“Vietnamese Folk Painting – Trio Painting Sets” exhibition opens

An exhibition entitled “Vietnamese Folk Painting – Trio Painting Sets” opened at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, on January 13.

The exhibition has been organised by the French Development Agency and the French Academy of the Far East as an activity to celebrate 40 years of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and France.

The exhibition features selections from Henri Oger’s Technical Encyclopedia and Maurice Durand’s Folk Paintings – both studies done in the first half of the 20th century in northern Viet Nam.

Specially, the event features previously unpublicised woodcarvings by Luc Van Tien and coloured paintings dating back to the late 19th century. Seminars led by well-known scholars will be held within the framework of the exhibition.

The exhibition will  run until February 28.

“Vietnamese Folk Painting – Trio Painting Sets” exhibition opens

Priceless treasures of an ancient pagoda in Bac Ninh

Being built in the 17th century, But Thap pagoda still preserves many beautiful works, especially, the biggest wood statue of Guan Yin in Vietnam.

 

Not only famous for their folk songs, Bac Ninh is also famous spiritual tourism in the country with many ancient temples. Besides the Dau and Phat Tich pagodas…, But Thap Pagoda is an indispensable stopover in the early spring tour of many Buddhists and tourists.

But Thap Pagoda is located on the right bank of the Duong River, in But Thap village, Dinh To commune, Thuan Thanh district. From Hanoi, you can cross the Chuong Duong Bridge and go along the river embankment or go straight towards Highway 5, turn left at the Sui T-junction and driver over 10km more to the But Thap pagoda. You can also take the bus 204 to Xuan Lam and get a motorcycle taxi from Xuan Lam to Bu Thap Pagoda.

You will be overwhelmed by the quiet, solemnity beauty of the ancient temple. The entrance to the temple is a brick and stone paved road with areca trees on two sides. In the front yard are two ancient banyan trees with roots hanging from the top to the roots.

 

 

The Arhat statues express inner feelings.

The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara statue.

 

The complex of architectural works in center of But Thap includes eight buildings, called Tien Duong, Thuong Dien, Cau Da, Tich Thien Am, Trung Duong, Phu THo, Hau Duong and a line of stone towers.

The whole architecture of the temple turns southbound, the traditional direction of Vietnamese people. For Buddhists, the South is the direction of wisdom and enlightenment.

With a unique layout, plus the harmonious combination of materials like brick, wood, stone … tourists will feel like entering the road of bliss with a mild mind.

After several times of restorations, the temple still retains beautiful in architectural and sculptural works. The most striking statue is the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara with a thousand arms and eyes. This is the largest wood statue of its kind in Vietnam, created by a Truong-family sculptor in 1656.

The statue is 2.35 m high, with 11 heads, 42 big arms and over 900 small arms. There is an eye in each hand. The statue sits on a lotus raised by a dragon rising from the water surface. This is considered the unique masterpiece of Buddhist statues and statue making art, which highlights the Buddhist philosophy.

The two other sculptural works that makes the trio of masterpieces of But Thap are the statues of the Tay Thien Dong Viet Nam and Thi Kinh.

The pagoda also has over 70 statues portraying people of different positions and Arharts with lively faces.

The shrine located behind the Buddha Hall is the home to two unique statues of Queen Trinh Thi Ngoc Truc of the Le Dynasty and Princess Ngoc Duyen.

From the upper house, passing a stone bridge, visitors will see the Cuu Pham Lien Hoa – a 9 -storey wooden tower, with 8 faces, which can spin around an axis, mounted with Buddha statues and carved with folk scenes or Buddhist stories.

There are many interesting and fascinating things in this ancient temple that are waiting for your exploration.

Priceless treasures of an ancient pagoda in Bac Ninh

Visiting the historic guerilla base of Minh Dam

Located on Chau Long-Chau Vien mountain, not too far from the well-known five-star beach resort of Anoasis (Long Dat District, Ba Ria–Vung Tau Province), is Minh Dam which was a guerilla base during wartime (1933-1975).

