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The noodle dishes bring the breath of Hanoi

The noodle dishes bring the breath of Hanoi
<div>The Hanoitimes – Bun Cha, bun Thang, bun Oc… the noodle dishes when eat, you’ll remember about Hanoi.</div>
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<div>Bun Cha
<div style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img alt="Bun Cha - one of the most streets food popular in Hanoi" src="http://bit.ly/2nKXAH9" width="500" />
Bun Cha – one of the most streets food popular in Hanoi.
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Bun Cha was only popular in Hanoi, because in other cities, even Saigon, people had never heard about it. After the visit of former U.S. President Barack Obama to Vietnam in 2016, bun Cha (noodles with grilled pork) stirred up a social media frenzy, and now the dish is renowned among international visitors.
<div style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img alt="Former President of U.S Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain eat at a bun cha restaurant in Hanoi." src="http://bit.ly/2nO0GeW" width="500" />
Former President of U.S Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain eat at a bun cha restaurant in Hanoi.
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Unlike other favorites that contain secret spices like Pho, the ingredients for bun Cha are easy to find and the recipe is not that complicated. All you need is sweet and sour smoky broth, barbecued minced pork patties and soft white rice noodles, along with a lettuce, cilantro and herb garnish. 
Bun Dau mam tom (Fermented shrimp paste with fried tofu and rice vermicelli)
<div style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img alt="Bun Dau." src="http://bit.ly/2nL95OO" width="500" />
Bun Dau.
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Bun Dau is one of the most popular morning street foods in Hanoi. in the old quarter. If eating right on the street, you will be served bún đậu in a medium-size tray, with everything on it! Just squeeze some drops of kumquat to your sauce, dip rice noodles, piece of tofu or ham into the sauce, don’t forget the herbs! 
The simple combination of various flavors: hot, tasty tofu, cold, fresh noodles, strong, spicy, sour, a bit sweet dip sauce and nicely smell from herbal Vietnamese balm…makes bun Dau very unique in the cold weather in Hanoi. 
Bun Thang 
Bun Thang originally from North, but already found a new home in many places in South, Vietnam. in Saigon where has been considered as the largest food hub. Easy to find bún thang around the city.
<div style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img alt="Bun Thang." src="http://bit.ly/2nO2vbG" width="500" />
Bun Thang.
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In Hanoi in the old days bun Thang traditionally prepared on the fourth day of our Lunar New Year, when we have a meal to see off our ancestor. All the left-overs in the kitchen from ham, chicken, shrimp, pork to some veggie have been used for this bún thang! That’s why everything has been cut into shreds! 
Today bun Thang seems simplified a lot, from the ingredients to the cooking process. in South, where is far away from the origin place. Bun Thang requires long preparation. How to keep the soup clear, how to make thin omelette, to cut it and Vietnamese pork ham into super thin shreds. Otherwise our color picture would look nicer with red shrimp floss, yellow egg shreds, pink pork ham strips, green Vietnamese mint and ivory chicken floss. 
Soup for bun Thang is chicken soup base, to keep it clear during cooking process would take time and patience to do so. Among different kinds of soup for rice noodles I probably prefer the taste of chicken soup than the others, pork or beef. 
Bun Rieu
<div style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img alt="Bun Rieu." src="http://bit.ly/2nL8fBD" width="500" />
Bun Rieu.
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Bun Rieu is a traditional Vietnamese meat rice vermicelli soup, this dish is well-known in the country and in the world. Bun Rieu cua is served with tomato broth and topped with freshwater crab. 
In this dish, various freshwater paddy crabs are used, including the brown paddy crab found in rice paddies in Vietnam. The crabs are cleaned by being placed in clean water to remove dirt and sand. The crabs are pounded with the shell on into a fine paste. This paste is strained and the crab liquid is a base for the soup along with tomato. The crab residue is used as the basis for crab cakes. 
This dish is rich in nutrition: calcium from the ground crab shells, iron from the congealed pig’s blood, and vitamins and fiber from the vegetables. Bun Rieu has a fresh sour, so Vietnamese like to enjoy it in summer. There are many restaurants in Vietnam that sell this dish. 
Bun Oc (snail vermicelli soup) 
Bun Oc is a dish of Hanoi, Vietnam. Roasted snails, ốc luộc, may be eaten first as an appetizer. Snail congee is called chao oc, and canh oc chuối đậu, is a thin snail soup with green banana, fried tofu.
<div style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img alt="Bun Oc (snail vermicelli soup)." src="http://bit.ly/2nO6B3F" width="500" />
Bun Oc (snail vermicelli soup).
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To prepare a delicious bun Oc, makers have to be careful to choose a good snail that is very fat and not soaked in the water too long. Then they choose the best bun (rice noodle). Spices for bun oc include many things, including tomato, vinegar, oil, pepper, salt, sugar and many kinds of aromatic vegetables together with salad and banana flowers in small slices. 
The method of making bun Oc is rather simple like bun oc in other places where makers have to boil the snail first then take out the snail meat and fry it with oil, fish sauce and sugar. The soup will be boiled with pig bone to increase the sweetness and added with tomato and main spices.</div>
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<div>Ha Phuong</div>
 
