Conversations on Vietnam Development
For women in the La Hu community in Muong Te district, the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau, their intricate and unique headdresses show their desire for living in harmony with nature.
 A reddish brown plastic ring used for fixing hair is the first step of wearing a La Hu headdress. Tiếp tục đọc “Unique headwear of La Hu women” |
A blanket of ice and frost spread across many areas of Mu Cang Chai in Yen Bai and Sapa in Lao Cai Province on January 10 as temperatures dropped to 5-6 degrees Celsius, even hitting 3 degrees C in places. Below are pictures taken in Mu Cang Chai and Sapa.
 Tiếp tục đọc “Trees frozen over in Sapa” |
One month ahead of the lunar New Year Festival or Tet, fishing villages in Ca Mau are busy preparing their special product for Tet market: dried siamese gourami or Trichogaster pectoralis [Cá khô bổi U Minh, hay Khô cá sặc rằn]. .
Used to be found in river, siamese gourami was first bred by farmers in Ca Mau in 2010. Tiếp tục đọc “Ca Mau’s fishing villages prepare for Tet” |
Perfect choices for those wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, Sapa, Dien Bien, Moc Chau, Gia Lai, Nghe An, Da Lat, Sa Dec, and Phu Quoc, are the eight most intriguing travel destinations in January.
Sapa Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam’s 8 most attractive travel destinations for January” |
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| Children are kept warm in cold weather conditions. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
Christmas is just a few days away so people in Ho Chi Minh City have flocked to the sparkling downtown area for celebration.
There is still one week left before Christmas but the festive atmosphere is hard to avoid with many streets colourfully decorated in the capital city of Hanoi.
 Preparations have been underway at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Nha Chung Street, Hanoi for two weeks before Christmas. Tiếp tục đọc “Sparkling Hanoi streets welcome Christmas” |
Fansipan mountain in Sapa district in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai has been covered with snow and frost on December 19.
The temperature dropped to minus 7 degrees Celsius on the previous night, and minus 4 degree Celsius on early morning of December 19. Tiếp tục đọc “Snow blankets Fansipan Mountain” |
The underground military operation bunker where the Vietnamese government worked during the American War in Thang Long Imperial Citadel has been opened to visitors for the first time.
The Thang Long Heritage Conservation Centre opened the bunker and exhibition about the general command headquarters on the occasion of 45th anniversary of victorious air defence of Hanoi during the American bombing raids of Christmas 1972.
The bunker was built in early 1965 by military engineers. They demolished the two-storey command building to disguise and cover the bunker. The bunker has three rooms, covering 64 square metres. The roof is 1.5 metres higher than the ground and has three layers to protect officers against falling bombs and rockets. It was supposed to be a shelter even against nuclear or chemical weapons.
Decisions issued during the 1972 air battle and supply routes for the south were from the site. The first sirens warning of US air force attacks were approved in the bunker.
After 1975, the bunker was largely abandoned until it was renovated in 2012.
Some photos of the bunker:
 Tiếp tục đọc “Thang Long Citadel bunker opened to the public” |
Mu Cang Chai, a rural town in the northern province of Yen Bai lined with mesmerizing terraced rice fields, has been named one of the 19 most picturesque peaks on earth by US travel site Insider.
Also on the list are Japan’s Mount Fuji, Peru’s Rainbow Mountain, Iceland’s Kirkjufell Mountain, which was used to shoot “Game of Thrones”, the world’s longest continental mountain range, the Andes in Bolivia, Europe’s largest mountain chain, the Alps, and the active volcano Mount Rainier in Washington State in the US. Tiếp tục đọc “Mu Cang Chai among world’s 19 most beautiful mountains”
Chuong (Bell) pagoda in Nhan Duc village, Hung Yen province, guards a number of precious historical relics. It is part of the Pho Hien Special National Relic Site.
Built in the 15th century, Chuong pagoda has been upgraded twice, in 1702 and in 1711.
Tour guide Nguyen Thu Lien explains why the pagoda is often called Golden Bell Pagoda: “Legends say that in a huge flood thousands of years ago, a wood plank drifted to the region carrying a golden bell. Nhan Duc residents tried to bring the bell ashore but it wouldn’t move. When the monks of the pagoda came, they managed to bring the bell to the pagoda.” Tiếp tục đọc “Ancient Chuong pagoda”
Young people in Hanoi have been flocking to gardens on the outskirts of the city to witness the beauty of blooming canola flowers.
A canola field is filled with its signature yellow blooms in a Hanoi suburb. Photo: Tuoi Tre Tiếp tục đọc “Hà Nội – blooming yellow with canola flowers”
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| A cave located in the Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park. — Photo chinhphu.vn |
Lê Thanh Tịnh, the park’s director was quoted by local newspapers as saying the newly-discovered caves are in buffer zone of the park in the province’s mountainous Minh Hóa District. Tiếp tục đọc “58 newly-discovered caves in Quảng Bình”
The national border marker number 0 is located at 1,860m Khoan La San mountain in Sin Thau commune, Muong Nhe district of Dien Bien. It is the connecting point of Vietnam, Laos and China.
Travellers at the national border marker No.0. Tiếp tục đọc “Border marker number 0 attractive to travellers” |
Over the past five centuries, locals in the ancient pottery village of Thanh Ha in Hoi An, Quang Nam have kept their traditional method of making pottery – hand made and wheel thrown.
Local people use clay on the Thu Bon river to make pottery. Tiếp tục đọc “The Ancient Pottery Village of Thanh Ha” |
HCM City’s streets are full of colourful decorations to welcome Christmas and New Year.
Santa Claus and snowman decorations in front of buildings and shopping centres Tiếp tục đọc “HCM City brightens up for Christmas” |
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