Best rural areas to live

Experts from the Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Hà Nội Agriculture Promotion Fund visit a chicken raising model for clean eggs with high productivity in Liên Châu Commune, Thanh Oai District in Hà Nội. — Photo courtesy of the Hà Nội Sub-department of Agricultural, Forestry and Fisheries Quality Management HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội’s agricultural sector has strengthened safe agricultural areas to ensure sustainable production and provide a source of clean food for domestic and foreign consumers living in the capital city. Nguyễn Giáp Đông, head of the Ba Vì District's Economic Division, said that the district currently maintained a safe tea production area spanning 1,550ha and productivity of 10.5 tonnes per hectare per year. The output for the whole year is estimated at 16,275 tonnes of fresh buds, worth VNĐ350 million (US$14,900) per hectare per year. To help farmers maintain and expand safe production areas, Ba Vì District has supported and created … [Read more...] about Hà Nội builds safe agricultural production areas

Delegates at the grand opening ceremony of GO! Lao Cai. — VNS Photo Central Retail Viet Nam on Friday launched its GO! Mall on Urban Sub-area 13, Tran Hung Dao Street, Bac Lenh Ward, Lao Cai City. It is its 39th shopping centre in Viet Nam, but the first of its kind in the northwest area. The opening of GO! Lao Cai comes as the company celebrates its 10th anniversary in Viet Nam. Built on a total area of 30,000sq.m with an investment of VND300 billion (US$12.9 million), GO! Lao Cai is the largest and most modern shopping mall of Central Retail in Lao Cai. The mall is expected to provide a wide range of products from essential goods, and fast-moving consumer goods to household electrical appliances and entertainment services to meet local demands, from basic to high standards. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Olivier Langlet, General Director of Central Retail Viet Nam, hoped that the presence of GO! Lao Cai can bring convenience to local people's lives, enhancing their … [Read more...] about The first GO! Mall in Lao Cai officially launched

A rice field in the Mekong Delta province of Đồng Tháp’s Tháp Mười District. Many rice farmers in the delta are gradually reducing their areas for rice cultivation due to rising prices of input materials — VNA/VNS Photo Nhựt An MEKONG DELTA — Rice farmers in many Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces are reducing rice cultivation over rising prices of inputs like fertilisers and pesticides. According to the Đồng Tháp Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the area of rice cultivation in the province for the summer-autumn crop is 375,263ha, down 8,305ha over last year. In An Giang Province, the area of rice seeding for the same crop was 209,186ha, down about 600ha over last year. The province’s Plant Protection Division said farmers were switching to vegetables and fruits. Vĩnh Long Province, meanwhile, expected to sow 51,500ha of rice for the summer-autumn crop last year, but the total sowing area was around 45,267ha, about 88 per cent of the plan. … [Read more...] about Mekong Delta farmers back away from rice as input costs rise

The launch of the project on May 27 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – An EU and French-funded project was launched on May 27 to improve the climate resilience of urban infrastructure in four northern central provinces of Vietnam. The project is financed with 5 million EUR (over 5.3 million USD) in non-refundable aid from the EU, 123 million EUR in ODA loan from the French Development Agency (AFD), and 28 million EUR from the Vietnamese Government. It aims to reduce the vulnerability to natural disasters in five urban areas, namely Phat Diem township (Ninh Binh province), Ngoc Lac township (Thanh Hoa province), Hoang Mai town (Nghe An province), and Huong Khe and Thach Ha townships (Ha Tinh province). Under this project, necessary urban infrastructure facilities will be built to serve water drainage, ease flooding, and improve environmental hygiene, clean water supply, and solid waste treatment. Technical assistance will also be provided to help the localities enhance the … [Read more...] about EU-funded project to boost urban infrastructure’s climate resilience

The Vietnam Bear Rescue Center will be located at  Bach Ma National Park in the Central province of Thua Thien-Hue. The new facility will be constructed on an area of 12.7 hectares including 12 houses and 12 semi-wild houses with a total non-refund donation of US$10.5 million from Animals Asia. According to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Center, on May 27, the Forest Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development , the Bach Ma National Park coordinated with the Animals Asia to organize a ceremony to publicize the project, which will be built in the administrative-service area of the Bach Ma National Park to serve over 300 species of bear in a semi-natural environment. The project is expected to start construction in 2022 and be completed in four years later. Doctor. Jill Robinson MBE, the founder and General Director of Animals Asia Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Director of the Forest Protection Department Nguyen Quoc Hieu informed that … [Read more...] about Vietnam to build second facility of Vietnam Bear Rescue Center in Thua Thien-Hue