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The noodle dishes bring the breath of Hanoi

The noodle dishes bring the breath of Hanoi The Hanoitimes – Bun Cha, bun Thang, bun Oc… the noodle dishes when eat, you’ll remember about ...

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Vietnamese tour operators bump prices ahead of peak season

Vietnamese tour operators bump prices ahead of peak season
Tourists will now have to pay more for flights and tours to popular sites such as Ha Long Bay and Da Nang.
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Starting from April 1, local and foreign visitors will have to pay a higher fee for domestic flights and tours to some of Vietnam’s most-visited attractions, including Ha Long Bay and Ba Na Hills, as the country prepares to enter its peak tourist season.
Tourists will now have to pay for a whole tour package instead of paying for entry to individual caves in Ha Long Bay, a world-renowned natural site that has around 1,600 islands and islets that form a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars in the northern province of Quang Ninh. Around 3.5 million foreigners visited the bay last year.
Several tours in Ha Long Bay and its northeastern neighbor Bai Tu Long will now cost about VND200,000-250,000 ($8.8 – 11) per tour. Previously, visitors had to pay a general fee of VND120,000 ($5.3), plus an extra fee ranging from VND30,000 to 50,000 ($1.3 – 2.2) for entry into individual caves.
New fees for longer tours (one day, two nights) in Ha Long Bay will raised to VND500,000 to 700,000 ($22 – 30.8) per person. Prior to this change, the cost for overnight stays on the bay from one to three nights were VND200,000 – 350,000 – 400,000 ($8.8 – $15.4 – $17.6) per person, respectively.
For Bai Tu Long Bay, the fees are currently sitting at VND150,000 – 300,000 – 350,000 ($6.6 – $13.2 – $17.6) per person.
In addition, return tickets for visitors coming through Tuan Chau Port to visit Ha Long and Bai Tu Long will be VND40,000 ($1.75).
Meanwhile, non-local visitors who want to visit Ba Na Hills, a hill station and resort known for its cool weather and gorgeous countryside views of the central city of Da Nang, will have to pay an extra VND50,000 for tickets that now range from VND550,000 to 650,000 ($24.2 – $28.5).
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Ba Na Hills is located about 30km from Da Nang. Photo by VnExpress
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National carrier Vietnam Airlines has also raised ticket prices. The company said this is a regular adjustment which will be applied until March 31 next year. Economy class tickets for domestic flights have increased by VND40,000- 300,000 ( $1.75 – $13.2) per trip, and business class by VND100,000 – 500,000 ($4.4 – $22).
Earlier, private carriers including Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific Airlines also increased their fees.
Hotels and airline tickets are expected to be in short supply during the last week of April and the first week of May, with public holidays, including the Hung Kings Day, Liberation Day and Labor Day, all stacked in this period.
Vietnam welcomed more than 3 million foreign visitors in the first quarter of 2017, a 30 percent increase from the same period last year, official data showed. The country is on track to reaching its target of welcoming 11.5 million international visitors this year, which will contribute over $20 billion to the economy.
Tourism is expected to contribute 10 percent to Vietnam’s gross domestic product by 2020 when the country expects to receive up to 20 million foreign visitors and earn $35 billion in tourism revenue.
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<div>Related News:
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<li><a href="http://bit.ly/2nsFw2u">Japan opens first tourism office in Vietnam</a></li>
<li><a href="http://bit.ly/2n0i3ua">Vietnam’s popular resort town shuts down Chinese scam stores</a></li>
<li><a href="http://bit.ly/2nsB2Jq">Vietnam welcomes over 3 million foreign visitors in Q1</a></li>
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Vietnamese tour operators bump prices ahead of peak season

Vietnamese tour operators bump prices ahead of peak season Tourists will now have to pay more for flights and tours to popular sites such as...

