Ho chi minh city

/ January 21, 2021

Positive signs seen from cultural activities in Ho Chi Minh City

By choosing the city's theme for 2020 as the “Year of promoting cultural activities and building a civilised urban lifestyle”, Ho Chi Minh City once again affirmed its priority in developing culture as the spiritual foundation of the society. Despite the impacts of the COVID-19, the city’s authorities strived to host cultural activities to entertain residents as well as celebrations of the country’s’ major holidays in line with regulation on controlling the spreading of the pandemic. The highlight of last year’s cultural events was a cultural dialogue, during which the city’s leaders joined experts and residents to exchange their opinions on problems facing the city’s life and cultural environment. Opinions gathered at the forum provided a valuable source of information for the city’s leaders in amending and supplementing projects and plans on cultural development in order to safeguard and further uphold the city’s cultural identity. In addition to contemporary cultural programmes, the municipal authorities have also focused on traditional art forms, which are a source of pride among residents in Ho Chi Minh city and the southern region in general. The Tran Huu Trang Contest for Talented Cai Luong (Vietnamese reformed opera) Performers 2020 was elevated into a national contest, attracting around about 400 candidates across the country who brought vong co (nostalgic tunes) songs and cai luong plays to the stage. During the event, which was organised by the HCM City Television and the HCM City Theatre Association in November last year, theatregoers were entertained with sweet melodies of cai luong , a popular folk genre in the southern region. According to People’s Artist Tran Minh Ngoc Giau, that the 2020 event drew enthusiastic participation from young contestants signals a sign that cai luong will soon thrive again. Cultural spaces in the city have also contributed to cultivating a civilised lifestyle among residents. Festivals on boosting …

/ January 26, 2021

Special art programme held to celebrate Party Congress

The programme represents the congratulatory message from the Party Committee, the authorities and the people of Ho Chi Minh City to the Party Congress. The event includes three parts comprising of 16 performances praising the patriotism, the Party and President Ho Chi Minh. Performances at the event also affirmed the sound leadership of the Party since its foundation and the trust of the people in the prosperity of the Party and the nation. The first part, entitled “The Sun in the Heart”, expressed the pride and gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh and the confidence in the Party from its establishment until today and into the future. Entitled “Proud of Vietnam”, performances in the second part of the programme highlighted great strides and positive changes of the nation and Ho Chi Minh City thanks to the sound guidelines and policies of the Party and State. The third part of the programme, themed “Forever trust in the Party”, affirmed the people’s trust in the leadership of the Party and the management of the State and governments at all levels. A selection of famous singers and bands performed at the event, including Ta Minh Tam, Van Khanh, Thanh Su, Vo Ha Tram, Duc Tuan, Hien Thuc, Duong Quoc Hung and others. …

/ July 4, 2019

HCM City urged to preserve its built heritage

HCM City should develop a heritage master plan as part of its urban development strategy to ensure conservation of its architectural heritage, experts have urged. HCM City needs new laws to protect heritage buildings Ho Chi Minh City’s 300-year History HCM City allocates millions for preservation of historic buildings Speakers at a recent conference on preservation of the city's built heritage held in HCM City. VNS Photo Bo Xuan Hiep Speaking at a conference on architectural heritage held by Thanh Niên (Youth) newspaper recently, experts said the master plan must ensure balance between urbanisation and preservation of the city’s remaining heritage. Nguyen Quang Thong, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, emphasised the great value that architectural heritage can bring to the city’s economy. “Our architectural legacy is a symbol here and around the world. Some of these have become national brands.” According to Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the HCM City Tourism Department, architectural heritage greatly contributes to the city’s tourism industry. However, the number of tourism heritage sites in the city is a relatively modest 258, of which only 111 are potential tourist attractions. The city has a total of 172 historic relics but only 30 per cent of them can be promoted as tourist attractions. Among the 10 must-see landmarks in the city are all historic buildings. Economic value Tran Van Khai, of the HCM City University of Architecture, said that most people were unaware of the economic value of built heritage. Many foreign tourists believe HCM City today is not considered a city of culture or heritage. For them, the city is just a stopover. Most city tours today include only a few attractions such as the Post Office, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Independence Palace, Ben Thanh Market and the War Remnants Museum. Architectural heritage must be credited for its potential economic value, they said. In other countries, historic …