The Giay ethnic group - The traditional cultural beauty

Not only did the Giay ethnic group have lyric majestic senery, it also is an ethnic group possessing unique culture.

Population: 49,098 people (Year 1999)

Locality: Concentrated in Bat Xat, Bao Thang and Muong Khuong districts (Lao Cai Province); Yen Minh and Dong Van districts (Ha Giang Province); Phong Tho and Muong Te districts (Lai Chau Province); and Cao Bang Province.

Customs and habits: The Giay worship not only their ancestors but also the genies of the heaven, the earth, and the kitchen, including the Goddess of Childbirth. The Giay villages are very crowded, containing hundreds of households. Houses are built on stilts or on level ground. The central bay of the house serves as a place for receiving guests and for the ancestor altar.

Patriarchal customs rule Giay families. The children take on the family name of their father. The family of a young man usually seeks a marriage for their son. During pregnancy, Giay women must obey certain taboos and a special altar is set up for the delivery.

Culture: Giay language belongs to the Tay-Thai Group. The cultural heritage of the Giay is rich including many ancient tales, poems, proverbs, puzzles, and alternating songs.

Costumes: Men wear trousers, short vests and wind a turban around their heads. Women wear a five-paneled vest open at the side, which buttons under the right armpit, and trousers. They wear their hair wound around their head or wind it in a turban.

Economy: The Giay practice rice cultivation in submerged fields and rear animals to provides for additional income. The Giay also rear plenty of horses as pack animals and for transport.

Dong Ho folk painting contest launched

The children’s painting contest ‘I Draw the Country’ was launched in Hanoi on May 16 by the Association of UNESCO Clubs in Hanoi and the Heritage Inns.

The contest is open to children between the ages of four and nine in kindergartens and primary schools across the country.

Compeition entrants can use any medium to create their own original paintings on size A3 paper based on the theme of one of the ten original Dong Ho folk paintings, which were announced by the organising board. Children are encouraged to use bright colours, particularly the four basic colours of Dong Ho paintings, including black, green, yellow and red.

Each contestant is allowed to send up to three entries to the Heritage Inns, 115/9 Nui Truc Alley, Nui Truc Street, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi before July 16.

A awards ceremony and an exhibition to honour the 30 best entries will be held on August 10. The first prize winner will be presented a certificate of merit and cash prize of VND 5 million while two second and three third place winners will receive VND2 million and VND1 million each, respectively.

The 30 finalists will also win a field trip to the Dong Ho folk painting village to see how the traditional paintings are made.

The contest aims to help children to learn more about Dong Ho painting and encourage them to preserve and promote this valuable traditional Vietnamese art form.

Hue Festival pavilion draws huge crowds in Japan

A display booth presenting the ancient culture of Hue at the Japan association of Travel Agents (JATA) Tourism and Travel Forum in Japan attracted thousands of Japanese and international visitors.

Vietnam's participation in the forum, which was held on September 13-15, was distinctive in view of the wide turnout by visitors to its pavilion featuring the biennial Hue Festival in Hue City of Thua Thien-Hue Province. The country expects to draw visitors to the nation’s biggest cultural event.

Vietnam’s pavilion in the JATA Tourism Forum and Travel Showcase 2013.

JATA Tourism Forum and Travel Showcase 2013 attracted 80 countries with about 1,000 booths. The annual affair aims to meet a goal for promoting demands in the tourism industry. The event has expanded in scale in response to ongoing changes in the marketplace, now offering more business meetings and opportunities and for the public to learn about travel.

So far 26 art troupes from 23 countries around the world have registered to participate in the biennial Hue Festival in Hue City in Thua Thien-Hue Province, scheduled to take place from April 12-20 next year.

The eighth Hue Festival will introduce to visitors a series of cultural activities such as Nam Giao Offering Ritual, Royal Night, Ao Dai Festival, Oriental Night, musical performances, folk games, puppetry, martial arts and dance performances during the event.

Some highlights will be ‘Huong Xua Lang Co’ (Fragrance of ancient village) in the 500-year-old Phuoc Tich ancient village in Phong Hoa Commune in Phong Dien District, and real replicas of ancient markets of Thanh Toan Tile Bridge across the Nhu Y River in Thuy Thanh Commune.

Arts honoring traditional, historical and cultural values including Nha Nhac or royal court music of Hue, royal singing and dancing, Hue singing, and Thua Thien-Hue folk songs are expected to leave a deep impression on visitors.

Nha Nhac or royal court music of Hue was recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage in 2003, and has been named as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Meaning ‘elegant music’, Nha Nhac refers to court music performed at annual ceremonies, anniversaries and religious events, as well as special events such as coronations, funerals or official receptions.

Although its roots can be traced back to the 13th Century, Nha Nhac reached maturity in the royal palace of Hue under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945).

The delegation participating in the Hue festival fair was sponsored by the Department of culture, sport and tourism with the participation of reputable travel agencies in the province. In the fair, the delegation participated in the conference of the tourism development trend in Japan market; met international trading partners; took a survey about the tourist’s attraction to Hue tourism market; introduced, propagated and promoted images of destinations, tourism products of Thua Thien Hue province, especially Festival Hue 2014 to tourists.

Quang Ngai to build a turtle rescue center

The People's Committee of Quang Ngai Province in July decided to build a rescue center for Vietnamese pond turtles and a zone for preservation of the habitat for this endemic species of turtle in Binh Son district.