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Japan counts down to cherry blossom fever

Japan counts down to cherry blossom fever
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MITO, Japan: The cherry blossom season in Japan kicks off boozy parties across the country and draws tourists from far and wide, but the annual coming-of-spring ritual isn’t official until inspectors like Hisato Nishii sign off on it.
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<div style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img alt="" src="http://bit.ly/2oou5xE" width="500" />
Cherry blossoms in Tokyo. (Photo: AFP/Toshifumi Kitamura)
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Over the past few weeks, local weather offices have been sending civil servants like Nishii out to so-called barometer trees that signal when sakura – cherry blossom in Japanese – have bloomed.
It’s no small matter. Millions of Japanese celebrate the explosion of white and pink flowers heralding the change of season, with the Tokyo area expected to hit full bloom this week.
Parks are full, restaurants are packed, and companies get in on the action with sakura-branded merchandise, from pink beer cans to flower-motif candy.
The festivities come at a time when Japan kicks off a new business year, many university graduates start their first full-time jobs, and older colleagues shift into new positions.
The very short season – full blooms only last about a week before the petals start falling off trees – has long been cast as a symbol of the fragility of life in Japanese art and literature.
“Sakura have soaked into Japanese people’s minds because they come at a time when many are starting a new chapter in their life,” Nishii said, as he inspected a barometer tree in Mito city, about 100km northeast of Tokyo.
“They capture people’s hearts because they bloom only for a short period of time.”
“WE DRINK BECAUSE IT’S SPRING”
Blooms in a particular area – they start as early as March in southern Kyushu and as late as May in northernmost Hokkaido – are official when a half dozen or more flowers blossom on a barometer tree.
Inspectors initially come once a day, but once the buds start swelling up, the visits increase to twice daily, Nishii said.
The location of a sample tree is a tightly guarded secret to prevent pranks.
“We carefully observe them so as not to miss any open buds and once we confirm it, we officially announce the blossom season’s start,” he said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has been monitoring cherry blossoms since 1953, but timing the blooms is still far from an exact science.
A big rainfall can wash out the delicate flowers while a cold weather snap sometimes delays their appearance.
It’s a nail-biting experience for some, including many tourists who book travel around the expected times for a full bloom when trees are covered in a blanket of flowers.
Parks in Tokyo have already been filling up as friends, families and colleagues stake out choice spots, laying plastic tarps on the grass as they start hours-long parties under the pretty-in-pink trees.
Yusuke Kinoshita was one of thousands of locals and tourists who gathered in Ueno Park, one of the capital’s most popular sakura viewing spots, even before the blooms started.
“I’ve been drinking since 10 this morning,” the 39-year-old hotel worker said one recent weekday afternoon after his shift, noting that his boss would be joining the boozy party later on.
“It’s the Japanese way for the most junior colleagues to stake out a spot and get the party going once the boss comes.
“We drink because it’s sakura season,” he added. “We drink because it’s spring.”
Source AFP
 
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Japan counts down to cherry blossom fever

Japan counts down to cherry blossom fever MITO, Japan: The cherry blossom season in Japan kicks off boozy parties across the country and dr...

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Bản in : Cambodia from Day Zero

