Tourists can watch Pygathrix nemaeus – a rare species of langur which is listed in Red Book – up close during a half-day tour in the Son Tra Natural Reserve.

Nguyen Ngoc Hiep, who designed the tour, said tourists have two interesting options for touring around the peninsula in a single day at a price of VND450,000 (US$20) per person.

The peninsula is a 10-minute bus drive from Da Nang in the morning, when traffic is quiet. The first stop is the top of the Vong Canh Hills, 693m above sea level, where tourists get an overview of the city, the Hai Van Pass, and Da Nang Bay, as well as visit a radar station and heliport.

After a 30-minute stop, tourists continue their adventure in jungles and approach groups of the endangered langurs.

“We have to divide visitors into teams of six or eight when trekking in the jungles because the langurs sense danger when the tourists make noise,” Hiep said. “The trek route is just 1km, but tourists must move slowly, taking 45 minutes. Each team is allowed to stay watching the endangered langurs for 15 minutes only.”

The langurs can also be seen from a range of 30m in the morning when they forage for food, and travellers are provided with binoculars.

“The primates often feed on leaves and fruit in jungles, so it means that we can see them only once in a day,” Hiep said.
The next drive takes travellers to the eco-tourism site of Truong Mai, where they can eat lunch in a stilt-house.

“Tourists can arrange a prepared menu from a hotel or order hot dishes at the resort,” said guide Khanh Lai. “The cook will prepare a quick lunch with grilled chicken or pork in the local style, which most tourists prefer because they get a sense of something they’ve never experienced.”

After lunch, day travellers can kick back under a 1,000-year-old banyan tree for a small break after lunch.

In the afternoon, they can pay a visit to Linh Ung Pagoda, the home of the country’s highest Buddha statue at 65m from the top of a mountain. The last stop of the day is My Khe Beach, the city’s most beautiful, with long white sandy beaches, diving, fishing and sailing, and a blue sea at sunset.

Boats can take travellers to Hon Nghe Islet, where the waters have plentiful exotic fish and coral. “Tourists can catch snails and walk around the wild islet,” said Nguyen Hong Tuan, a freelance guide.

Tourists are provided with life-jackets, fishing rods and snorkeling gear for fishing and exploring the coral reefs.

“We suggest tourist wear a snorkel while fishing because they can see the colourful coral reefs and fish taking the bait through the snorkeling mask,” Tuan explained. “We have to set oysters as bait because they are a favourite for grouper or red snapper. A BBQ party can then be served on the islet, and tourists can grill their own fish, squid, crabs and snails on charcoal stoves.”

Source: Vietnamnet

The basin of Thu Bon River is about 10.350km2. It is one of the largest domestic basins in Vietnam, which is a great potential for using hydro-electricity. According to plans, there are eight projects to use hydro-electricity in the system of the Vu Gia-Thu Bon Rivers.

In the past, the Cham people, an ethnic group of Vietnam, and their culture were greatly influenced by the Thu Bon River. One of the most glorious vestiges is My Son Sanctuary in Duy Xuyen District.
Visiting the sanctuary, one seems to be lost in the world of the Cham people with images depicting sacred ceremonies, parades of horses and elephants, shining palanquins and groups of Apsara girls in colourful dresses dancing at the foot of the ancient towers.

Before flowing into the sea, the river also helped create one of the oldest and most beautiful sea port in Vietnam, Hoi An. Hoi An, Tra Que Vegetable-Growing Village, Thanh Ha Pottery Village and Cua Dai have become a unique tourism complex along the river.

“Before flowing into the sea, the river also helped create one of the oldest and most beautiful sea port in Vietnam, Hoi An. Hoi An, Tra Que Vegetable-Growing Village, Thanh Ha Pottery Village and Cua Dai have become a unique tourism complex along the river.

During its trip to the sea, the river has created fertile fields and provided the villagers with an abundant source of aquatic products, such as shrimp and fish. In the 17th century, it helped people in Nong Son Incense Making Village, Tam Tang Cloth Weaving Village and Thanh Ha Pottery Village export their products to overseas markets from the sea port of Hoi An. For this reason, the villagers in the province always think of Thu Bon as the “Mother River”. Annually, in March, the villagers in Duy Xuyen jubilantly organize a festival dedicated to “Mother River”. During the festival, they go to the river and invite her to visit their families and bring them a bumper crop and happiness.

The river originates from many small streams on Ngoc Linh Mountain
in Truong Son Mountain Range.
The Thu Bon River has a 10,000km2 basin, the largest basin in Quang Nam Province. 
 
 A bamboo bridge crosses the Thu Bon River. 

A wedding on the Thu Bon River.

Sunset over the Thu Bon River. 

A large cathedral in Cong Xa Paris Square in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, it is a real landmark and it is a quick in and out trip. Short and sweet and of course free. Next up should be Reunification Palace on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia. For a small fee of around US$3 you can visit the former home of the President of South Vietnam.

Not only is it a journey back in time, but you get a wonderful view of the tree-lined Le Duan Street, making its French design obvious.

A short five-minute journey from there is the War Remnants Museum, which is not for the fainthearted. The horrors of Agent Orange and US bombing missions during the American War are evident and hard-hitting. A very sombre trip, but one which I think all tourists to the city must make, if they have any interest at all in the country they are visiting.

From there you can head down to Cach Mang Thang Tam (August Revolution) Street in District 3 and the new statue of Buddhist Monk Thich Quang Duc, remembered for his self-immolation to make a political statement about the treatment of Buddhist Monks in the early 1960s.

If you want to see the Chinese part of town, from there it is a short journey to Cho Lon (big market) in District 5 and 6. There you’ll find the former premises of the Le Grande Mondial, the most profitable casino in the world during the 1950s, and straight up the road from there is St Francis Xavier church (Father Tam church) on Hoc Lac Street where former President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem was captured during the military coup in November 1963 before his execution.

After all that history you will want to relax a little, so head to Saigon Pho 2000, ideally located next Ben Thanh Market downtown, for a bite to eat. Then you can do a spot of shopping and wheeling and dealing.

There are of course both high-end and low-end shopping facilities located all along Le Loi Street and cafes aplenty for your downtime.

The Rex Hotel is the most famous location in the city. It was a popular haunt of journalists and US servicemen during the American War.

The top floor restaurant and bar is a must for any visitor to Saigon. There is live music, among all your other necessities, but it is more than that. You can feel the history as you sit there with a nice view of the city.

Of course, you can be bold, forget about the city tour, and instead go to the popular Cu Chi Tunnels – buses run regularly or you can hire a motorbike and take the two hour journey there. Word of warning, though, it can be dangerous if you are inexperienced on a bike. The great thing about this part of the nation’s history is that it has been turned into a fun area with groups of Vietnamese and foreign tourists alike taking in the historical aspect and having a picnic at the same time, with a lot of green areas in the complex.

Source: Vietnamnet

From Can Tho City, tourists can go on National Road No. 91, passing O Mon District then traveling to Not Not District. Then tourists will continue through a bridge which is also named Bang Lang. Around one kilometer from the main road is Bang Lang Stork Garden.

On the way to the garden, visitors will pass green rice paddies and interlacing canals. Tourists can visit the garden by taking a cruise on Hau River, or a bicycle ride past the orchards, craft villages and immense rice fields.

The garden covers about two hectares and is home to thousands of storks as well as many other kinds of birds. There are various species of storks living at Bang Lang Stork Garden including cattle egret, ibis, striated heron and painted stork.

There are also other species making it their home such as black-crowned night heron, little cormorant and greater coucal heron.

Eighty percent of birds in the garden are the white cattle egret. This species of stork often builds their nests in the garden from March to August of the lunar year.

The best time to admire the garden is 5 p.m. when flocks of storks fly back to their nests. They hover on the sky then perch on tree peaks, twitter together and pose in the wind. Tourists must not forget to take photos of those moments. There is a three-meter watching tower for tourists to see birds.

Nguyen Ngoc Thuyen, who is often referred to as Mr. Bay Co, the owner of Bang Lang Stork Garden, at first he only wanted to save some storks stuck in fishing traps but the garden kept getting bigger and bigger.

Thus, the garden was spontaneously established in 1983. It is strange that a large number of storks chose to make their home at the garden of Mr. Bay Co. At first, there were very few but then Mr. Bay has created good conditions for the storks to live in his garden. Since then, Bang Lang garden has gradually been expanded with the current area of about 2 hectares and number of storks ranging from 100,000-150,000 of more than 20 species.

Source: VietnamNet/SGT

The best of it is located along Hau River, namely Ba Ca Old House.

