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SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER, 2009 |

Tien Giang Province, a beautiful and rich area

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Transporting fruit on Cai Be River. Harvest time in Tien Giang Province. Raising tra and basa fish in Mekong River Delta. Processing tra and basa fish for export in Hung Vuong Enterprise.  Building the cable- stayed bridge spanning the Tien River linking with Ben Tre Province. 200 year-old Vinh Trang Pagoda with unique architectural features. Tourists are interested in souvenirs made by locals.   Dong Tam snake- raising farm – An attraction for tourists.   Since the 17th century, the fertile land in the North of the Tien River has been reclaimed and developed by generations of inhabitants into an area with rich rice fields, fruit gardens, and busy trade along the river banks. Gradually, the brisk market towns of My Tho and Go Cong emerged in the fertile Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta. This area is Tien Giang Province. Taking a ride for 75km from Ho Chi Minh City along Highway 1A you will arrive at My Tho City, then going further you will visit Cho Gao and Go Cong Districts. Turning to Cai Lay and Cai Be Districts, you will see the My Thuan Bridge spanning the Tien River to Vinh Long Province. The second biggest cable-stayed bridge across the Tien River to Ben Tre Province, which is under construction, will replace the Rach Mieu Ferry. With asphalted roads running to all hamlets and a series of natural and man-made canals, Tien Giang Province has a convenient land and water-way transport system to all communes, districts and other provinces in the Mekong River Delta and to Ho Chi Minh City. An area abundant in agricultural and aquatic products Tien Giang Province is a granary. Apart from a stable output of 1.2 million tonnes of rice per year, of which more than 300,000 tonnes are for export, Tien Giang ranks first among the provinces in raising and providing pigs with a herd of more than 500,000 hybrid pigs that yield lean meat. Each year, the province provides 800,000-plus tonnes of fruits to domestic and foreign markets, ranking first in the output as well as fruit cultivation area (72,500 hectares). Many farmers specializing in growing mango, mangosteen, rambutan, star-apple, durian and longan trees apply high technology in selecting strains and in farming, which results in bumper harvests. The names of some fruit-growing areas in the province have become familiar brands, such as Hoa Loc mango (in Cai Be District), Vinh Kim star-apple (in Chau Thanh District), Go Cong cherry, Co Co shaddock, Tan Phuoc pineapple and Cho Gao blue dragon. Tien Giang Province has many natural fishing grounds that yield high productivity. In recent years, the province has developed the raising of catfish, tiger prawns and other valuable aquatic products. In Go Cong District, fishermen, who were engaged in fetching oysters on the thick alluvial coast, have raised oysters on 2,000 ha of alluvial grounds that yield high output. Each year the whole province produces about 120,000 tonnes of aquatic products. Since 1990, the Province’s GDP has increased annually 10% and the export turnover in 2005 is estimated to reach USD 145 million. An attractive tourist spot It does not take much time to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Tien Giang Province. Visitors can take a cruise on the large Tien River or take a boat ride steered by a young girl wearing a loose-fitting blouse and a conical hat, through canals shaded by water coconut trees. They will have a chance to visit fruit gardens and enjoy the tastes of ripened fruit right off the tree. In Thoi Son Island, they will visit villages with orchards where they can taste the local traditional food prepared by villagers and enjoy a traditional opera performance, lovely songs and ditties of Southern Vietnam as well witness the making of local traditional handicrafts. Going along the Tien River upstream, visitors will visit Cai Be floating market where hundreds of boats and canoes gather to sell and buy the local products. Along the banks of the river, service shops are always crowded with people. Sometimes there is clear bell ringing from Cai Be Church built in the early 20th century. This year, Tien Giang Province is expected to receive more than 500,000 domestic visitors and 300,000 foreign tourists. In the atmosphere of an area criss-crossed with many rivers and canals as well as fruit gardens, they will visit historical relics, temples and pagodas, such as the cultural relic of Oc Eo in Cho Gao District and learn about the history of this area through valuable exhibits full of Phu Nam culture in the early Christian Era. They also visit the historical monument of the Rach Gam-Xoai Mut Victory, where they will be told about the renowned naval battle of national hero Quang Trung, and visit 200-year-old Vinh Trang Pagoda which has Asian-European architecture, to contemplate the quintessence of the sculptural art of Southern Vietnam. There are other historical places, such as the royal mausoleum inscribed with the merit of the family of queen mother Tu Du, who was the grandmother of King Tu Duc, in reclaiming Go Cong area. Buu Lam Pagoda in My Tho City, where patriots Nguyen Sinh Sac and Phan Chu Trinh once stayed, is the most typical ancient work of the Viet people in the Southern plain in the 19th century. The provincial characteristics are also reflected through the festivals to commemorate the Ap Bac Victory and Nam Ky Uprising, the worshipping ceremony to honour national heroes Truong Dinh and Nguyen Huu Huan and the traditional festivals of the Viet, Khmer, Hoa and Cham ethnic groups. Tien Giang Province also boasts Dong Tam snake-raising station that provides venoms for making medicines and an ecological zoo where different genes of rare and precious animals in the Southern area are conserved and there is a museum of almost all species of pythons and snakes in Vietnam. Visitors enjoying Southern specialities and folk songs. Tien Giang Province: Area: 2,236sq.km. Population: 1,668,000 people. Geography: It borders on Long An Province to the North, Ben Tre Province to the South, Dong Thap Province to the West and the sea to the East. Administrative units: My Tho City and seven districts including Cai Be, Cai Lay, Tan Phuoc, Chau Thanh, Cho Gao, Go Cong Dong and Go Cong Tay. Climate: Temperate with the dry and rainy seasons.  Story: Le Cuong - Photos: Kim Son, Le Cuong

