Month: February 2022

In the culture of some Asian countries, including Vietnam, the lunar year 2022 is the Year of the Tiger, the third among 12 animals in the Vietnamese Zodiac sequence.

Years of the Tiger include 1902,1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034, 2046, 2058, 2070, 2082, 2094.

People born in these years are believed to have typical characteristics such as a high sense of curiosity, being friendly, and loving to give orders.

The tiger, considered the “Lord of the Forest”, is a symbol of braveness. Therefore, Tiger people are thought to be brave, have strong confidence and high leadership capacity. They can endure pressure, and are willing to support people around them.

Old Vietnamese belief says that Tiger people are best matched with people born in the years of the Horse and the Dog, while they should avoid to partner with Monkey, Snake and Pig people.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

More than 200 tourists on a Vietjet flight from Ho Chi Minh City landed in Da Nang on February 1, the first day of the Year of the Tiger, becoming the first guests of the central coastal city’s tourism sector in the new lunar year.

A welcoming ceremony was held for the 230 tourists who included 26 foreigners.

Nguyen Xuan Binh, Vice Director of the Da Nang Department of Tourism said that after a tough year in 2021 due to COVID-19, Da Nang expects a better year in 2022.

After reopening its tourism sector, Da Nang has seen the operation of eight air routes connecting the city with Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Buon Me Thuot and Can Tho, with 218 flights per week. In the nine-day Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday from January 29 to February 6, the city expects to receive 404 flights with 44,055 visitors.

Various activities are being organised to entertain tourists, while local travel firms and destinations are offering attractive promotion progammes to visitors.

Also on February 1, another Vietjet Air flight became the first to land in Van Don International Airport in northern Quang Ninh province in the new lunar year, carrying 126 visitors, including Korean and Taiwanese tourists, from Ho Chi Minh City to the northern coastal province.

The visitors were welcomed at the airport by Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Cao Tuong Huy.

Quang Ninh is offering free entry tickets to Ha Long Bay and Yen Tu landscape complex to visitors arriving in the province via Van Don Airport.

Since its re-opening, Van Don International Airport has served two airlines – Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways – that are operating seven and three flights a week, respectively, on the Ho Chi Minh City-Van Don route, with occupancy rates of around 70 percent.

A representative from Vietjet said that the airline plans to open more air routes linking domestic localities and Van Don in the time to come.

Van Don International Airport has also handled flights bringing Vietnamese citizens and foreign experts to Vietnam.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Nguyen Quoc Su, a 79-year-old embroidery artisan who has practised the craft for over 60 years, still works on his embroidery frame every day, helping to preserve and promote the traditional craft of the nation.

Su was born in 1942 in Khoai Noi village, Thang Loi commune, Hanoi’s Thuong Tin district, which is considered the “cradle” of the traditional embroidery craft. For more than 400 years, the craft has been preserved by local people and passed on to younger generations.

Talented craftsman

Su said he has been acquainted with embroidery frames and colourful threads since he was a small child, even before he was taught how to embroider. Su officially learned the craft when he was 13 years old and time has nurtured his love for this craft.

With his skillful hands and eagerness to learn, he was just 16 years old when he began working as a technician at Hop Tien Embroidery Cooperative, becoming the youngest worker there.

Su is now the owner of Quoc Su Handmade Embroidery JSC in Thang Loi commune, which has an office in Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi. These are prestigious sources of beautiful handmade embroidery pieces for those with a love for the craft.

The firm is not only famous in this country but also in foreign markets. Its products are exported to many countries and territories of the world.

With Su’s skillful hands, the embroidery products produced there are unlike those produced anywhere else. Each product is a sophisticated piece of art. Due to the demand for such intricate items, Su still works hard to serve demand even though he recently turned 79 years old.

With more than 60 years of experience, Su has embroidered many amous works. He had displayed his products at many competitions and exhibitions worldwide, helping to promote the beauty of Vietnamese culture to international friends.

With the work “Uncle Ho’s stilt house,” shown at an exhibition in Russia in 1980, Su was awarded a prize for scientific and technical innovation as well as the Order of Lenin by General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, L.I. Brezhnev. Su’s embroideries are not only harmonious in colour, but also precise and smooth down to every stitch.

In 1972, Party General Secretary Le Duan visited the Hop Tien Cooperative and showed keen interest in the handmade embroideries.