To reach the house, departing from Thot Not District, tourists ride on National Road No. 91, heading to Can Tho City for two kilometers then take a left turn to Ba Ca Road.

You pass an immense rice field and ride for another kilometer to Cai Ngai Cannel and once you turn left for 100 meters, you will reach Ca Ba Old House.

The ‘old house’ is a complex of three houses built by three brothers in the Ca Ba family who had a passion for collecting antiques.

The antiques remain well preserved in the largest house. The complex of houses is located in Quy Thanh 2 area, Trung Kien Ward, Thot Not District.

The old house was built in 1918 and completed in 1925 with French architecture in harmony with traditional southern design with a tiled roof, brick walls and wooden pillars. The house is protected very stringently with a brick gate, two iron doors and a corridor of pillars decorated with meticulous and elegant patterns.

The pick of the antiques is a manchon lamp, hung amidst the ceiling which now has become a nest for a flock of birds, wooden parallel sentences, worshipping tools for forefathers, old weapons and sideboards inlaid with conch.

In front of the house is a delightful bridge where tourists can take snaps of the panoramic view of the house lying gently in canals, trees and flowers.

Source: VietnamNet

The Tay Thien Zen Monastery, located not far from the birthplace of Vietnamese Buddhism

It was a misty spring day and the winding road taking us up Tam Dao Mountain was made longer by the thick fog that blocked our view of the road. But still, the scenery pierced through the mist and soon we were driving through the remains of old French neighborhoods, dilapidated villas and estates now worn and torn after half a century of neglect.

We passed some of Tam Dao National Park’s famous sites – like Thac Bac (The Silver Fall) and Rung Rinh peak – and finally reached the slopes of Thach Ban Mountain, one of the Tam Dao range’s three greatest peaks.

There sits Tay Thien, a well-known complex that is home to a cornucopia of historical Buddhist relics and temples. The complex boasts splendid architecture, rich history and breathtaking natural scenery. We were visiting in hopes that we could pray for luck and happiness this year while it was still spring.

We arrived at Tay Thien after three hours on the 85-kilometer-road from Hanoi, which, according to our drivers, normally takes just roughly 2 hours on clear days. It was 10 a.m. and the sky was still covered with silver mist.

Although the annual Tay Thien Spring Festival – held from the 15th-17th of the second lunar month each year – has yet to come, the pagodas and temples here were still full of visitors.

There is now a cable car station at the mountain foot, next to Cau Temple. The ride just opened last month and gave us a wonderful view of the mountain and its surrounding forests, thick, lush and dense with vegetation and life. At the slow pace of the cable car, we admired the sites and took lots of pictures.

Tay Thien is believed to be the birthplace of Vietnamese Buddhism. According to our guide, a Buddhist monk from India traveling here in the 3rd century BC chose this mountain as the spot from which to propagate the religion.

We saw a number of temples, many of which have been mostly lost to time, and others that have been fairly well preserved or restored.

Our first stop was at Thuong Temple, one of the most important sites here. According to our guide, the temple worships the Goddess Tay Thien, named Lang Thi Tieu, queen of the 6th Hung King who lived around the year 2450 BC. She was born in this area and after becoming the queen, she helped the king defend the country against foreign invaders.

Situated 800 meters above sea level, Thuong Temple has undergone more than one renovation, the latest of which was in 2009, and the buildings actually look rather new. We spent some time admiring the sight and prayed to the Goddess there.

Another must-visit site in Tay Thien is the Truc Lam Tay Thien Zen Monastery, which together with a Zen Monastery in Da Lat and one at Quang Ninh Provinces’s Yen Tu Mountain, is one of the three largest monasteries in Vietnam.

Built in 2005 on the ruins of an ancient pagoda called Thien An Thien Tu, the Truc Lam Tay Thien Zen Monastery sits on the mountain’s peak and offers a stunning view of several other temples and pagodas scattered along the pine-decorated hills.

The site itself is at once tranquil and grandiose. The courtyards are large and spacious and the buildings tall and striking. The monastery is adorned with ornate carvings on its doors and embossed works on its walls, ceilings, and pillars.

The monastery boasts a library, a museum, a meditation house, guesthouses and a mess hall serving vegetarian food for visitors.