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Colours of the Lo Lo Ethnic Group

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Cloud covered Lung Cu Commune in Dong Van District of Ha Giang Province is Vietnam's northernmost point. The commune has a small hamlet, Lo Lo Chai, with only 81 households and slightly more than 300 people. Seen from the Lung Cu flag pole, the hamlet is so tiny, it fits within one's peripheral view.

When a visitor comes to the hamlet, all villagers are glad and excited, like they are on a holiday. They present a set of bronze drums, which are considered a symbol of the Lo Lo people's spiritual life. After the bronze drum presentation, the hamlet's artistic group performs songs and dances. Lo Lo dance is a communal activity that reflects the group's working and spiritual life.

The attire of Lo Lo women are widely known as the group's unique cultural identity. Lo Lo women weave fabrics with which they make skirts. Although the costumes are usually not for sale, if a visitor is willing to buy, the local women will satisfy their demand. Some visitors have placed orders to have a Lo Lo ethnic costume at a price of 3-4 million VND. The fabrics are often hot colours that go well with silver or aluminium jewellery, hence highlighting the wearer's beauty and charm. Lo Lo men, when searching for their future wives, often evaluate carefully their girlfriends through their ability to make clothing.

Nowadays, many Lo Lo women are wearing modern outfits, but their traditional costumes are still a worthy pride of their ethnic group.

Story by Tuan Long – Huu Tuan

Photos by An Thanh Dat – Trong Chinh - Copyright © Vietnam Pictorial

Dominique de Miscault: dedicated to Vietnam

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Since her first visit to Vietnam in 1992, Dominique de Miscault has had a special love for this country and its people. So far she has visited Vietnam 25 times, held 12 exhibitions in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and published the book titled “Hanoi Today”.

Dominique de Miscault is a painter, a sculptor and an installation artist. She has organized numerous exhibitions throughout France and other countries in the world. Since 1995 she has held 12 exhibitions in France with notable themes on the life and culture of Vietnamese people, including an exhibition of sculptural works inspired by Vietnamese poems from the 10^th century; Places of living and worshipping of the Vietnamese people; Vietnamese people between the earth and the sea; Thick strokes in Vietnamese calligraphy, voice for the residence, colour for songs, and more.

