A dossier on Truc Lam Zen Buddhism teaching wood blocks kept at a pagoda in the northern province of Bac Giang has been submitted to UNESCO for its recognition as World Documentary Heritage in the Memory of the World Programme, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The number of visitors to this year’s Hung Kings Temple Festival has increased sharply over the past five days, according to the festival organising board.

An exhibition of contemporary Australian arts by Jeremy Donovan and a group of aboriginal artists is being held at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi from April 17-May 12.  

Bac Ninh Festival 2010 opened at the Kinh Bac Cultural Centre on the evening of April 17.  

Around 3000 artefacts, made in different shapes and sizes of Vietnamese dragons, are on display at the Vietnam History Museum in Ho Chi Minh City as of April 17.  

The Click Five, a US boy band and a winner at the MTV Asian Music Awards 2008, has been invited to perform in an MTV Exit programme on an outdoor stage at Military Zone No.7 Stadium on April 17.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has desinated the Quang Ninh Provincial People’s Committee and Tien Phong Newspaper to organise the Miss Vietnam 2010 pageant.

A ceremony was held on April 16 in Hanoi to receive UNESCO’s official certification of Quan ho (love duets) and Ca tru (ceremonial singing) as intangible cultural heritages.

A “Discover Vietnam” programme was launched on April 15 as part of the French Perpignan 2010 exhibition-cum-fair.

Vietnam has asked Japan to continue helping the country preserve the Thang Long Citadel and join hands with Vietnam in activities celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

An exhibition displaying some 50 works of calligraphy in Korean script based on President Ho Chi Minh’s Prison Diary kicked off in Hanoi on April 15. 

A cultural programme entitled “Once in a 1,000 years: an Australian Gift to Hanoi” with a series of free exhibitions, concerts and cultural exchanges kicked off on April 15 in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi. 

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has allowed the central province of Khanh Hoa to host the final round of the Miss World Vietnam 2010 beauty pageant in Nha Trang city. 

Vietnam and Myanmar, who share a number of cultural features, have agreed to more cultural exchanges in performing arts and archaeology.

“A Summer in Goulette” and two other contemporary films will be screened during the first Tunisian film days at the National Cinema Centre, 87 Lang Ha street, Hanoi on April 15.

About 200 photos selected from 1,000 works contributed by domestic and foreign photographers are being showcased at an open-air photo exhibition in the province of Phu Tho.

The first Tunisian film week will be held at the National Cinema Centre in Hanoi on the evening of April 15.

A set of colour photos themed “Message of Childhood” by the Vietnamese Photographers’ Association has won the bronze medal in the 23rd contest of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP) in Ireland.

Danang will host its second Craft Village Festival from May 19-23, attracting more than 100 fine arts and handicraft stands from 60 traditional craft villages across the country.

The national Hung Kings festival will officially open at 8.pm on April 14 in the northern mid-land province of Phu Tho.

Vietnamese Model Tran Thi Huong Giang has entered the top 50 of the Miss Grand Slam 2009 on the famous website for beauty contests, Global Beauties.

Up to 22 capital and cities around the world and foreign embassies in Vietnam have registered to take part in activities marking Hanoi’s 1,000th anniversary that will be held later this year.

Over 40 foreign art troupes from 31 countries of five continents will participate in Hue Festival 2010 in the central province of Thua Thien - Hue from June 5-13.

The Dong Van stone plateau in the northern Ha Giang province was presented at a UNESCO international conference on geological parks in Malaysia on April 12.

Australia’s aboriginal culture will be presented by the Australian Embassy in Hanoi through exhibitions, art performances and cultural exchanges from April 14-18 to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Two beauty pageants – 2010 Miss World Vietnamese and 2010 Miss Earth – will be held at Vinpearl Land resort in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa province.

Preparations for a grand ceremony to commemorate Hung Kings believed to be the nation’s founders have been completed in the northern midland province of Phu Tho, according to the organising board.

Vietnam’s Quan Ho (love duets) and Ca Tru (ceremonial singing) folk songs will be officially recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritages at the Bac Ninh Festival 2010 due to open on April 19, 2010.

The Luong Prabang Department of Information and Culture in coordination with the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in Laos on April 8 opened an exhibition of propaganda posters featuring the late President Ho Chi Minh.

UNESCO’s Director-General Irina Bokova has promised to consider Vietnam’s submission of the Thang Long Royal Citadel as a world heritage.