Day: January 29, 2023

Overseas Vietnamese in France and Germany have celebrated the Lunar New Year festival (Tet) – the longest and biggest traditional event back in their home country – with a series of enticing cultural and musical activities.

 

In Nogent-sur-Marne on the outskirts of Paris, the Overseas Vietnamese Association in France (UGVF) ran a massive celebration featuring a trade fair, musical performances, and a photo exhibition. Proceeds from tickets to a children’s village at the event are set to be donated to build and upgrade schools in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

 

Overseas Vietnamese in France, Germany celebrate Tet hinh anh 2

 

Calligraphy activities at the event (Photo: VNA)

 

Vuong Huu Nhan, President of the UGVF, said the association wanted to attract more visitors, particularly French people, to the Tet celebration, and has been succeeded this year.

 

Meanwhile, in Berlin, about 300 students in Berlin – Potsdam and surrounding areas gathered to attend the Berliner Tet, an artistic annual activity of the association of Vietnamese students in Berlin – Potsdam.

 

Overseas Vietnamese in France, Germany celebrate Tet hinh anh 3

 

Vietnamese students at the gathering in Germany (Photo: VNA)

 

Phan Quang Van, first secretary in charge of educational cooperation and management of international students in Germany, said that after more than two years of hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, from the end of 2022, Vietnamese student unions in Germany have resumed their operations.

 

The traditional Tet event is one of their most organised activities to preserve and promote the Vietnamese identity and remind the younger generation of their homeland./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Long Tong (going to the field) Festival opened in Chiem Hoa district of the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang on January 29 after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Celebrated annually by Tay ethnic minority people in the province on the eighth day of the new lunar year, it is a religious ritual dedicated to the god of agriculture to win his blessing for verdant crops and prosperity for villagers throughout the year.

 

It consists of an offering ritual, a ploughing ceremony and folk games.

 

Long Tong is the most typical festival of the Tay, an ethnic minority group living in the northern mountain region with a population of over 1.6 million.

 

The festival was named national intangible cultural heritage in 2013./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The beauty of Yen Tu is the grandeur and tranquility of the mountains and forests mingled with the serenity and ancientness of the system of pagodas, towers and Zen realms.

 

Yen Tu has become a Buddhist centre of Vietnam since King Tran Nhan Tong gave up the throne, put on a monk’s robes and established a typical Buddhist sect of Vietnam, namely Truc Lam Zen Buddhism.

 

He built hundreds of large and small works on Yen Tu Mountain as places for practicing and preaching Buddhism.

 

Existing cultural and historical vestiges in Yen Tu are hundreds of stupas; dozens of pagoda foundations under the Tran and Le dynasties beneath restored pagodas; thousands of ancient objects such as statues, bells, steles, tiles, bricks, porcelain and crockery… with unique and creative motifs, patterns and architecture.

 

The Truc Lam Zen Buddhist sect gathers full of the spirit of Buddhism, but still contains the unique features of Vietnam.

 

Therefore, Yen Tu is also considered the Buddhist capital of Vietnam. From Yen Tu, Truc Lam teachings have spread throughout the northeastern region, with hundreds of large and small pagodas built, including famous ones such as Quynh Lam, Con Son, Thanh Mai, etc.

 

Until the Le and Nguyen dynasties, Yen Tu was still the center of Vietnamese Buddhism. Restored and repaired by the kings of the dynasties, the Yen Tu relic site is the crystallization and convergence of the national culture with architecture, decorative patterns and carved items bearing the hallmarks of the dynasties.

 

There are hundreds of temples and tombs of Zen masters, natural statues, Buddha steles and especially the Bao Sai cave where Tran Nhan Tong, the founder of the Zen Buddhist sect, sat and meditated on January 1, 1308. The system of pagodas and stupas in Yen Tu is located on the east side of the mountain.

 

In the two great wars of national defence in the 20th century, Yen Tu was a revolutionary base where soldiers trained and guarded the skies of Vietnam.

 

Excluding Bi Thuong pagoda at the foot of the Do (Red) slope, Cam Thuc pagoda in Uong Bi and Lan pagoda in Nam Mau village, the road to Yen Tu starts from Gia Oan, Hoa Yen and Cong Troi pagodas, and then Pho Da and Bao Sai pagodas and finishes at Dong pagoda located at the highest point of Yen Tu mountain range.

 

Some of the main Buddhist sites and architectures in Yen Tu are Bi Thuong pagoda, Cam Thuc pagoda, Lan pagoda, Giai Oan pagoda, Hoa Yen pagoda, Bao Sai pagoda and Dong pagoda.

 

The special historical-cultural values have made Yen Tu a sacred place in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people.

 

In order to affirm the special value of the relic site, the Prime Minister decided to rank the Yen Tu historic relic and landscape site as a special national relic site (Decision No. 1419/QD-TTg dated September 27, 2012).

