen Quang, Bac Giang, Quang Ninh, Lao Cai and Dien Bien. They performed different then tunes representing their regions.
Diverse objects and photos featuring outstanding then artists, musical instruments and costumes related to the art form are on display at an exhibition until Friday.
As part of the festival, a seminar on then development and preservation was also organised.
"I am very happy to take part in this festival,"said Ma Thi Xuyen, a then singer from Tuyen Quang Province. "I hope the event can help to preserve the identity of Vietnamese culture in general and the then art genre in particular," she added.
Preservation of then art
The word then originates from thien, which means sky or heaven, and is regarded by the local ethnic groups as the tune of the Gods.
At the beginning of each year, a then ritual is often organised to pray for safety, a bumper crop and longevity.
The festival is a big opportunity for the groups to display their cultural heritage to the world. However, this also poses challenges for the provinces in how to preserve and promote the values of this special traditional art form.
The province of Lang Son has carried out diverse solutions to preserve and promote the value of then singing.
They include research, collection, compilation and publication of books and CDs. Other solutions include organising training courses and co-ordinating with localities to invite artists to teach the younger generations. Fifty teachers from primary and secondary schools have taken then singing classes.
A provincial association was set up to preserve the folk music.
Tran Huu Son, director of Lang Son Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the provincial cultural sector was drafting a mechanism to encourage and honour artists and those devoted to maintaining and imparting this art form to younger generations.
‘Only veteran artists and musicians can transfer the traditional value of then art to young people," Son stressed.
Nowadays, then is not only performed in ethnic languages, but also in Vietnamese, so it's an occasion for groups to exchange with each other.
Surprisingly, then clubs have cropped up in remote provinces but also in big cities like HCM City. The city's Nang Moi Club organises classes every week on Monday and Wednesday. The club has 28 members aged from 50 to 70 years old. The club took part in the second national then singing festival held in 2007 in Cao Bang Province and in the third festival held in 2009 in Bac Kan Province. It has also performed in various southern localities including HCM City, Vung Tau, Soc Trang and Ca Mau.
Despite efforts to preserve the then singing, it is on the brink of being lost forever like many other traditional art forms. The number of experienced artists has declined rapidly, while younger generations prefer more modern styles of music.
Researchers said preservation and promotion of the then art would not be an overnight task and would need the whole community to get involved.
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Vietnamese history is displayed in Japan
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08/11/2012 08:24:15
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Aspiring Einsteins learn sciece is no fiction
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08/11/2012 08:22:48
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Tuan albums jazz up folk with improve style
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08/11/2012 08:20:58
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International Anthropological Film festival in HCM
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08/11/2012 08:14:58
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French Press Exhibition opens in Hanoi
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08/11/2012 08:13:27
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HCM City readies to host anthropology film fest
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07/11/2012 08:41:15
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Hue imperial city's Noon Gate to get a facelift
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07/11/2012 08:38:42
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Veteran composer tells tales in Hanoi
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07/11/2012 08:34:41
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Sketches tell story of life and heroism in American War
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07/11/2012 08:30:01
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