Encouraged by the General Secretary, Su attended a painting class at the central college of fine arts. In 1975, Su started to embroider Uncle Ho’s portrait after graduated from the training course.

Whenever he talked about his first embroidery portrait, which is also his favourite embroidery, Su was still moved.

The artwork made him famous throughout the embroidery villages of the north at that time. More than 40 years have passed and the embroidery portrait is still placed in the living room of his house.

Landscape embroideries made by the elderly artisan also have an irresistible charm.

Su said creating a landscape embroidery is like writing, your stitches have to express the soul of the clouds, the sky and the wind.

Efforts to keep the embroidery craft alive

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, the craft has been seriously affected but Su has still been exerting every effort to maintain the operation of his cooperative.

In recent years, Su and his family have organised free embroidery classes for those who wanted to learn.

With his mastery of the craft and enthusiasm for the profession, Su has trained many generations of good workers. Some graduates have been able to open their own embroidery workshops while some have been recruited to work at Su’s workshop.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Phu Quoc island in the southern province of Kien Giang, dubbed as the pearl island in the southwestern region of the country, has emerged as a favourite destination for tourists both inside and outside the country.

As the island is blessed with mountains, rivers, streams, forests, and sea, visitors to Phu Quoc can not only go swimming and diving to admire the splendid coral reefs, join unique sports and entertainment activities, but also taste delicious local seafood specialties. To fully experience the taste of Phu Quoc, there are three seafood dishes that visitors definitely cannot miss: flower crab of Ham Ninh Village, Sardinella salad, and echinus.

Flower crab of Ham Ninh Village

Ham Ninh fishing village is home to fresh seafood dishes with reasonable prices. It is famous for flower crab which is always fresh, thick, sweet and fragrant. The flower crab of Ham Ninh is used to make numerous delicious dishes as simple as steaming, boiling, or cooking a spicy and sour hot pot with green vegetables. However, steamed flower crab dipped in salt, pepper and lime juice may be the best, as the natural taste of the crab is maintained.

Sardinella salad

Along with Ham Ninh flower crab, Sardinella salad becomes an indispensable dish in every seafood party in Phu Quoc. The fresh fish is cleaned, then dipped in lime juice, mixed with shredded coconut meat and sliced purple onion. Sardinella salad is rolled with rice paper, vegetables, and dipped in fish sauce. This dish is especially flavorful when being enjoyed with Phu Quoc myrtle wine.

Echinus of Phu Quoc

Another must-try specialty in Phu Quoc is echinus, also known as sea urchin. This is the most sought after seafood dish in Phu Quoc’s food markets. Sea urchin is likened to the ginseng of the sea, thanks to its good-for-health nutrition. There are various ways to cook echinus, such as grilling it with onion and lard, dipping it in lemon juice, or cooking it in porridge.

Phu Quoc green pepper

Phu Quoc green pepper is famous for its aromatic, pungent and especially its flavour which is stronger than that of peppers from other regions.

Pepper has become a local specialty and a unique gift for tourists. Pepper gardens are always included in the list of destinations in Phu Quoc tours.

Phu Quoc fish sauce

Phu Quoc fish sauce is not only a condiment, but it is also considered a cultural symbol of Phu Quoc. Vietnamese and foreign tourists alike are attracted by Phu Quoc fish sauce. After each visit to the fish sauce establishment on Phu Quoc island, no visitor can resist the temptation of buying some Phu Quoc fish sauce as a gift. In particular, the profession of making fish sauce in Phu Quoc was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in May 2021.

Myrtle wine

Another famous must-buy specialty of Phu Quoc is myrtle wine. Made from fermented myrtle fruit, the wine has an extremely special taste. It is a bit acrid on the tongue but sweet in the throat. Anyone who has ever tasted this wonderful wine will surely never forget its flavour.

“Bun Quay” (Stirring Vermicelli) of Phu Quoc

This is a unique dish in the pearl island of Phu Quoc. Visitors do not only taste the flavour of vermicelli but also enjoy the simple and generous life of local people.

Visitors will surely remember forever this special vermicelli dish served with “toppings” such as fresh squid, chopped grilled fish, chopped grilled shrimp, beef and especially home-made sauce. Local people often drink cool sugarcane juice when enjoying this dish as a subtle tip to balance the characteristic warm spicy flavour.

Melaleuca mushroom

Coming to Phu Quoc, visitors should not let go the opportunity to taste Melaleuca mushroom, a special mushroom of the pearl island.

