A must-see beach in Ninh Thuan

Bai Rua, or Turtle Beach, is certainly one of the must-see beaches along the coast of central Vietnam, as the area in Ninh Hai District, Ninh Thuan Province boasts magnificent scenery, clean sand, original trees and beautifully-shaped rocks.

The scenic Turtle Beach in Ninh Thuan Province

Rocks and trees around Turtle Beach are distinctive in their originality. In addition to evergreen pine trees, the magnet of Bai Rua lies in the beauty of many short but old trees that cannot grow well in a dry province like Ninh Thuan but evolve into bonsai with eye-catching shapes.
One of the old beautiful trees on the way to Turtle Beach stands about three meters tall on the verge of a deep valley under which turtles come to lay their eggs, mostly from April and July.
The old tree serves as an umbrella for visitors to rest after trekking the 20-minute journey from Provincial Road 702 to the scenic Vinh Hy Bay. Tourists can lean against the tree while casting their eyes to the Bai Rua down the valley in Vinh Hai Commune
As the area of Bai Rua is well protected for turtles to lay their eggs, it is closed to tourists for the majority of the year. But don’t let this discourage you from viewing Bai Rua from afar.
Beside the three-meter-tall trees, several nearby boulders serve as good posts for you to stand firmly against strong winds while looking at Bai Rua nestled behind lines of pine trees. The attractive rocks lying nearby and the beach make Bai Rua a must-see area on a summer trip to Ninh Thuan.
As Ninh Thuan is located in the driest region of Vietnam, in the hot season the high temperatures, change of the day and strong winds contribute to peeling the outer layers of rocks and carving them into different patterns which are attractive to visitors.

| SGT | 

Mong people’s panpipes go to festival

The Mong ethnic minority people in the north will hold their first ever panpipe festival in the mountainous province of Ha Giang on Aug. 21 and 22.

About 300 local people and artists are expected to perform at the event, which is among a series of activities to mark the 120 th founding anniversary of Ha Giang province.

The festival will coincide with other cultural and tourist activities to promote landscapes in the province, especially the Dong Van Stone Plateau.

The Dong Van Stone Plateau was recognised as the first geopark in Vietnam and the second in Southeast Asia by the Global Network of National Geoparks (GGN) in October last year. It covers a total area of nearly 2,400 sq.m. and houses 34 percent of the province’s population.

(Source: VNA)

Vietnam-Japan cultural exchange in Hoi An

The ninth Vietnam-Japan cultural exchange event in Hoi An will be held on August 20-21. 

The event is co-organized by the People’s Committee of Hoi An City, the Japanese Embassy and the Japan Foundation for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam. The opening program will be held at 7 p.m. on August 20 in An Hoi Statue Garden with Japanese and Vietnamese singing, dancing, classical opera and lively scenes performed by artists from Vietnam and Japan.

During the two-day event, there are many folk games and sporting activities such as stick pushing competition, sack races, bowls, amateur boat race, rope jumping, as well as a display of artistic pictures, Origami paper wrapping, Kimono and Yukata costume performances, Vietnamese ao dai show; selection of Miss Kimono and a charitable music show for tsunami and earthquake victims in Japan. The event will be attended by skillful artisans from traditional craft villages of pottery making, mattress weaving, Kim Bong carpentry and lanterns. Japanese artists will make traditional cakes, compose Haiku poems and wrap Furoshiki fabric.

Japanese Haiku style of poetry, the shortest style of 17 syllables, will be introduced in Hoi An for the first time through the Haiku poem composing festival and there is also a Vietnamese calligraphy performance.

The closing ceremony and gala dinner this year will be a cozy, camp-fire night featuring traditional games, community dancing and lanterns.

(Source: SGT)

Festival promises ethnic delight

Different tour packages will be presented during a festival at the Moc Chau Plateau in the north-eastern province of Son La from August 27 to September 2.

Entitled Qua Mien Tay Bac – Son La 2011 (Visiting the North-eastern Region-Son La 2011), the festival aims at promoting tourism in the province, especially Moc Chau Plateau.

Provincial People's Committee chairman Cam Ngoc Minh said tourism would become the key economy in Son La which had invested in supporting infrastructure over past years.

"The promotion will be a step in further co-operation with neighbouring provinces – Hoa Binh, Dien Bien and Lai Chau – to create diversified tourism services for the region," said Minh, who is also the head of the event's organisation board.

Six hundreds artists will perform on August 28 to kick off the one-week event. The performance will be broadcast on VTV1.

A cultural and tourism camp at the Moc Chau Stadium will offer visitors the chance to learn about the culture of 12 ethnic groups in the province and the bio-agricultural products of local farmers.

A documentary film on the theme of the north-eastern region tourism may be seen at the Moc Chau Cultural Centre from August 29 to September 2.

A competition on traditional sports and traditional games is also on the programme for the central stadium every morning from August 30 to September 2.

Tours in the region, including Dai Yem Waterfall, Doi Cave and Mooc Ly military post, built by the French, are being planned by the provincial Tourism Promotion Centre.

Other activities include a trade and tourism fair, a conference on the north-eastern region's tourism venues and a photo exhibition.

Located in the valley of the Da and Ma rivers, about 300km north-west of Ha Noi, the north-eastern province has a picturesque landscape created by mountain ranges, primeval forests and a valley.

The Moc Chau Plateau in Son La is famous for its cool climate as well as its vast tea and flower farms. There are also 50,000 cattle in the area.

Eco-tourism and farm tourism seem to be ideal models for the plateau as the number of visitors increases every year.

Rich culture created by different ethnic groups, including Thai, Muong, Mong, Dao, Kho Mu, Tay, La Ha, also contributes to cultural and community tourism in Son La.

Chairman Minh also revealed plans to support tourism, including a master plan for tourist spots in the province, further investment in tourist infrastructure and encouragement for local people to get involved in community tourism.

(Source: VNA)

National park attracts Sarus Cranes

National park attracts Sarus CranesAfter carrying out a World Wildlife Fund-sponsored hydrology plan, Tram Chim National Park in the southern province of Dong Thap is seeing Sarus Cranes return in large numbers.

90 have landed at the park this month, compared with only 63 in February and 67 last March, Nguyen Van Hung, the national park’s director said.
Hung said two reasons explained the renewed attraction of the park to Sarus Cranes.
The Hydrology Management Project sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund and Can Tho University has improved the park’s ecosystem.
In the past, to prevent forest fire, water levels were kept too high, destroying grass and fish, a source of shelter and food for Sarus Cranes.
Dong Thap Province has also assigned over 100 soldiers to protect the park, which has reduced poaching and forest burning.
Occupying an area of 7,000 hectares, Tram Chim National Park is the representative of the Mekong Delta’s wetland ecosystem and a safe haven for Sarus Crane in dry seasons.
It is home to 231 bird species, including 16 rare ones.

| Tuoi tre | March 19, 2011

Vietnam Coastal Village Festival held in Ninh Thuan

More than 500 artisans, artists and athletics from Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces are attending the Vietnam Coastal Village Festival which opened in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan on August 2.

The festival features a wide range of traditional cultural programmes, sporting events, cuisine and ancient bibliography exhibitions.

It aims to promote marine tourism, preserve traditional cultural identity and raise public awareness of Vietnamese sea and islands and improve the spiritual and material lives of coastal villagers.

Nguyen Van Tan, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Representative Office under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the event is part of the National Tourism Year being held in the south-central provinces.

(Source: VOV)