Thanks to its advantageous height of 260 meters, fresh water source and many adventurous caves, Minh Dam Guerilla Base was formed in July 1933 when the Chau Vien Association united and raised the Vietnam Communist Party’s flag on the mountain top of Chop Mao.

However, it was not until February 1946, that the resistance base was officially established by Ba Ria Provincial Committee to help fight against French aggressors. Two years later, the base was renamed Minh Dam which is a combination of the names of revolutionary martyrs: Bui Cong Minh – the secretary of Long Dien District Committee, and Mac Thanh Dam – the vice secretary.

During the American war, Minh Dam was built as a supply point for different units, even the regular army. Aiming to destroy the base, Americans and their allies – especially Australian forces – used a wide range of modern weapons, from teams of rangers to B-52 Stratofortress’ sorties. Before the end of war in April 1975, the mountain area witnessed many fierce battles between Revolutionary soldiers and Americans, Australian and former Saigon regime  forces.

Today, Minh Dam has become an enjoyable destination on the tourist tour of Long Hai Beach. Except for a war museum on the top of the mountain, visitors will be able to explore large, overcast caves, have fun with cheeky monkeys and bathe in sumptuous streams.

Visiting the historic guerilla base of Minh Dam

Exhibition features traditional worship of education

Shrines and altars honouring studying and education are being displayed at an exhibition organised at Hanoi’s Van Mieu (Temple of Literature), which also houses motifs of Confucius and other learned scholars.

The exhibition of Ancient Van Tu and Van Chi in Thang Long and Neighbouring Regions shows 130 images and many objects relating to Van Tu and Van Chi including books, tubes to store scrolls, wood blocks and ideographic scripts carved on stone stelae.

They show the architecture of Van Tu and Van Chi in Thang Long (the former name of Hanoi ) and some northern provinces such as Hung Yen, Ha Nam and Ninh Binh as well as how people worship Confucius and recognised scholars.

Van Chi was an open-air platform serving as an altar dedicated to Confucius and honouring the local laureates of mandarin competitions.

Images of Van Tu displayed at the exhibition are temples with three or five components and two wings. Once a villager passed the royal court exam, he received the title of First Doctoral Laureate conferred by the King. When he passed away, he would be worshipped at his home province’s Van Tu. In some provinces, Van Chi was built as a roofed communal house but it’s always smaller than Van Tu.

During wartime, many Van Tu and Van Chi were damaged or destroyed but the local authorities and villagers are aware of the value of these places and work hard to preserve them. In some regions, Van Tu and Van Chi have become a meeting place for community clubs.

“The exhibition brings the public messages of preserving the nation’s respect for teachers and education and fondness of learning,” said Pham Thi Thuy Hang, vice director of Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam Centre for Scientific Activities. “Preserving and promoting the value of Van Tu and Van Chi means we preserve and promote the nation’s cultural values at the same time.”

The exhibition will run until February 25.

Exhibition features traditional worship of education

Festival honours ethnic groups’ culture

The central province of Quang Tri on January 27 held the Arieu Ping and gong festival in Ta Rut commune of Dakrong district to honour the traditional cultural values of local ethnic minority groups.

 

The festival featured a wide range of activities such as procession and incense offering ceremonies, gong performance, a buffalo festival and an archery contest together with folk music and dances with the hope for a happier and wealthier new year.

Arieu Ping is the biggest festival of the Pako ethnic minority group to pay homage and tribute to the deceased.

Meanwhile, gongs have been used to celebrate special occasions, including new house celebration, grave leaving ceremony, weddings, ritual parades and funerals for more than 3,000 years in Vietnam. Gong culture is an inseparable part of the ethnic minority groups’ spiritual life as it is seen as a tool that helps them connect with the heaven.

The festival has been held in rotation among communes in Dakrong district to welcome the new year.

Festival honours ethnic groups’ culture

Coming to flower markets on New Year

Going to New Year flower markets is a habit and traditional culture of many Vietnamese people. From north to south, the flower markets are listed as follows:

Hanoi’s flower markets

Hang Luoc flower market, Buoi market and some famous night flower markets in Hanoi in Nghi Tam, along with the ancient flower villages of Quang Ba, Quang An and Tu Lien are named a flower paradise in a capital of Vietnam.