Scientists are making the last survey at the preservation zone of Vietnamese pond turtles in Binh Khuong commune, Binh Son district in Quang Ngai province.

The Southern Institute of Ecology will be a key partner with the Asian Turtle Conservation to implement this project. It is expected that the rescue center will be built from August 2013 to May 2014. From June 2014, the natural habitats for the Vietnamese pond turtles will be restored.

According to Dr. Vu Ngoc Long, director of the Southern Institute of Ecology, the Vietnamese pond turtle or Annam leaf turtle (Mauremys annamensis) is a species of turtles in the family Geoemydidae.

It can be distinguished from its relatives by its color pattern: the head is dark with three or four yellow stripes down the side. The plastron (belly shield) is firmly attached, yellow or orange, with a black blotch on each scute.

The Vietnamese pond turtle is an endemic freshwater turtle species in Vietnam, which is included in the list of critically endangered wildlife.

Endemic to a small area in central Vietnam, from Da Nang to Phu Yen, it was reportedly abundant in the 1930s, but all field surveys after 1941 had failed to locate any individuals in the wild. As it was occasionally seen traded as food, it was not yet extinct in the wild however. In 2006, a wild population of Vietnamese pond turtles was found in Quang Nam Province.

Currently, the number of Vietnamese pond turtles in the wild is rapidly declining due to poaching, illegal trade and habitat loss.

A Vietnamese pond turtle.

The Binh Son Pond Turtle Rescue Center is founded in the natural distribution area of this species in the central region to preserve this species.

The center will receive Vietnamese pond turtles which are successfully bred in the U.S., Europe and the turtle conservation center in Cuc Phuong National Park, in Ninh Binh province, to breed and release into the wild.

The goal of the project is the establishment of protected habitat for pond turtles, creating natural habitats for the species. This is one of the first protected habitat zone in Southeast Asia to preserve this critically endangered species of turtle.

Contemplating the sunrise at Vietnam’s most beautiful waterfall

Many backpackers consider Pongour waterfall in Da Lat City as the most beautiful waterfall in Vietnam.

Pongour waterfall (its alternative name is 7-storey waterfall) lies in Duc Trong district, Lam Dong Province, being 50 kilometers from Da Lat. Going about 40 kilometers along the highway 20 from Da Lat, tourists will see a signpost on the right. Tourists keep going 7 kilometers to go to the waterfall. In early morning, Pongour waterfall is imposing and pictureque. However, if you want to capture the first sunlight in early morning on the top of waterfall, you have to get up eary and arrive the waterfall at 6 am. Panorama of the waterfall In early morning, you will have a chance to contemplate primitive and tranquil scenery, as well as listen to the bird sounds The waterfall is surrounded by imposing cliffs

The beautiful pictures of Ha Giang

The unspoiled, idyllic beauty of the nature and human of Ha Giang in this season are depicted in the following pictures.

Nui Doi Mount is associated with the legendary love story of a Hmong boy with a fairy. The couple’s love was hindered by the god. The fairy was forced to return to the Heaven after she had a child with the Hmong man. The fairy cut her breasts and left them in the lower world to feed her child, which are now the Nui Doi Mountain. According to legend, thanks to the milk of the fairy, this land has a cool climate and the fruits here have an incredible taste. The house of the H’mong King Vuong Chi Sinh. Early morning in the market of the quiet old town of Dong Van. Dong Van town was built in the early 20th century. Behind the old town is the limestone heritage area. The road to the rock plateau. Meo Vac view from above Lung Cu flagpole is the site many young people wish to set foot. The houses of the Lo Lo people at the foothills of Lung Cu The Nho Que River at the foot of Ma Pi Leng Pass - one of the four most famous passes in Vietnam, besides Pha Din Pass in the province of Lai Chau, O Quy Ho Pass in Lao Cai and Khau Pha Pass in Yen Bai.

Dieu Thanh Waterfall- a princess hidden herself in jungle

Dieu Thanh Waterfall is located on Dak Tit Stream, the natural border between Nhan Co Commune (Dak R’lap District) and Quang Tan Commune (Dak Nong District), Dak Nong Province. For a long time, Dieu Thanh Waterfall has won kudos for its pristine and poetic beauty.

This waterfall has been stood in the middle of mountain and forest since time immemorial, despite various changes of the surrounding scene and natural environment. Besides the biggest water column, which comes down from the height of 30m, Dieu Thanh Waterfall also comprises of some small other water columns, creating a thin mist that cools down the temperature at the foot of the rocky mountain.

Under the waterfall, there are several deep grottoes and inside them there have many large and smooth rocks for tourists to take a short rest. The temperature here is always cool. When standing on the summit of the waterfall, tourists can admire a part of the magnificent mountain and forest of theCentral Highlands.

Though Dieu Thanh is located in a calm place of jungle but it is still one of the interesting beautiful spots which is not only attracted many tourists in Vietnam travel in Dak Nong Province but also in other provinces such as: Dak Lak, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ho Chi Minh City and so on. Especially on festivals or Tet holidays,  lots of people flock to this place.  With its romantic beauty, Dieu Thanh falls seems to be a princess hidden herself in jungle. If it is invested and upgraded, it will be an ideal place attracted to tourists near and far.