The AFD and EU have been actively supporting Vietnam in the areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Vietnam will receive financial aid from the EU and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to reduce the vulnerability to climate hazards in several towns in four northern and central provinces. The project is jointly co-financed with a EUR5 million (US$5.36 million) grant from the EU, a EUR123 million ($132 million) ODA loan from the AFD, and EUR 28 million ($30 million) from provincial budgets. The principal goal is to help localities adapt to climate change and recover from natural disasters such as flooding, typhoons, and drought. Delegates attend the launching ceremony. Photo: the Embassy of France in Vietnam The regional towns include Phat Diem in the northern province of Ninh Binh, Ngoc Lac in the central province of Thanh Hoa, and Hoang Mai in the central province of Nghe An, Huong Khe, and Thach Ha in the central province of Ha Tinh. … [Read more...] about AFD, EU strengthen urban climate resilience in Vietnam

That is the statement of Le Quoc Thinh, Director of Cuc Phuong Tourism Services Joint Stock Company (Vedana Resort) when introducing events aiming at promoting Cuc Phuong and Ninh Binh tourism after a long period of shutdown due to COVID-19. According to Chairman of Nho Quan district People’s Committee Hoang Khac Tiep, “Nho Quan is endowed with many historical relics and landmarks such as Van Trinh cave, Yen Quang lake, Dong Chuong lake, Cuc Phuong hot mineral water.” In particular, with the natural reserve area and new-stone-age cultural relics, Cuc Phuong National Park has received the title of Asia's leading national park for two consecutive years (2019, 2020) rated by World Travel Awards. It is worth mentioning that Nho Quan has nearly 30,000 ethnic people living in Muong villages. The strategy set by the district is to exploit existing indigenous cultural elements to combine with the trend of ecotourism, which is thriving in Ninh Binh province. Tourists have opportunities to … [Read more...] about Green Tourism – An ideal way to spread Muong ethnic culture

An affordable social housing zone in Định Hòa Ward, Thủ Dầu Một City, in the southern province of Bình Dương. VNA/VNS Photo Chí Tưởng BÌNH DƯƠNG — Nguyễn Thị Huệ Lan wants to buy an affordable social house, but she has been unable to access the market. Lan is from the southern province of Bình Phước but has lived and worked for many years in Thủ Dầu Một City, Bình Dương Province. After saving for a long time, Lan is looking to buy a social house this month as her long-time residence. But she has found that many of them already have owners and new projects are not yet ready. Hữu Phước, from Bến Tre Province though now in Bình Dương Province, said that he has recently moved into a new 30-sq.m social house, which he bought for VNĐ200 million (US$8,500). In order to buy the house, Phước had to sign up a year ago. Workers cannot buy houses without waiting as the demand for social houses was very high. All social houses are sold right after being built. Phước said … [Read more...] about Workers in need of affordable social housing

After a year of not raising tuition fees due to the impacts of Covid-19, the Hanoi people's council passed a resolution on May 20 to hike public preschool and high school tuition fees for the 2022-23 academic year. The fees would double at first and subsequently increase by 20-40 percent every year. Sen, 43, lives in Hanoi’s Ha Dong District with her husband and two daughters, the other in 10th grade. She cleans houses for hourly wages while her husband is a laborer. They pay the highest tuition rate since their household registration is in Region 1, which comprises the capital’s inner districts. In addition, she may be required to pay VND300,000 ($12.93) per child per month for the following academic year, which is 1.4-2 times the current fee. Tuition fees for middle and high schools in Region 1 will gradually rise over the next three years to VND410,000, VND530,000, and VND650,000, respectively. Meanwhile, Sen and her husband's incomes fluctuate every month: Sometimes … [Read more...] about Hanoi parents brace for tuition hikes

Clouds float over a flooded field in Phuoc Thuan Commune, Tuy Phuoc District, around 13 kilometers from Quy Nhon, the capital of the south central Binh Dinh Province. The drone shots were taken by Binh Dinh native Nguyen Phan Dung Nhan. It introduces the terrain to runners attending the VnExpress Marathon next month. Thousands of runners will flock to the beach town of Quy Nhon June 12 to participate in the marathon. Provincial authorities expect the event to give the local tourism industry a boost. The Truong Gia Van farm in Phu My District, beside the Hoi Khanh and Da Trai mountain range, has become a relatively well known eco-tourism that is, among other things, ideal for outdoor camping. A residential area is surrounded by ripening rice fields and mountains in the highlands district of An Lao. Nhan said people living include the Kinh, the majority community, and the ethnic minority communities … [Read more...] about Aerial shots of Binh Dinh add grandeur to daily life