Nov
07
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Hue imperial city's Noon Gate to get a facelift
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VietNamNet Bridge – The People's Committee of central Thua Thien - Hue province has given the nod to a three-year project on preservation and renovation of Ngo Mon (Noon Gate), an iconic symbol of the former royal city of Hue.
As an important part of the Hue Imperial Citadel, which was recognised by UNESCO as a World's Heritage Site in 1993, Noon Gate is a huge U-shaped construction consisting of a brick and stone foundation and a wooden pavilion with terracotta tiles.
The project aims to prevent water leakage from the foundation and to preserve the upper pavilion, known as Lau Ngu Phung (Pavilion of Five Phoenixes).
The first stage of the project, to begin in 2013, will cost 43.38 billion VND (2.1 million USD) and is scheduled to last three years. The second stage will be carried out after 2015. Total investment for the two stages will amount to nearly 100 billion VND (4.8 million USD).
Built in 1837 under the reign of Emperor Minh Mang (1820-40) of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 – 1945), the structure seriously damaged during the decades of wars against the French and Americans.
It has undergone several restorations, the latest of which was carried out between 1991 and 1992 with funding of 100,000 USD from the Japanese Government.
Located in front of the Throne Palace and facing the Flag Tower , Noon Gate serves as the main entrance to the old Imperial City of Hue. The longest and widest sides of this 5.2m-high foundation are 50m and 27m, respectively. The top can be accessed through two open stone staircases on both sides.
There are five entrances to the citadel, the main one being Noon Gate. Two side entrances, the left and right gates, were for civil and military mandarins. Inside the structure are two more gates used by soldiers, elephants and horses for the royal procession.
The Pavilion of Five Phoenixes is flanked by two belvederes of two storeys each.
Noon Gate is also the site where the king spoke to his subjects and events like the ceremony of Proclamation of Doctors' Lists in the mandarin examinations and the Calendar Offering Day were held.
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Nov
07
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Veteran composer tells tales in Hanoi
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VietNamNet Bridge – Composer Duong Thu will perform in concert at the Ha Noi Opera House on November 9-10 to narrate his stories through music.
Composer Duong Thu will present a concert to narrate his stories through music.
The concerts, entitled My Narratives, will mark the first time in a career that has lasted 50 years that the veteran composer has put together his own live show, following those in 1999, 2005 and 2010, in which he was a featured composer.
"This time I have been able to prepare everything in the concert with my own ideas," said Thu. "Through my musical narratives, I want to convey the message that life is hardship but we should live with love."
Nineteen of Thu's favourite songs, some never before performed on stage, will be sung in the concert by such A-list stars as Thanh Lam, Hong Nhung and My Linh.
"Most of the singers in the concert are female because of their mezzo voices, which is suited to my compositions," said Thu.
Two male singers, Trong Tan and Tung Duong, would perform due to their romantic voices, he added.
Many of the songs were hits in the 1990s and will be performed with their original arrangements.
"We don't want to update the songs because updating doesn't always mean making them better," said musician and producer Anh Quan. "Duong Thu is a musical perfectionist, so his music requires great effort from musicians and performers."
Having lived in HCM City for about 35 years, the concerts are a chance for the composer to return to Ha Noi, which he left at a young age. The songs Mong Ve Ha Noi (Wishing to Return to Ha Noi) and Tim Em 36 Pho Phuong Ha Noi (Looking for You in Ha Noi's Old Quarter) will be among the four songs in the programme about Ha Noi.
Thu was born into a landowning family in 1943, but his family was scattered and he did many jobs before becoming a composer. He graduated from the Ha Noi Teacher Training College's literature department in 1965 and, after teaching high school, taught in the Ho Chi Minh Fine Arts College's theoretics department.
But he was never far from music. His first song Nho Lang Xua (Miss Old Village) was written when he was 19 and the song was broadcast on Radio the Voice of Viet Nam in 1962. Thu went on to graduate from the Viet Nam National Academy of Music in 1969.
Thu lived in Ha Noi until 1977. After he moved to HCM City, his songs became more popular and turned up in the sets of bands like Summer Band, Experiment Music Club and Spring Club. By the 1990s, many his songs had been performed by popular singers including Hong Nhung, who was the most successful singer associated with Thu's songs.
"I sing songs by Duong Thu naturally, with all my life experience," said Nhung. "His songs are suited to me because I don't sing with technique."