Dominique’s house at No. 68 on Italia Avenue, Paris has become a familiar meeting place for AAFV members as well as artists, politicians and researchers on Vietnam. Now Dominique and Marie Helene Lavallard are the two major editors of the “Perspective France-Vietnam” Magazine.

In recent years, Dominique’s artistic and social activities have been closely connected with Hanoi. In 2007 she organized an exhibition of a collection of photographs and documents on President Ho Chi Minh at Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi. In March, 2008 she had an installation exhibition of photographs and illustrations entitled “Among the Meshes” at Exhibition House No. 16 Ngo Quyen Street in Hanoi. In early 2009, Dominique visited the ceramic village of Bat Trang in Hanoi to produce the work “Seven Days of Creation” in an abstractive style and with strong, liberal and contrast colours on a mosaic background. This work is a part of the “Ceramic Road”, an art project to celebrate the 1,000^th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi.

During her 25^th visit to Vietnam on March 6, 2009 she held a special photo exhibition entitled “Long Bien – The Bridge of Dreams” at Maison des Arts, 31 Van Mieu Street, Hanoi. The exhibition displayed 70 photographs featuring Long Bien Bridge from different angles, which evoke new emotions from viewers. Through Dominique’s photos the 100-year-old bridge becomes impressive and surreal.

With great affection for Vietnam, Dominique de Miscault said: “The people and life in Vietnam is very sincere and open so the good and the bad can be easily seen. The Vietnamese people are tolerant and altruistic”.

Story by Tran Tri Cong

Photos by Hoang Ha - Vietnam Pictorial

Hoe Nhai Pagoda with a Strange Statue

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Hoe Nhai, also called Hong Phuc, is one of the large ancient pagodas in the Thang Long Citadel. The Pagoda was built under the Ly Dynasty (1010-1225) on an area of 3,000m² on present-day Hoe Nhai Street, Hanoi. The space of the Pagoda is shaded by areca and lush green Bodhi trees.

The Pagoda consists of two worshiping houses, each having five compartments, a sanctum with three compartments and an ancestor-worshipping chamber with seven compartments. Standing on the Pagoda’s ground are two three-storey towers and two large stone steles among 28 steles inside the Pagoda. A stele was built in the 24^th Chinh Hoa Year (1703) under the Dynasty of King Le Hy Tong (1676-1705) and clearly noted by Doctor Ho Tong Muc that the Pagoda’s location was in Hoe Nhai Ward in Dong Bo Dau (the East Wharf).

The Pagoda has now retained a bronze plaque, 1m high and 1.5m wide cast in the Year of the Tiger dated to the 3^rd Long Duc Year (1734) under the Dynasty of King Le Than Tong (1619-1662), a bronze drum cast in the Dynasty of King Tu Duc (1848-1883) and a series of statues made from precious woods and fumigated bronze. Each statue has its own artistic value, lively depicting the portraits of new-born Sakyamuni, Amitabha Buddha and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, particularly Senior Monk Thich Duc Nhuan who glorified the Vietnamese Buddhism in the 20^th century. However, the most salient characteristic of the Pagoda is the statue of Buddha sitting on the back of a prostrating king. It was said that the statue was sculpted in accordance with the legend of a king voluntarily prostrating to be the bed for Sakyamuni to sit to preach. According to the legend, King Le Hy Tong (1675-1705) applied a draconian code of ethics to Buddhism. Therefore, Most Venerable Chan Dun – the second Senior Monk in Hoe Nhai Pagoda, wrote a petition then put it in a casket to submit to the King. He said that there was a germ in the casket. When the King opened the casket, he did not see the germ but see a petition writing that the Le Dynasty (1428-1527) ruled the country for a long time thanks to Buddha’s assistance and protection. Then, King Le Hy Tong gave out an imperial decree showing his penitence and changed the policies on Buddhism.

With its artistic and religious value, Hoe Nhai Ancient Pagoda attracts a large number of visitors.