Bản in : Cambodia from Day Zero
The 20th century saw a rare humanitarian and just event that Vietnamese people and army helped Cambodians overthrow the Pol Pot genocidal regime and free the country. The People’s Army Newspaper (PAN) introduces a series of articles by Colonel Le Lien, former PAN journalist cum former Vietnamese volunteer soldier participating in this historical event.
* Part 1: Betrayers
In February 1963, in the second congress of the Workers Party of Kampuchea (previously the Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Party), Pol Pot was elected General Secretary, succeeding Tu Samut who had been murdered earlier.
One month later, Pol Pot and most of the high-ranking officials of the party left Phnom Penh to establish a base in Ratanakiri province in orthern Cambodia.
After that, Pol Pot and his associates gradually took power in the party by eliminating its senior members and those who actively and proactively advocated the revolutionary cause in the Indochinese peninsula.
In September 1966, they secretly renamed the party as the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK). Many members of the party were not aware of this, even several years later.
In the jungle, they harboured and carried out extreme nationalist plots.
The reactionary group in Cambodia included five ringleaders Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Khieu Samphan and Ta Mok.
Pol Pot was born in 1928 in Kampong Thom province. In 1953, he participated in the Vietnamese-influenced “United Khmer Issarak (Freedom) Front” of Cambodian communists. After Cambodia finished the war against the Americans (April 17, 1975), Pol Pot established the Democratic Kampuchea. On May 20 1975, Pol Pot mapped out the three eccentric policies of “purifying” the Khmer race; defining Vietnam as the arch-enemy; and building up a state-run model of no personal ownership, market, currency, school or religion.
On February 1, 1978, he said that if Cambodia did not defeat Vietnam at the beginning, they would have not gained victory, and they targeted to sacrifice 2 million Cambodians to decimate 60 million Vietnamese people, adding that they should wage a war on Vietnam.
Nuon Chea, a Chinese Cambodian, was born in 1926 in Battambang province. After the establishment of the Democratic Kampuchea, Nuon Chea was known as the right-hand man of Pol Pot and the director of “the killing fields” in Cambodia. Since 1960, he was in charge of party work and internal security, which meant extirpating the opposition. When Pol Pot came to power, Nuon Chea was appointed Chairman of the National Assembly of Cambodia, and even acting Prime Minister when Pol Pot took a month off. Nuon Chea also directly ordered his men to torture and kill Cambodian revolutionary cadres suspected of opposing the Pol Pot regime.
Ieng Sary was born in 1925 in Tra Vinh province, Vietnam. In 1957, he joined the Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Party and undertook key positions in the Phnom Penh Party Committee and also the party. In 1963, he was promoted to the politburo of the Workers Party of Kampuchea. Between 1970 and 1975, he was a special consultant of King Norodom Sihanouk in Beijing, China. Since April 17, 1975, Ieng Sary was the Deputy Prime Minister under the Pol Pot regime. Together with Pol Pot, Ieng Sary was accused of directing the mass killing of Cambodian people.
Khieu Samphan, the son of a Cambodian father and a Chinese mother, was born in 1931 into a farming family. After the coup in 1970 overthrew the government of Sihanouk, Samphan followed the Khmer United National Front led by Sihanouk, and served as deputy prime minister, minister of defence and commander-in-chief of the military of the Government of United Kingdom of Kampuchea (GRUNK). In 1976, he was the Chairman of the Presidium of the Democratic Kampuchea. Khieu Samphan was regarded as an “architect” of the Democratic Kampuchea.
Ta Mok was born in 1926 in Takeo province, Cambodia. His birth name was Chhit Choeun. After joining the CPK, he was elected member of the Standing and Military Committees of the Central Committee. In July 1975, Pol Pot divided Cambodia into 7 zones and Ta Mok was in charge of the southwest. He became Commander-in-Chief of the Army in 1977, charged with orchestrating a series of massacres.
For Vietnam, the Pol Pot regime showed its betrayal since the two nations were carrying out the anti-American resistance war.
From the end of 1971, there were some clashes between the Pol Pot’s troops and Vietnamese volunteer soldiers. Pol Pot’s soldiers stole some of Vietnam’s arsenal and murdered Vietnamese cadres while they were carrying out missions alone or in small groups in Cambodia.
At the end of 1972, they asked Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia. By 1973, all Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts performing international obligation in Cambodia returned home.
After the liberation of Vietnam in 1975, Pol Pot sent troops to attack southwest Vietnam’s islands and border areas. On May 3, 1975, Vietnam defeated Pol Pot’s troops when they landed on Phu Quoc Island. However, on May 10, 1975, Pol Pot’s troops seized Tho Chu Island and killed about 500 locals. Later, they continued invading localities along the southwest border of Vietnam and Cambodia.
