The 2006 Hai Phong Tourism Festival began at Do Son beach on Sunday evening to promote the northern port city’s tourism potential and call for investment in the city’s hospitality industry.

The Culture Tourism Month entitled “Summer Meet-Nha Trang 2006” was launched in Nha Trang city of central Khanh Hoa province on April 29 to mark the great success of the 10th National Party Congress and the 31st anniversary of Southern Liberation Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1).

Two Vietnamese films, “Mua Len Trau” (Buffalo Boy) and “Nguoi dan ba mong du” (Sleep-walking Woman), were screened at the opening day of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) film festival in Mexico City on April 28.

Viet Tong Lien Chi, a fourth year student of California Davie University and Ho Thi Xuan Trang, final year student of Nebraska Wesleyan University, have received valuable scholarships in the US.

A giant painting by a French painter is being restored by the Hanoi National University to mark the 100th anniversary of the Indochina University this year.

A programme to introduce the Vietnamese culture in Poland with the theme "Vietnam's Colour 1" will open in Warsaw, Poland, on May 1, said Le Thanh Binh, Chief Representative of the Vietnamese Association in Poland.

More than 200 photos selected from nearly 4,500 entries in the Vietnam Today photo contest are now on display at Ho Chi Minh City's Exhibition House.

The tourism sector of central Thua Thien-Hue province has spent more than VND30 billion upgrading and building facilities in service of the 2006 Hue Festival.

The European Commission mission to Vietnam announced on April 27 the diverse cultural activities will be held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City throughout May to mark Europe Day (May 5).

A photo exhibition on Vietnamese people opened at the Goethe Institute in Hanoi on April 27, displaying 40 photos taken by Dr. Nobert Moos from Germany.

An exhibition entitled “The changes of humans, objects, opinions and thoughts” was held at the Hanoi Museum of Fine Arts on April 26.

A Vietnamese cultural festival entitled "Dragon and butterfly" will take place in Rome, Italy, from June 16 to July 16. This will be the largest Vietnamese cultural festival to be held in Rome to express Italian people's love towards the land and people of Vietnam, said Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Alfredo Matacotta Cordella.

The ethnic culture festival of the central and southeast regions is scheduled to take place in Tuy Hoa town, Phu Yen province from May 15-18, said the Ministry of Culture and Information.

The Social Sciences Publisher will release another collection of 61 epic narratives from the Central Highlands ethnic minorities by the end of 2007.

The classical ballet "La Sylphide" by French choreographer Jean Comelin will be performed to the accompaniment of symphonies for the first time at the Hanoi Opera House on May 6.

Lan Tuyet is working around the clock to prepare to turn out fans in a new material: brocade. She also plans to use this new material for next month’s International Festival of Tourism, where she will have a chance to show off all her hard work: hundreds of intricately designed traditional fans.

Vietnam's special ornamental plants, flowers and pottery objects have won high praise from visitors to the 9th International Flower and Bonsai Fair, which opened in Genoa, Italy, on April 21.

A Vietnamese handicraft and wooden product fair entitled “Traditional craft villages in the past and present” opened in Hoi An, Central Quang Nam province on April 24.

More than 100 photos by two Italian artists featuring the charms and the daily life of ordinary Vietnamese as well as the cultural heritages of Vietnam have been displayed at a photo and ceramics exhibition at the National Museum of Palazzo Venezia in Rome from April 20.

Archaeologists have called on the central coastal province of Phu Yen to preserve the cultural values of its Cham ethnic minority inhabitants.

Wildlife experts, donors and responsible agencies have all emphasised the need to take immediate measures to protect Siamese freshwater crocodiles from the threat posed by the construction of a hydro-power plant.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will launch a World Book and Copyright Day at the National Library in Hanoi on April 22.

Hundreds of local authorities and residents, and more than 600 Cham ethnic minority people from all parts of the country gathered in central Khanh Hoa province's Ponagar Tower Relic to attend the Goddess Ponagar Festival 2006 which opened on April 19 (the 22nd of the third month of the lunar year).

The Community College of southern Kien Giang province has launched a project called "Francophone Space" to provide French-learning courses for Vietnamese students.

An exhibition to showcase Vietnam’s achievements during the 20-year renewal process opened at the Vietnam Centre for Culture and Art Exhibition in Hanoi on April 18.

Among 20 kites to be introduced at the festival, there will be traditional kites, which have existed in Hue for nearly 200 years such as phoenix kites, pheasant kites and dragon kites.

The programme entitled “Summer Meet-Nha Trang 2006” will be launched on April 30 to introduce special identities of south Central Khanh Hoa province.

Hundreds of actors and actresses joined an art performance at Hanoi's August Revolution Square on April 17 to celebrate the 10th National Party Congress.