In addition, cruising the Phu Quoc night market and tasting delicious dishes such as crab rice, grilled sirloin with salt and pepper, fish, squid, snails, scallops, or hot seafood porridge are also exciting experiences.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Politburo member and State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc led a delegation to visit Da Nang on February 1, the first day of the Lunar New Year, to extend New Year greetings to agencies and armed force units in the central city.

At the city’s Military High Command, the State leader conveyed best wishes to officers and soldiers of the armed forces in the city .

According to Colonel Nguyen Quoc Hung, Chief Commander of the Da Nang Military High Command, political security, social order and national defence in the city have been maintained.

Along with safeguarding the land and sea border as well as ensuring security during important events of the country, the forces have closely coordinated with relevant agencies in COVID-19 prevention and control, he said.

President Phuc hailed efforts and achievements that the military, public security and border guard forces in the city made last year, which helped the city contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also lauded their performance in the building of strong armed forces and Party as well as mass mobilisation work. He asked the forces to continue to strengthen themselves so as to well implement all policies issued by the Party and the State.

Also on February 1, President Phuc and the delegation visited officials of the Party Committee of Hai Chau district and the People’s Committee of Thuan Phuoc ward in the district.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The north and northern central regions are forecast to see more strong cold spells in the first 10 days of February, which will cause temperatures to plunge, with northern mountainous areas likely to see snow rain and ice, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The temperatures in the north and northern central regions during February are expected to be lower than the many-year average by 1-2.2 degrees Celcius.

The northeast region will be affected by drizzle and fog, while the central region is likely to witness many days of rain.

MJO (Madden-Julian Oscillation) – the dominant mode of intra-seasonal variability in the tropical troposphere, is moving to the Pacific Northwest, potentially causing local showers in the coastal area of the southern region, the centre added./

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The ginger ‘jam’ made in Kim Long Ward, Hue City, in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, stands out for its authenticity and absence of additives. The specialty is muchly consumed during Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

Kim Long ward is the only place in the ancient capital city that retains the profession of making ginger “jam” in the last days of the lunar calendar.

The famous Kim Long Ginger Jam in Hue has a distinct spicy flavor. The ginger can neither be too old because the final product will not have a smooth texture, nor can it be too young, because it will not have the needed pungency.

First, the ginger is peeled and sliced. Thin ginger slices are soaked in cold water with squeezed lemon juice for about 30 minutes to clean them, and then mixed with sugar.

The ginger is then cooked in sugar syrup on wood fires for about an hour till the slices become firmer and the sugar is neatly wrapped around each slice.

To make this happen, the mixture has to be continuously stirred with chopsticks, so that it does not get burnt.

The ginger jam then proceeds to a tray where it is cooled. Here, the jam-maker uses thin bamboo sticks to separate the ginger slices as they can easily stick together when hot.

What makes the Kim Long ginger jam special is that every step is done by hand, and it has no other ingredient except ginger and sugar – no additive is used. Regular buyers love the Kim Long ginger jam for its pure spicy-sweet flavor.

Currently, the Kim Long Ward has about 20 households making the ginger jam in the most traditional way.

Besides serving locals during the Tet holiday, Kim Long ginger jam is also ordered year-round by dealers from cities across central Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

According to traditional belief, what starts well will end well, so the first guest to enter the house after midnight on the Lunar New Year’s Eve is believed to have a bearing on the family’s fortune throughout the year.

That is the meaning of the “Xong dat” (first footing), a Tet tradition in Vietnam, which has been passed down through generations and continued with equal enthusiasm today,

To ensure good luck for the house, the selected “first foot” is normally required to have zodiac signs compatible with the host. He or she should also be successful and content with life.

The invited guest usually visits the house in the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, bringing with him small gifts for the family, including lucky money in red envelops for children. He greets each member, wishing the old with longevity, businessmen with thriving prosperity, and kids with good academic achievements.

The host generously welcomes the special guest, offering the family’s best New Year treats, wine or tea.

Some families choose a member to become the first to enter the house. In this case, the “first foot” normally goes out and comes home after midnight with a spring branch, which represents year-round blessings.

Many families ask a close friend or relative to carry out this New Year mission.

Due to the belief, Vietnamese people used to avoid visiting each other in the first morning after New Year’s Eve.

The most noticeable change to the age-old tradition is that more and more people have begun to think of it as a New Year delight, rather than a sight of future fortune.

Source: Vietnam News Agency