The Truc Lam Tay Thien Zen Monastery has become an increasingly popular training center for young students each summer. Students here spend those months essentially living like monks: they eat vegetarian, wear monks’ robes and give up many of their “worldly” possessions.

They attend classes each day, as well as maintain the monastery by doing housework and tasks that many of them have never done before.

We were served a fantastic lunch with the monks and other visitors at the monastery’s hall. We had plates full of vegetables, spring rolls, and fake fried shrimp, fish, and pork pie. It was hard to imagine that they were all made from soybeans. Everything was delicious!

Source: Thanh Nien News

Bountiful: Tours to visit coffee plantations have been organised in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, especially in Buon Ma Thuot City, where tourists can admire and enjoy the national most flavourful products. — File Photo

Yet in spring, especially during March and the third lunar month, the area seems to be even more beautiful than usual as the colours of nature awaken to the new season. One of the most prominent colours amid the vivid rainbow is the pure white of coffee flowers and waterfall foam, which are the inspiration behind the recently launched coffee tour by Dang Le Company.Dubbed as the nation’s coffee capital, Buon Ma Thuot, with its unique basalt soil, offers some of the most flavourful coffee in the central province of Dak Lak’s nearly 200,000ha of coffee plantations.

Dak Lak produces much of the world’s coffee, with the second highest volume of exports (first for robusta) after Brazil.

“Our first challenge in opening the coffee-themed tour is addressing the fact that tours to the seaside are more popular among Vietnamese tourists and Dak Lak has yet become a real tourism hub,” Pham Thi Thu Hoan, deputy executive director of the company, told Viet Nam News. “We have to make a breakthrough in ideas about adventure travel.”

For this reason, the coffee tour is more suitable for people who love coffee and really want to explore the wilderness, she said.

Last November, the company received a patent for its coffee tour from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

To offer a glimpse of the region’s natural wonders, the tour features visits to various waterfalls along the local Serepok River, a tributary of the Mekong, like Draynur Falls and Trinh Nu Falls.

Picture perfect: The coffee tour gives tourists a chance to explore the pristine beauty of primeval forests and waterfalls. — Photos courtesy Dang Le Co

It also includes various ecological destinations like CuHLam Hill and Mdrak Farm, where tourists can experience a rich array of wild flora and fauna as well as farm life at a home which raises rare horse breeds from the UK, Australia, France, Mongolia, and a wild dog breed from Phu Quoc Island.A key stop on the tour is Buon Ma Thuot City, where tourists are guided to the World Coffee Museum which features coffee-related information such as history, geology, technology and culture of various coffee producing countries.

A stop by a coffee farm offers a real treat as visitors can feast their eyes on an immense field full of white coffee flowers, a striking view with green leaves and red basalt soil in the background.

Don Village is the final stop on the schedule and is already a popular tourism destination, where people can learn about the UNESCO-recognised gong culture and the tradition of taming wild elephants.

Hoan said the company currently organises five to seven packaged coffee tours per month to both Vietnamese and foreign visitors. Each group gathers up to 30 people.

Triple gong: Visitors can collect more information at the province’s World Coffee Museum.

Another peak season for the tour is during coffee harvest season in December which almost coincides with winter break in western countries, she said.The company is collaborating with other travel agencies to bring tourists to the tour destinations such as the waterfalls and the museum.

“This tour is interesting,” noted Nguyen Van, a representative from the Ha Noi Tourism Association. “Travel agencies in Ha Noi would like to further co-operate with the company to introduce the coffee tour to broader audiences in the north.”

Harumitsu Hida, the Japanese Consulate General in HCM City, wrote about his impressions and memories of the tour during his first trip there last April.

“I know more things about Trung Nguyen coffee, which I drink every day at work, … as well as the early day of setting up and developing a local coffee plant and the Made-in-Viet Nam coffee trademark…” he wrote in the Vietnamese language.

He also expressed regret about not having the chance to taste weasel coffee during the trip.

The company opened a buffet at the museum in March which offers 50 dishes from the country’s three regions at weekends and holidays.

A resort with 90 rooms and a meeting hall with the capacity to hold 300 seats will open in June at the museum.

For the truly adventurous, an extreme sports centre will open on Draynur Isle, 25km south of the city centre, later this year.

Source: VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Phien’s bánh bèo will fill you up without letting you down

The Nguyen Dynasty gets a lot of credit when it comes to the tasty snacks served in the city of Hue.