Thu, along with Pho Duc Phuong, Nguyen Cuong and Tran Tien, is regarded as one of the four songwriters to have made the greatest contributions to Vietnamese popular music in the last 25 years.
"Words are used by Duong Thu as musical notes," said musicologist Tran Quang Hai. "The harmony of words and notes in his songs has inspired people. His lyrics are not exaggerated, and music resounds from his narratives."
The My Narratives concert will begin each night at 8pm. A 50-minute preshow at 7pm will be a chance for concertgoers to meet and speak with Thu and the performers.
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Nov
07
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Sketches tell story of life and heroism in American War
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VietNamNet Bridge – Old drawings can become faded, lost to the passage of time and the worms but stories artists want to tell never grow old.
Heat of battle: Sketches by artist Ton Duc Luong during the American war
tell the stories of conflict and the role of young volunteers.
As many as 150 sketches created by artist Ton Duc Luong during the American War tell some extraordinary stories.
Although many are old and worn, the message they convey is clear. Now, local people can enjoy the artist's vivid depictions of life during the American war at an exhibition at the Viet Nam Museum of Fine Arts in the capital.
Luong completed many series of sketches between 1960 and 1972. The first on display at the museum features images of workers at the Co Kenh Coal Mine in Hai Duong Province in 1967. He portrays scenes from their daily life and work.
The second series captures the activities of youngsters from the Ha Tinh Group of Volunteer Youth in Phu Tho Province during the early 1970s. He sketched them working in an assigned economic area, reclaiming bamboo hills to plant bananas and build farms.
The exhibition has been organised by Thai art collector Tira Vanichtheeranont, who has spent years collecting Luong's works.
"I wish to present to the public a talented artist whose works are very important in the history of painting and sketching in Viet Nam," said Vanichtheeranont.
"These sketches are very important documents, offering insights into key activities from people during the war, including how Vietnamese women supported soldiers by clearing roads to transport food and war supplies to the battle field," he said.
Luong was extremely interested in sketching young people at work during his career.
"During my artistic life I have always been inspired by the enthusiasm of young people. I admire those youths who were ready to overcome many difficulties to fight for the reunification of their country," he said.
His sketches were created during his frequent trips through the country when he was working as an artist for the newspaper Tien Phong (Vanguard). In his career he documented the anti-French resistance, the American war and then Viet Nam's journey towards peace. He retired in the late 1980s after devoting his working life to sketching reality despite the ever-present dangers from bombs and bullets. Everywhere he went Luong brought a French Waterman iron pen to sketch.
"I leaned to hold the pen differently, and tilt the tip to create different styles when I sketched," he recently revealed.
Critics have hailed Luong as an important cultural figure.
"His scripts have a certain historical value, through which we ascertain the subtle and humane view of the artist. He didn't simply copy the reality as he saw it. Each behaviour and object depicted, even if drawn only by a couple of draft strokes, would be enough to show his view and attitude," says art critic Phan Cam Thuong.
Despite his outstanding work, Luong remains relatively unknown due to his modesty. The 80-year-old was from the last generation of graduates from the Indochina College of Fine Arts, along with famed artists Nguyen Sang and Bui Xuan Phai.
From 1950-80, he participated in national fine art exhibitions and some of his oil-on-canvas, silk, and wood engraved paintings and sketches are preserved at the Viet Nam Museum of Fine Arts and the Army Museum. They have been brought out of storage and put on display for the current exhibition. A number of his paintings have been exhibited in China, Poland and other countries in Eastern Europe.
The exhibition runs until next Monday at the Viet Nam Museum of Fine Arts, located at 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Ha Noi.
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New appearance of E-book in Vietnam
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07/11/2012 08:23:04
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Adult and kids world in Phan Hoai Vu’s colors
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07/11/2012 08:17:29
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Rubbish recycling programme has lauched at Hoi An
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06/11/2012 08:49:40
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VN aims at attracting Japanese tourists
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06/11/2012 08:47:36
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Vietnamese booth at mexican festival
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06/11/2012 08:30:46
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Hue imperial city’s Noon Gate to get a facelift
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06/11/2012 08:25:25
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Establishing Coucil appraisofing profiles on intagible cultural heritage
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06/11/2012 08:20:06
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Air Asia increases flights on Kuala Lumpur - Hanoi route
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06/11/2012 08:13:37
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List of 15 movies to stir local cinemas in November
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05/11/2012 08:47:44
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