Longest royal order on silk discovered in Ha Tinh; Handicrafts exhibition opens in Hanoi; Seminar held on Vietnam-India cooperation prospects; 2009 Hello Vietnam festival a big success

The order conferred an honor on a mandarin in the Restored Le Dynasty that reigned between the 16th and 17th centuries.

Written on a 4.5 meter long and 0.5 meter wide strip of yellow silk with King Le Kinh Tong’s royal seal, the order has 318 words that praise the dedication of mandarin Nguyen Van Giai, said Ha Tinh’s Deaprtment of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The royal order is currently in the hands of Nguyen Van Tan’s family in Ich Hau Commune. The family has more than 40 other royal orders in their possession.

Handicrafts exhibition opens in Hanoi

An exhibition of traditional children’s toys will be held at Hanoi’s Kim Son primary school in Son Tay district from September 27-29 during the mid-autumn festival to mark 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Children taking part in the exhibition will be given traditional toys to play with made by craftsmen from 6 villages including Ba Giang kite village, Xuan La sticky rice puppet village, Dan Vien lantern village and Khuong Dinh steel ship maker village.

This was a part of a programme organised by the Centre for Children (Cenforchil) under the Hanoi Municipal People Committee and The Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations.

“Ao dai” fashion show makes impression on Japanese audiences

A collection of more than 50 Ao dai (Vietnam’s traditional dress) designed by Duc Hung left a deep impression at the Vietnamese festival in Japan recently.

The fashion show of “ao dai” aimed to attract more Japanese visitors to Vietnam in 2010 during the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long Hanoi.

The fashion show impressed many senior Japanese officials, and also Japanese women who “like the ao dai very much”, said model Thuy Hanh.

Seminar held on Vietnam-India cooperation prospects

A seminar on India and Vietnam’s traditional relations and their future prospects for cooperation was held in the Indian city of Kolkata on September 20.

The seminar, marking the 64th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Day, introduced a book titled “Indian cultural influence in Vietnam” by Geetesh Sharma, President of the India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee.

Also attending the event were H. M. Halim, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal State, Indian historian Amalendu De and Nguyen Tuan Anh, a representative of the Vietnamese embassy in India.

At the seminar, many Indian scholars praised the achievements of the Vietnamese people in the process of national reform and development. They called on the two countries’ people to promote cultural exchange and dialogue and to accelerate the opening of an airway from Kolkata to Ho Chi Minh City as well as of a Vietnamese Consulate General in Kolkata.

On this occasion, officials from the Indian-Vietnam Solidarity Committee and representatives of Vietnam’s embassy in India laid wreaths at the Ho Chi Minh Presidential monument in the Indian city.

2009 Hello Vietnam festival a big success

The 2009 “Hello Vietnam” festival was successfully held in Japan on September 19-20 to mark the 36th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan.

The event attracted tens of thousands of people from both countries.

Participants were very impressed with a fashion show of Aodai, Japanese Drum performances, Japanese folk games and concerts by Hien Thuc, Minh Thu and the Gypsy Queen band.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Japanese senator Matsuda Iwao who was the festival’s chief organiser, described the festival as a great success that would strengthen ties between the two Governments and People of Japan and Vietnam.

PV