No description of the “imperial cuisine” is complete without some mention of Emperor Tự Đức who famously demanded that every meal consist of 50 dishes prepared by 50 cooks.

Few note that Tự Đức insisted upon these elaborate feasts during times of famine and pestilence or that his cooks stole what they wanted from vendors in the local markets.

Here in Ho Chi Minh City, two humble Hue transplants in District 3 make just a few things and they make them very well.

Rather than paying lip service to Tự Đức and his crew of culinary thugs, I’d like to nominate these two for official titles. Both are from Hue and both provide their subjects with plenty of food that is cheap, delicious and authentic—which is more than Tự Đức ever did for anyone.

The baron of bánh bèo

Phien, the terse owner of this fine establishment, opens shop in the afternoon – usually around 3 p.m.

As soon as his stools hit the pavement, a team of shy waitresses begins dealing out bite-sized snacks with the alacrity of Vegas blackjack dealers.

They sell bánh nậm, bánh ít and bánh lọc – all snacks made of pork and shrimp wrapped up and steamed in soft rice or cassava dough.

Their biggest seller is bánh bèo – a chewy pudding dusted in crumbled pork rinds and dried shrimp. Some say the dish derives its name from a round aquatic plant of the same name. Few note, however, that “bèo” also means “cheap.”

For less than a dollar, you can eat your fill of these mothers. Phien’s fish sauce is good enough to drink alone; he claims to blend it with sugar and homemade shrimp stock. Drop a wad of chopped yellow-green chilies into your bowl and pour a spoonful over each cake.

If you’re really hungry a slice of chả (a pepper-studded meat log) lends the snack some heft.

A lot of street bánh bèo are shucked from their tiny bowls in advance of your arrival. Here, you have the pleasure of carving each one out with a spoon.

The high-priestess of cơm hến

Thu arrives at her little stretch of alleyway in District 3 around the same time that Phien opens for business. If you arrive around 2 p.m., you’ll have the pleasure of watching her open shop.

In the time it takes to eat an ice cream, Thu pulls a full kitchen and a miniature plastic dining room out of a small steel trolley attached to her motorbike.

Thu puts out the best bowl of baby clam rice that sixty cents can buy

After setting up, Thu sits down behind a glass display case packed with stewed fish, baby clams and chewy shrimp cakes. About six kilograms of fresh herbs hang in plastic bags on the yellow wall behind her, above two bubbling cauldrons of tart broth.

For the first hour after she opens, Thu takes it easy. She banters with her saucy sous-chef and chats with neighbors and loyal subjects – she has ruled this alley for seven years. At times, you may catch her closing her eyes, seemingly to catch a few seconds of sleep.

She has earned them.

Somehow, this plump middle-aged woman manages to prepare two kinds of bánh canh noodles, three pungent bún dishes and four kinds of snack cakes, every morning.

All of her dishes sell for VND14,000, with the exception of her bánh Huế – a heaping mixed plate of shrimp and pork cakes with chả and nem chua that sells for a whopping VND20,000.

You can’t really go wrong here, but if you have to eat just one thing, consider her bowl of cơm hến (baby clam rice) – a dish that is almost as complex in its assembly as her restaurant.

Thu builds the base of the dish with fistfuls of sliced banana flower, peppermint, purple lotus stem and baby lettuce. The salad base disappears under a scoop of steamed rice and buttery baby clams. The final layer is drawn from a set of open jars containing fried shallots, chili paste, fermented purple goo (mắm tôm), peanuts and pork rinds.

These huge flavors all manage to keep each other in check, making the dish a fantastic confederacy of textures and tastes.

Things get crazy for Thu as the day wears on. By 8 p.m., the alleyway resembles a zombie film. Central transplants from all over the city tromp into they alley and crowd around her little restaurant clamoring for clams from the high priestess.

Source: Thanh Nien News

Nguyen Duy Hien, director of the Hue Festival Center and deputy head of Hue Festival 2012 Organizing Board, says that Hue’s rich culture presents both advantages and difficulties to him and his team as they prepare for the biennial festival.

“It is always a challenge to preserve the traditional culture while adding new elements which renew the event and attract tourists,” said Hien, who has been a member of the organizing board since the first Hue Festival in 2000, and director of the center since 2007.

 “The festival only takes place for a few days but it takes us years to prepare,” the director said, adding the event will take place inside and outside Hue royal citadel of Hue Town in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue.