Story by Vinh Hung - Photos by Hoang Giap  -   Vietnam Pictorial

Ha Dong Festival: September 26- November 1 (lunar September 9-15)

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Time:  September 26 - November 1 (lunar September 9-15)

Place: Thuy Son Commune, Thai Thuy District, Thai Binh Province

Feature: The festival is dedicated to the mother of King An Duong Vuong (257-207 BC). During the festival, the villagers hold a procession with dances and drum beating from the Holy Mother Temple to the communal house in the day time and flower and incense offering ceremonies in the evening. The festival also includes games such as chess playing, wrestling, cock-fighting, duck-catching, swimming, etc.

By Thuong River

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Bac Giang – the mid-land region well-known for cultural, historical and human beauties and traditional crafts – has seen big changes and developments over the years.

Land of farms and orchards

Not only the native land of peasant-turned hero De Tham, the historical Yen The District is also a concentration of cultural, historical and human beauties, and the origin of Thuong River that cuts through Bac Giang Province. Currently, areas well known for fruits like litchi-rich Luc Ngan and other perennial industrial crops are expanding to 45,000 ha together with fields yielding up to VND 50 million (over USD 3,000) per ha annually. Nearly 1,700 farms have mushroomed in the province, bringing about visible changes to the life of Bac Giang locals. It is not rare to see farm owners earning hundreds of million of Vietnamese dong per year. In 1999, Ninh Tuan Khang in Tien Thang Commune, Yen The District, spent his last penny to buy eight hills with a combined area of over 10 ha, and shed sweat to cultivate litchi and rear fish in the farm. His efforts have fruited with an annual income of hundreds of millions of Vietnamese dong per year and a farm of over 20 ha on 19 hills, Khang is now known as one of the richest and the most successful farm owners in the province. His products are seen in markets in various provinces all over the country. In the middle of the hills is a large lake, and in the middle of the lake is a litchi islet.

Land of traditional crafts

Along Thuong River is also a concentration of traditional crafts typically of Bac Giang Province. Liquor from Van Village, Van Ha Commune, Viet Yen District, processed from the best sticky rice of the North together with tens of medical herbs, has become a must-have offering during festivals and the traditional Lunar New Year.

The commune is described as a cradle of Vietnam's ceramics, with the history of the craft being dated back to the 14th century. Not only known for their colours and shapes, ceramic products here are highly resistant to high humidity in the North, and favoured by old peasants as containers of seeds.

Only 10 km from Bac Giang City, the rattan-and-bamboo-wickering Tang Tien Village in the commune of the same name takes pride of the history of the craft which dates back 300 years. The craft is so highly efficient that it has driven agriculture into the position of a sideline. Established in 1999, Tang Tien Cooperative has provided jobs to over 5,000 workhands. Every year, millions of household products made from locally available bamboo and rattan are sold in the domestic market and to Japan, Taiwan and the United States. 

Present-day Bac Giang City.

Bac Giang City

Bac Giang Province: Area: 3,822 sq. km. Population: 1.5 million. Ethnic groups: 26 ethnic groups, including Viet, Nung, Tay, San Chay, San Diu, Hoa and Dao. Natural geography: A midland province in the North, Bac Giang was established in 1895. It is located 50 km North of Hanoi, 100 km South of the Vietnam-China border, crossed by the trans-Vietnam railway and highway. It borders on Lang Son Province to the North and Northeast; Thai Nguyen Province to the West and Northwest; Bac Ninh Province to the South and Southeast; and Hai Duong and Quang Ninh Provinces to the South and Southeast. Administrative units: Bac Giang City and nine districts, namely Yen The, Tan Yen, Luc Ngan, Hiep Hoa, Lang Giang, Son Dong, Luc Nam, Viet Yen and Yen Dung. Climate: mild with an annual average temperature of 240C.

"Litchi is our hunger-eradicating and poverty-reducing crop for over the past ten years. All the households in the district plant litchi and, as a result, we have been able to bring the rate of the poor households in the district down to 12.9 percent from 43 percent five years ago," said Luong Quang Dong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Yen The District.

Story: Vuong Mo - Photos: Van Chuc, Viet Hung, Trong Chinh

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