Over 200 artistic pottery products are on display at the Vietnam Art Museum in Hanoi, making it the biggest of its kind so far in the country.

A “street festival” will open on December 31 to promote the image of Hoi An city in central Quang Nam province.

A folk art troupe from the midland province of Phu Tho has performed in the Republic of Korea’s city of Hwaseong since December 22. This is the first time Phu Tho’s folk art programmes have been introduced to its twin city.

Seven tombs dating back about 4,000 years have been found recently at the site to build the reservoir of the Son La hydroelectric-power plant in Chieng Bang commune, Quynh Nhai district in the northern mountainous province of Son La.

Vietnam’s largest art ceramics exhibition will open at the Hanoi Art Museum on December 23.

Supermodels Nguyen Binh Minh and Vu Thu Phuong became the most excellent models this year in the awards ceremony of the Vietnam Model Awards 2008 on December 21 at Nguyen Du Competition Hall in Ho Chi Minh City.

A Vietnam-Japan friendship and cultural exchange took place in northern Ninh Binh province on December 20 to mark the 35th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.

The wide range and diversity of Vietnam’s traditional music and stage arts is vividly and beautifully captured in a collection of 99 photographs by Vo Thanh Tung, which is being displayed in HCM City.

Vietnam has won 63 points from its results in the world’s five most acclaimed beauty pageants, putting it in 48th place out of 116 on the ‘Grand Slam’ Ranking of website GlobalBeauties this year.

Vietnamese actress, Hong Anh, won the Best Actress title at the awards ceremony of the 5th Dubai International Film Festival, which was held from December 11-18.

The publication of the book ‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ written by J. W. Rowling and translated by Ly Lan was announced by the Tre (Youth) Publishing House in a press release in Ho Chi Minh City on December 18.

An essay competition on Thang Long-Hanoi’s renovation and development was launched on December 18 to respond to the thousand-year-old Thang Long-Hanoi civilisation campaign.

A three-year-old UNESCO project to preserve nha nhac, or court music, has achieved stunning success but also continues to face several major difficulties.

A veteran British photographer, who becomes famous during the war in Indochina for his work, is exhibiting and selling prints of his photos at HCM City’s Cepage restaurant.

Vietnamese classical music lovers will have an opportunity to enjoy pieces of work by composers such as Beethoven, Tschaikovsky and Mendelssohn, performed by the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the talented Gudni Emilsson of Iceland and violinist Yoon Jin Kim (Republic of Korea) serving as concert-meister on December 20-21 at Hanoi Opera House.

A ‘cau doi’ (parallel sentences) competition to celebrate Tet has been launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

A ceremony was held on December 18 to put up the statue of Doctor Alexandre Yersin, who founded Da Lat city 115 years ago, in beautiful park named after him.

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology will offer a wide range of cultural activities to ring in the 2009 Lunar New Year from January 29 to February 1.

Big names from the Japanese and Vietnamese youth music scenes are to perform at charity concerts in Hanoi (December 28) and Ho Chi Minh City (December 30) as part of a programme named “A million hearts - one rhythm”.

Vietnamese beauty, Duong Truong Thien Ly, has earned the “Miss People’s Choice Award” at the official website of the contest www.missworld.com. The news was officially announced on December 16, two days after the final round of Miss World 2008.

King Ly Thai To’s royal proclamation to make Hanoi the new capital city in AD 1010 has been re-produced in red lacquer and trimmed with gold. The reproduction will be unveiled to celebrate Hanoi’s 1,000th anniversary in October 2010.

More than 300 delegates from Asian and European countries gathered at a seminar in Hanoi on December 15 to share experiences in the preservation of cultural diversity.

An art troupe from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) will entertain Vietnamese audiences with special performances during their week-long tour beginning on Dec. 16.

The second Buon Ma Thuot coffee festival closed on December 14 in the Central Highland province of Dak Lak.

Surpassing 108 beauties from many countries all over the world, Miss Russia Ksenia Sukhinova was crowned Miss World 2008 in the competition, which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on December 13.

A fresh breeze of classical music will soon reach the capital when the famous Romanian piano trio presents their original compositions in Hanoi next week.

A Culture, Sports and Tourism Festival for the ten northeastern provinces opened in Bac Giang province on the evening of December 12.

The 2008 Miss Vietnam Tourism, Phan Thi Ngoc Diem, represents the country in the Miss Tourism Queen International contest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from December 12, 2008 to January 2, 2009.

The Trung Nguyen Coffee Village, the largest of its kind, opened its doors to connoisseurs in Buon Ma Thuot city during a coffee festival in the Central Highland on December 12.

Americans John Balaban and John Dean received insignias from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on December 12 in Hanoi for their contribution to preserving ancient Vietnamese script.