* Part 2: Everything has its own limit
Since 1975, there appeared in Cambodia the opposition against the Pol Pot genocidal regime’s oppression, starting from its own officials then rapidly spread out to people throughout the country.
Between 1975 and 1978, many unprompted campaigns emerged across the country like “Seizing power at commune and district levels” and “peace has been restored and no more war” in Kampong Thom and Siem Reap provinces; “Getting married by ourselves” and “Improving our living standards” in Southwestern Cambodia; “Do not murder the Cham people” in Kampong Cham; and “Freedom of traveling”, “Strengthening national unity”, “Saving King Norodom Sihanouk” and “Asking for help from international community” in Phnom Penh.
The more the Cambodian people opposed, the more they were barbarously repressed or killed by the Pol Pot troops. As a result, tens of thousands of people had to take refuge in jungles.
Among millions of Cambodians opposing the Pol Pot regime, there were many its own party leaders and high-ranking officers who were former Khmer Rouge cadres. They had played an important role in rekindling the revolutionary flame in Cambodia. They even mapped out ways to save Cambodian people and led locals to revive the country and build a new society.
In June 1977, Hun Sen led 16 others into Vietnam to avoid Khmer Rouge purges in the Eastern Military Zone, where he was himself a Khmer Rouge regimental commander. In late 1978, another 107 army leaders fled to Vietnam.
Thank to wholehearted help from Vietnam, the Cambodian refugees started building up their forces and working out policies to liberate the country.
From November 26 to 29, 1978, the Congress of the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation, including 108 delegates, voted its Central Committee with Heng Samrin, Chea Sim and Roh Samay as the committee’s Chairman, Vice Chairman and General Secretary respectively.
On December 2, 1978, a solemn ceremony to announce the coming into being of the front was held in Kratie province, Cambodia, with the participation of people from all walks of life. All the participants felt excited as they could now have leaders of the revolutionary cause and believed that Cambodia would certainly overthrow the Pol Pot genocidal regime.
Core cadres leading the Cambodian revolutionary cause in Vietnam are true members of the Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Party.
On January 4 and 5, 1979, former members of the party gathered in Ho Chi Minh City for a congress to restore the Party’s operation and elect a new Central Committee. Besides, the delegates voted the State President and the Cabinet to represent the Cambodian people right after the national liberation from the Pol Pot genocidal regime.
The Party Central Committee included General Secretary Pen Sovan, Permanent Members Heng Samrin and Chea Sim, and Central Members Hun Sen, Bu Thoong, Van Son and Chan Sy.
Since then, the Cambodian revolutionary cause would be under the leadership of a political party whose members had been tempered through the fierce wars against foreign invaders and who were loyal to the nation and people’s interest, and stood close to Vietnamese people.
The party had assembled all the Cambodians who had opposed the Pol Pot regime to make an uprising, with the wholehearted support from Vietnam, to topple the genocidal regime.
On November 3, 1978, the Cambodian revolutionary forces occupied the Seneca base of Pol Pot in Kampong Cham and captured a large number of weapons and military equipment. From then on, the uprising against the Pol Pot regime had been spreading nationwide not only in the scale but also the struggling method with the effective coordination between forces in cities and rural areas, between armed struggles and political negotiations, and between the public and the Pol Pot troops who mutinied and crossed the rank to the people.
From November 1978, the Cambodian revolutionary armed forces and local residents in western and northwestern zones simultaneously rose up against the Pol Pot regime and spread leaflets to call on Cambodians across the country to overthrow the genocidal regime.
By early December 1978, the movement considerably developed and gained many victories, seizing power in several communes and reducing the enemy’s strength. Even in some military zones, there were military coups against the Pol Pot.
* Part 3: Side by side in the hard times
As Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts started withdrawing from Cambodia, Cambodian people in many provinces like Svay Rieng, Kampong Cham and Prey Veng asked for asylum in Vietnam.
Lines of Cambodians and wagons carrying their children and necessities followed Vietnamese troops. At that time, more than 40,000 Cambodians fled to Vietnam.
They said that the Pol Pot regime conducted wild policies, such as forcing people in Phnom Penh and other cities to rural areas to do farming, and building up a state-run model of no personal ownership, market, currency, school and religion, or organising makeshift collective marriage ceremonies. The opposition would be murdered in bloodshed.