 

For many years, the spiritual tourism complex in Yen Tu mountain area has been continuously preserved, embellished and built to meet the increasing demands of Buddhists, domestic and foreign tourists on pilgrimage to the land of the Buddha in every early spring.

 

Yen Tu Mountain is located about 50 kilometres from Ha Long city. The area has awe-inspiring scenery, surrounded by ancient pagodas and hermitages.

 

Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308), the third King of the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400), ascended to the throne when he was just 21. He was famed for defeating Mongol invaders twice during his 15-year reign.

 

The king abdicated when he was 35 and spent the rest of his life on Yen Tu Mountain practicing and propagating Buddhism. He founded the first Vietnamese School of Buddhism called “Thien Tong” or Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen on the 1,068m-high Yen Tu Mountain. The 20,000ha site is considered the capital of Vietnamese Buddhism.

 

Yen Tu became a major Buddhist Centre and King Tran Nhan Tong became its first leader under the religious name Dieu Ngu Giac Hoang Tran Nhan Tong. He ordered the construction of hundreds of religious buildings on Yen Tu mountains for teaching and following a religious life.

 

The Yen Tu Spring Festival takes place in Uong Bi city, Quang Ninh province on the 10th day of the Lunar New Year./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

With beautiful and pristine beaches, unique “check-in” corners and hospitality of local residents, in recent years, Co To island in the northern province of Quang Ninh has become a top choice for travel lovers.

 

Extremely important position in security-defence

 

Almost all islands in Vietnam hold an extremely important position in defence and security; however, Co To has its own characteristics which are a rich floral ecosystem, beautiful natural landscapes and locals’ cultural identities.

 

Co To is formerly known as Chang Son (Chang Mountain) or “Cau Dau” in some old books which means a place with many mountains gathering at the middle of the sea. The island district has an area of 46.2sq.km with about 50 islands, in which Big Co To and Small Co To are the two most famous islands with pristine beaches and landscapes. At present, Big Co To has primeval forests with an area of 10ha. Many streets on the island are lined with trees, mainly casuarina and pines.

 

The best attraction for tourists is the long beaches with white and smooth sand in the island, such as Hong Van and Van Chay. From Big Co To, tourists can go to Small Co To and Thanh Lan islands to discover untouched beaches. The flora on the islands is quite plentiful and diverse. The natural forest has diverse types of wood. Planted forests are mostly casuarina, eucalyptus and pine.

 

Thanh Lan island also has orange, tangerine and banana which have been popular in the province for many years, and a 100-strong troop of yellow monkeys, pythons, geckos. There are many kinds of rare medicinal herbs such as holy basil, Panax pseudoginseng, Ricinus communis on every island.

 

Co To is said to have the richest biodiversity in Vietnam with the presence of many typical ecosystems of tropical waters, including concentrated coral reef ecosystems. The island is also home to rare seafood types with high values.

 

With its special position, security – defence is considered as Co To’s top priority. Since 2017, the “Coast Guard accompanying fishermen” model has been implemented by the Vietnam Coast Guard Command and expanded to remote island districts and communes.

 

Through many activities, the model has helped increase fishermen’s awareness of sea and island strategies and the importance of sea and islands to socio-economic development, national defence and security, thus contributing to successfully implementing the Party and State’s policies.

 

Outstanding tourist spots

 

Some tourist spots that visitors must not miss in Co To include Mong Rong (Dragon Claw) Rock Area with special sediments forming thousands of years ago, which is also the most ideal place for watching sunrise on the island, the road of love with casuarina trees along the two sides, and a wooden bridge at sea– a new attractive check-in spot for young people.

 

The Co To lighthouse, built in the nineteenth century, is also a must-go destination. It is one of more than 30 “night sea eyes” operating in the territorial waters of Vietnam.

 

At the district’s centre, tourists can visit President Ho Chi Minh relic site. The President visited Co To island in 1961, and in 1962, when he made a visit to the Northeast region, Hai Ninh Provincial Administration asked for his permission to build a statue of him on Co To Island, and build memorial houses and steles at places where he visited. This is the only place President Ho Chi Minh agreed to have his statue erected when he was still alive.

 

Cau My rock area has a sedimentary rock system that has been eroded over thousands of years by sea water, creating a real wonder with beautiful landscape and geological research value.

 

Meanwhile, Small Co To island is 7km away from Co To town. It has a primeval forest with many rare and precious animal species, and many beautiful coral reefs in the sea bed.

 

Turning Co To into a high-class marine eco-tourism site

 

Currently, Co To island district is building a tourism development plan, with the aim to turn Co To into a sea and island tourist destination in the northeastern region.

 

Until 2025, Co To is determined to develop into a high-class island eco-tourism area with a variety of types of tourism, sports and entertainment both at sea and on islands. At the same time, Co To will become a destination in the tourist complex of Cat Ba-Ha Long-Van Don-Co To-Mong Cai-Tra Co.

 

The island district is also focusing on calling for investment in building 3-4 star accommodation facilities./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency