The Japan-Vietnam Culture Exchange Centre in Vietnam will organise a series of activities between May and October to introduce Japanese culture and boost culture exchange with Vietnam. 

Hanoi has received UNESCO’s certificate recognising 82 stone steles in the Temple of Literature as World Documentary Heritage.

The Vietnam Museum of History and the Ha Tinh Museum started the restoration of a cannon dating back from the age of King Minh Mang in 1821 on April 6.

Vietnam will host its first international piano competition in Hanoi from September 4-12, according to the country’s National Tourism Administration.

A national circus gala to mark the First World Circus Day (April 17) will take place in Hanoi on April 12 -13.

The first episode of the Vietnamese version of famous “Dance with the Stars” contest in the US will be first broadcast on Vietnam Television (VTV) every Sunday starting on April 11.  

“Choi Voi” (Adrift) is the first Vietnamese film to be sent to the Titanic Film Festival scheduled for April 8-18 in Hungry to compete with 61 films from 29 nations and territories in nine categories.

A group of senior Belgian chefs will arrive in Vietnam on April 3 to train staff at the Government Guest House.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Lao Culture and Information Ministry on April 2 jointly launched a contest on composing songs about Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh in Laos.

The 2010 Hung Kings Temple festival will be held across the country in the most spectacular way so far, with various activities, including large-scale art performances and the participation of senior Party and State officials.

The Hanoi People’s Committee and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) have agreed to showcase some of the relics at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel on the occasion of the capital city’s 1,000th anniversary.

Cartoonist Ha Xuan Nong won first prize for his two cartoons titled “Three stages” and “Late lesson” in the 2nd biennial Vietnam Press Cartoon competition under this year’s theme “Traffic during integration” on April 1.

The 2010 Bac Ninh Festival will be held at the national level at the Kinh Bac cultural centre, said Nguyen Dang Tuc, Head of the Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, on April 1.

Vietnamese cuisine lovers and French-speaking chefs from around the globe gathered in Paris on March 31 for a four-day food festival dubbed “Cooks’ village in Paris”.

Hanoi will not implement the project of a time capsule for future, said Pham Quang Nghi Secretary of the Hanoi City Party Committee.

The 2010 Ha Long Tourism Festival called “Ha Long-Thang Long” will be held at the Bai Chay Tourism Site and in surrounding areas from April 29 to May 2.

Fifty foreign art troupes from 25 countries registered to take part in Festival Hue 2010 as announced by the Hue Festival Centre on March 30.

The Gie Trieng ethnic minority group- a highly traditional hill tribe can be seen living scattered across Vietnam’s mountainous Central Highland region, mostly in Kon Tum, Quang Nam and Lam Dong provinces.

The annual Tay Thien Festival opened on March 30, the 15th of the second lunar month, at the Truc Lam (Bamboo Forest) Tay Thien Zen Monastery in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

The Italian contemporary dance Touch by the Oplas Danza troupe will be staged at the Tuoi Tre (Youth) Theatre on March 31.

Nine stories of people’s lives, dreams and struggles in the three Mekong River countries ò Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are featured at an exhibition in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang.

Thousands of Buddhist dignitaries and followers gathered for a ceremony at the Hoi Khanh Pagoda in Binh Duong province on March 30 to inaugurate a Buddhism cultural centre.

Nicolas Stavy, the famous French pianist, will feature in a special concert at the French Cultural Centre, L’Espace at 24 Trang Tien Str., Hanoi on April 12.

Ngoc Tu, Pham Quang Dau and Nguyen Chien Thang received the Mekong Literary Awards at a ceremony in Vientiane on March 29.

Ho Chi Minh City will hold a fireworks display at 9pm on April 30 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Liberation of South Vietnam and National Unification Day.

The Association for Asian Studies (AAS), which is an academic, professional organization open to people interested in studying Asia, held an international conference in the US city of Philadelphia on March 28 to feature Hanoi’s first millennium.

The Jacques Couturier Organisation from France won first prize at the second Da Nang international fireworks contest on March 28.

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is showcasing the works of Australian artist Clare Martin in a new exhibition entitled Notes on an Imaginary Culture, which includes sculptures, photographs and writings.

The 5th Federation International Cinema Television Sports (FICTS)-Vietnam Festival will be held in Da Nang City from March 27 to May 30.

Lao Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh on March 25 received a delegation of writers who are in Vientiane to attend the third conference of writers from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.