The opening ceremony, due to begin at 8 p.m. on April 7 at the Noon Gate Square, will kick off the 9-day event and also the National Tourism Year 2012.

The opening ceremony will feature a stunning fireworks show organized by pyrotechnics expert Pierre-Alain Hubert and a magical fire installation by the renowned French company, Carabosse.

The Nam Giao Offering Rituals, one of the traditional rites under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), which express the desire for prosperity, peace and favorable weather for the nation will consist of two parts: the procession of the ancestral tablet from the Fasting Palace to the offering site and the main ceremony at Nam Giao Esplanade.

The show, to be held at 8 p.m. on August 8 of the festival, will be performed in a more authentic ceremonial proceeding than in previous years.

Two Imperial Nights, each with royal banquets, are sure to be highlights of the 2012 festival. The program will take place at 7:30 p.m. on April 10 and 13 at three main stages: the central one (from the Noon Gate to the base of Kien Trung Palace), the left wing (from The Mieu Temple to Truong Sanh Residence) and the right wing (from Noi Vu Office to Co Ha Royal Park).

In addition to the highly praised events from previous festivals, including the welcoming performance, paintings, photography, calligraphy, royal games and dances, this year’s Imperial Nights will also include the “Ancient Hue Memories Through Antiques” exhibition (at the Ta Vu Pavilion), the performance, "Memoirs of Imperial Concubines" (in the Truong Lang area) and the art installation, "Tuong’s mask" (at the Nhat Thanh Pavilion).

Oriental Night shows will take place at 9 p.m. on April 8, 10, 12, 13 and 14 at the Thai Hoa Palace, featuring vibrant traditional costumes from Cambodia, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, representing the cultures of each country.

In the idyllic setting of the Supreme Harmony Palace’s front-yard, lit by lanterns and candles, performers from participating countries and Vietnamese models will put on a show in traditional costumes accompanied by beautiful original music.

Two Ao Dai (Vietnam’s traditional long dress) Grand Shows to be held at 8 p.m. at Quoc Hoc Stele on April 9 and 11 will feature local beauties, including the respective Miss Vietnam winners in 2006, 2008 and 2010 - Mai Phuong Thuy, Thuy Dung and Ngoc Han - appearing in lotus themed ao dai designed by Si Hoang and Minh Hanh.

Everyday at 4 p.m. from April 8-12, there will be street art music and dance performances which express the vitality and enthusiasm of people throughout the world working for peace, cooperation and friendship. The street shows will take place along Hung Vuong, Le Loi, Nguyen Dinh Chieu and Tran Hung Dao streets.

“A Peaceful World” show by the Perfume River at 8 p.m. on April 12 will feature royal court music and dances and the recitation of epic poems inscribed on Hue's monuments.

“The call of eternity” concerts, dedicated to Vietnam’s renowned composer Trinh Cong Son, will take place at 8 p.m. on April 8, 9, 11, 12, and 14 at the Co Ha Garden inside the citadel. Popular local singers, including Anh Tuyet, Anh Ha, Thuy Long, Minh Thuy, and musician Nguyen Anh 9 will perform the late Hue-born composer’s timeless songs.

The Drums and Percussion Concert, “Resounding the Spirit of Vietnam,” will take place at 4 p.m. on April 11 and 14 at the Nghinh Luong Dinh, and is expected to present the essence of Vietnamese music.

The closing ceremony at Phu Van Lau Square at 8 p.m. on April 15 will include another fireworks show and the release of floating lanterns down the Perfume River in a romantic farewell to festival attendees.

This year’s festival, according to the organizer, will not only take place in the center of Hue town, but will also involve other neighboring locales within the province, to bring the festive atmosphere to all of Hue’s outlying areas.

Huong Thuy Municipality will hold Cho que ngay hoi (countryside market of festive days) on April 8 – 11 at Thanh Toan Tile Roofed Bridge, whereas Phuoc Tich Ancient Village will offer Huong xua lang co (the soul of an ancient village) tour, as well as several community activities, including, boat races, human chess, a kite festival and a children’s festival, along with other exhibitions.

According to Hien, the festival has transformed Hue both inwardly and outwardly. More tourists and donations to restore Hue’s buildings, many of which are more than one hundred years old, have flowed into the town since the festival was founded 12 years ago.

Source: Thanh Nien News