The Pol Pot clique persecuted Buddhists during their reign, even killing those wearing frock. They intended to abolish the religion in Cambodia.
Cambodian refugees to Vietnam were provided with shelters and did farming in Tay Ninh province. Besides, they were called on to denounce the Pol Pot regime’s atrocity.
As a result, the Cambodian revolutionary cause seemed to start from the scratch. Vietnam’s Party, State, army and people had to help Cambodians topple the genocidal regime with the noble international solidarity spirit, as they had done in the wars against French and American invaders previously.
In March 1978, the Communist Party of Vietnam assigned the Vietnam People’s Army to help Cambodia when true members of the Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Party stated their expectation to build armed forces in Vietnam to free their country.
On April 21, 1978, the Central Military Commission issued a decision to set up Mission Board Z (Cambodia), alias Board 10, headed by Tran Van Quang, Deputy Minister of National Defence.
The board then established an agency called Unit 478 to send its staff to Vietnam’s localities where there were Cambodian refugees, to keep in touch with current events and recruit cadres for the Cambodian revolutionary cause.
After that, at a meeting between Senior Lieutenant General Tran Van Tra, Commander of Military Zone 7 at that time, and Hun Sen, they reached an agreement on supporting Cambodia to build up armed forces for the country’s liberation.
Accordingly, Vietnam provided military training courses, weapons and equipment, and logistics for Cambodia, while the Cambodian cadres were in charge of political work.
With Vietnam’s support, on May 12, 1978, the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation was established, whereas Steering Committee 578 was subsequently set up and led by Hun Sen, paving the way for the establishment of Unit 125, the first army unit of the Cambodian revolutionary armed forces.
Over the last months of 1978, the Cambodian revolution had a twist. After over three years under the Pol Pot’s rule, Cambodian people felt hatred for the genocidal regime and hoped that the just revolutionary armed forces would free the country. In addition, Cambodian cadres fleeing to Vietnam since the 1954 Geneva Accords were ready to return home to overthrow the Pol Pot regime. Meanwhile, by November 1978, Vietnam helped Cambodia set up 21 battalions and 100 armed working teams.
After the establishment of the Kampuchean People’s Revolutionary Party, Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation and Cambodian revolutionary armed forces, Cambodia asked Vietnam to help dislodge the Pol Pot clique and crush their savage war along Vietnam’s southwest border.
* Part 4: The decisive campaign
During the war along Vietnam’s southwest border waged by the Pol Pot clique from May 1975 to December 23, 1978, more than 5,000 Vietnamese people were murdered, nearly 5,000 injured and over 20,000 others taken for annihilation.
Besides, the invaders destroyed thousands of hectares of paddy fields and hundreds of schools, hospitals and pagodas, and plundered thousands of cattle along the borderline with Cambodia. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of hectares of cropland and rubber plantations in southwest Vietnam were left fallow and half a million local residents had to flee to the eastern part of the country.
Facing this critical situation, Vietnam’s Party and State still proposed political negotiations with the Pol Pot regime. Though Vietnam’s goodwill was rejected, the country continued pursuing its persistent policy.
Responding to the call by the Cambodian people, Vietnam decided to support the true Cambodian revolutionary fighters to topple the Pol Pot genocidal regime.
In mid-December 1978, the Pol Pot regime mobilised 10 out of its 21 divisions to start a large-scale war on Vietnam’s Southwest border with Tay Ninh town (Tay Ninh province) as its target, and the Vietnam People’s Army started a strategic counter-attack on the invaders from December 23, 1978. The Vietnamese troops, in coordination with armed forces of the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation, fought in five main directions.
On January 7, 1979, the capital city of Phnom Penh was liberated and 10 days later, all other localities in Cambodia were freed. As a result, Cambodia finally escaped from the genocidal regime.
Apart from the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers’ bravery and military talent, the Cambodian people and armed forces played an important role in the rapid final victory.
In every newly-liberated locality in Cambodia, local people were overwhelmed with joy while welcoming Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and military experts. For them, the Vietnamese are their saviours and close relatives.
Many Cambodians who had been suffering from the Pol Pot genocidal regime could not hold their tears seeing Vietnamese volunteer troops and whole-heartedly supported them in toppling the Pol Pot clique.
It was easy to understand why the Cambodians were so happy to have got rid of the genocidal regime and why they have been taking the Vietnamese as their relatives.-VNA
 