Every Lunar New Year, the markets opens from the 19th to the 30th day of the last month of the year. In addition to fresh flowers, there are also artificial flowers at the market.

Because the market is located in the busy trading area in the old quarter, visitors can also go from this street to others to purchase decorative items.

Da Lat flower market

Da Lat is the city of flowers, where flowers are everywhere. Da Lat Market is also the largest flower market here. Near Tet, the area around the Xuan Huong Lake becomes a forest of flowers, which are in very unique and fancy shapes.

Flower markets in Saigon

Ho Thi Ky and Go Vap flower markets become some must-come places when anyone enjoy flower on New Year.

Flowers here are plentiful and the prices are often cheaper than flower shops from 30-50%. You can choose many kinds of flowers here and especially the accessories for making New Year beautiful bouquets.

Ho Thi Ky is not very suitable for visitors because it is not decorated well. The Go Vap flower village is also very popular. This is the major source of Saigon-origin flowers. The market stretches along Phan Huy Ich and Cay Tram roads.

Sa Dec flower market in Dong Thap

Due to skilled gardeners and good climate, Sa Dec flowers are very beautiful. Sa Dec flowers are transported through the southern region and to Laos, Cambodia and China.

Mekong Delta floating flower market

The most beautiful floating flower markets in the Mekong Delta region are Cai Rang in Can Tho City, Nga Bay in Hau Giang province and Chau Doc in An Giang province.

Coming to flower markets on New Year

The Unique Flowers of North Vietnam Spring

1. Peach Flower – The must-have elememnt of North Vietnam Tet

Peach flower – the unique flower of North Vietnam Spring

Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal. The earth reawakens from her slumber, flowers bloom and explodes with new life.

Spring would mean little to people in northern Vietnam if there is no peach flower, a native variety. It blossoms at the time of Tet (Vietnam`s traditional lunar new year festival). As is the custom, every Vietnamese family, rich or poor, has to get a branch of peach blossoms in the house. From time immemorial, the flower growing village of Nhat Tan in Hanoi has been known for its many kinds of peach flowers: dark purple, pink, bonsai peach, etc. In the northern mountainous regions, the peach trees grow naturally into forests, giving the Spring a beautiful scape. After defeating the feudal Chinese invadors of the Ming empire in the well known battle of Dong Da in the Spring of Ky Dau (1789), Quang Trung sent an emissary to Phu Xuan, southern Vietnam, carrying a blossom of peach flowers as gift to his wife, Princess Ngoc Han.

Peach flower – the unique flower of North Vietnam Spring

Northern people say that peach flowers blossom in spring – during Tet holidays while most other flowers still stay silent, symbolizing the strong vitality and a brave heart. Moreover, the pink colour of peach flowers shows the love and joy spread among people in this unique time of the year. Peach flower has 2 kinds: light peach with light pink colour and Nhat Tan – Ha Noi’s specialty peach with dark pink colour (nearly red).

2. Plum flower – The symbol of spring in Northwest Vietnam 

Plum flower – the unique of Northeast Vietnam region in Spring

Visiting the northern mountain places of Vietnam such as Moc Chau, Sapa, Ha Giang, in the early days of the lunar New Year, tourists enjoy a dream-like landscape of immense forests of plum trees in blossom. During this time, the area seems to be covered by a beautiful white shawl and shows a new vitality. Here, tourists also see children joyfully playing together under the canopy of plum trees  while their parents diligently working on the terraced fields.

Plum flower – the unique of Northeast Vietnam region in Spring

With its spectacular flowers and watercolor scenery, it’s easy to see why tourists are flocking to this delightful little town.

3.  Marumi kumquat – The speacial elememt for Tet

Marumi kumquat

Marumi kumquat bears different story. A tree with all 5 characteristics: full of fruits, flowers, leaves, branches and roots is a symbol for wealth and happiness for the new year. The tips for choosing a good plant are generated accordingly: the tree must have both ripe and green fruits, mature leaves and new bud – which represents wealth and luck brought to the family in the new year.

The Unique Flowers of North Vietnam Spring