A festival to commemorate two national heroes, the Trung Sisters (Trung Trac and Trung Nhi), who led the country against northern invaders 1970 years ago, opened on February 19.

Archaeologists from China, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia and Indonesia have praised the results of the Thang Long Royal Citadel archeological research project as being of great value.

Although dealing with her own hectic work day, the time it takes for Lai Hien Minh to search for a seat in the crowded Pho Lanh shop on Nui Truc Street during the lunch time does nothing to convince her to leave for another restaurant with fewer customers.

A festival was held in Hanoi on February 18 – the fifth day of the first lunar month – to celebrate the 221st anniversary of the Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da victory over 290,000 Qing invaders.

Speaking of vegetarian meals prepared by monks or nuns, people in Hanoi are talking about meals prepared by Venerable Thich Dam Anh who presides at Phung Thanh Pagoda, in Cong Trang lane, Kham Thien Street, Hanoi.

Vietnam has made a breakthrough in terms of cultural diplomacy in 2009, with its biosphere reserves and cultural heritages added to the UNESCO-recognised list.

The tiger is also known as the god of the mountain and forest and the king of all kinds of animals. For Vietnamese people, the year of the tiger often comes with significant events in the nation’s history.

The Yasaka Saigon Nha Trang Resort Hotel & Spa held its annual Tet Cake festival to welcome the Lunar New Year in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa province, on February 15.

The Italian province of Florence will actively participate in activities to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi – the capital of Vietnam, says its president Andrea Balducci.

In the industrialisation process, changes have taken place in Tet dishes. Top Chef Dinh Ba Chau shares his opinion.

Foreign visitors to Hanoi, after touring the capital’s tourist sites, usually seek out a place to sit, drink tea, coffee or beer, and chat. Ta Hien street in the Old Quarter has been the preferred spot for a long time.

Thanh Tien paper flowers have long been considered sacred objects for Tet. They are changed once a year and are revered as unfading flowers.

Vietnam is now taking part in the International Book Fair Cuba 2010 with many books published in Spanish by the The Gioi (World) Publishing House, particularly the Prison Diary poems by Late President Ho Chi Minh.

A German couple, 27-year-old Nicole Franke and 29-year-old Tobias Pieper, have arrived in Hanoi after 10 months of pedaling.

We are now already in the February of the solar year of 2010, but just at the beginning of the lunar year. Let’s hear the new year resolutions of some famous Vietnamese artists.

Ho Chi Minh City on February 12 held a ceremony in the City’s Historical-Cultural Park to offer cylindrical glutinous rice cakes to the memory of the Hung Kings.

An exhibition opened in Hanoi on February 11 to display 100 antiques with some dating back to the first century.

A Vietnamese culture week opened in Cairo, Egypt on February 9, drawing international guests, ambassadors, Egyptian people, Vietnamese students in Egypt and international reporters.

A project to excavate the central remains of the former Vietnamese capital of Hoa Lu, in the northern province of Ninh Binh, has started in an effort to estimate and preserve the historical value of a site that was host to the capital of the Dinh, Le and Ly dynasties for 42 years ending in 1010.

Vietnam will participate in the sponsoring committee for the “2,500 years of Asia-Europe exchange” exhibition in Belgium to promote its image internationally.

A two-week Spring Flower Fair, the first cultural event of the Tet festival, opened in Ho Chi Minh City on February 8.

A book featuring 200 Hanoi’s authentic dishes will be published on the occasion of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology will organise a series of activities to celebrate the lunar New Year Festival (Tet) from February 19-21, combining traditional images, sounds and foods of Vietnam’s diverse areas.

The tenth Saigon charity cyclo race will take place at Dai Bac school in District 7, HCM City, on March 13 with many other associated activities.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Cuong declared the start of the 2010 Vietnam Year in Germany and celebrations for the traditional lunar New Year festival in Berlin on February 5.

The made-in-Vietnam film entitled Manh Ghep Cuoc Doi (Porcelain) is being shown at the Netherlands’s Zeeuws Musuem.

Tata Young, a Thai pop star, will perform her hits, Ready for Love and My Bloody Valentine, in Ho Chi Minh City on February 26. The pop star became the most beloved

A film on the history of Hanoi will start shooting on March 15 and will be shown on the 1,000th anniversary of the capital city in October, said the film director Luu Trong Ninh.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is finalising a project to commemorate the death anniversary of the Hung Kings and celebrate the 2010 Hung Temple Festival.

The Ba Ria-Vung Tau-based private charitable fund Le An has sent VND100 million as donations to people in Haiti which was recently devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.