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Bản in : Cambodia from Day Zero

Bản in : Cambodia from Day Zero The 20th century saw a rare humanitarian and just event that Vietnamese people and army helped Cambodians ov...

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Keo pagoda in Nam Dinh recognised as national relic site

Keo pagoda in Nam Dinh recognised as national relic site
Keo pagoda is one of ancient pagodas in Vietnam with over 400-year-old architecture which is well preserved and almost intact.
n addition to its architectural beauty, the pagoda is home to numerous valuable artifacts from the 17th century under Hau Le dynasty, including reading tables, altars, statues, bells, steles, horizontal lacquered boards and parallel texts and books.
The existence of Keo pagoda, along with Dien Phuc pagoda in Xuan Ninh commune, Xuan Truong district and Chuong Son tower pagoda in Yen Loi commune, Y Yen district, showed that Nam Dinh province was a major religious centre of the country under the Ly dynasty.
The Keo Pagoda Festival in Nam Dinh province takes place annually from the tenth to sixteenth days of the ninth lunar month. Unique activities of the festival are the boat race with a crew of 10 and a large scale procession.
The recognition of Keo Pagoda in Nam Dinh as a special national relic site is expected to contribute to improving the historical, cultural and architectural values of this old pagoda in the northern region.
The pagoda boasts massive architecture, consisting of 13 buildings with 121 rooms. There is a clear, blue lake in front of the pagoda.
 
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Keo pagoda in Nam Dinh recognised as national relic site

Keo pagoda in Nam Dinh recognised as national relic site Keo pagoda is one of ancient pagodas in Vietnam with over 400-year-old architecture...

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Cham towers in Ninh Thuan recognised as special national relics

Cham towers in Ninh Thuan recognised as special national relics
On December 22, 2016, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed Decision No. 2499/QD-TTg, declaring the two towers special national relic sites.
The Hoa Lai tower cluster is located on Highway 1 in Bac Phong Commune, Thuan Bac District; while the Po Klong Garai tower complex is in Do Vinh Ward, Phan Rang–Thap Cham.
<div style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img alt="Hoa Lai tower complex (Credit: dantri.com.vn)" src="http://bit.ly/2nV7WpT" title="Hoa Lai tower complex (Credit: dantri.com.vn)" />
Hoa Lai tower complex (Credit: dantri.com.vn)
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The Hoa Lai complex was built in the Ninth Century and consists of three towers, one of which collapsed during the war. Po Klong Garai also includes three towers, which were built from the late 13th to the early 14th Century.
The main rituals in the Cham people’s traditional Kate festival, which is held annually in early October, are held at Po Klong Garai Towers.
<div style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img alt="Po Klong Garai towers (Credit: news.zing.vn)" src="http://bit.ly/2npAx2T" title="Po Klong Garai towers (Credit: news.zing.vn)" />
Po Klong Garai towers (Credit: news.zing.vn)
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The recognition of Hoa Lai and Po Klong Garai Towers as special national relic sites will urge relevant agencies to pay closer attention to preserving and promoting the Cham ethnic minority people’s cultural heritage, as well as to raising the solidarity among ethnic minority communities in the province.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien asked the Ninh Thuan Province Party Committee and the local government and people to join efforts to preserve and renovate the relics, as well as to activley restore intangible cultural values in association with the relic sites.
In addition, it is essential to connect the towers wtih other scenic spots in Ninh Thuan Province and neighbouring localities to attract more visitors, added the Minister.
 
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Cham towers in Ninh Thuan recognised as special national relics

Cham towers in Ninh Thuan recognised as special national relics On December 22, 2016, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed Decision No. 24...

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Sapa hosts Rhododendron flower festival

Sapa hosts Rhododendron flower festival
More than 1,000 colourful flowers, including numerous valuable species considered part of Vietnam’s heritage, are being introduced to visitors.
The festival is one of tourism products on flowers under the programme “Northwestern Colours,” in response to the 2017 National Tourism Year. This is the largest-scale event honouring the special flowers of the northwestern region in Lao Cai.
Hoang Lien Forest is likened to the “King of the Rhododendron,” with nearly 40 species of different colours including red, white, pink and yellow.
The Rhododendron Flower Festival is expected to become a unique tourism activity, attracting a large number of visitors to Lao Cai, particularly Sapa, this summer.
The event also contributes to developing the provincial tourism sector in association with preserving and promoting the local culture, creating attractive tourism products and bringing interesting cultural experiences to visitors.
On the occasion, tourists have a chance to participate in entertainment activities imbued with the culture of the northwestern moutain region.
 
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Sapa hosts Rhododendron flower festival

Sapa hosts Rhododendron flower festival More than 1,000 colourful flowers, including numerous valuable species considered part of Vietnam’s ...

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