Big jade statue of Buddha to be completed; Exhibition of President Ho’s poems in Korean script opens; Children’s painting contest honours late President; Sixth songwriters’ congress held in HCM City
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Big jade statue of Buddha to be completed
A large jade statue of the Great Buddha Sakyamuni is expected to complete before the Vu Lan Buddhist festival which falls on August 24 this year.
Nguyen Van My, chairman of the Hanoi Association of Ornamental Rock said the statue, which has been carved since August 2009 at the Phap Van pagoda in Hanoi, will weigh over 20 tonnes and stand 3.5 metres high.
After completion, the statue will be situated at the Truc Lam Tay Thien Monastery in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.
Vu Lan is held annually on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month for people to express their gratitude and appreciation to their mothers.
Exhibition of President Ho’s poems in Korean script opens
An exhibition displaying 50 works of calligraphy in Korean script based on President Ho Chi Minh’s prison diary opened in the central province of Nghe An on June 29.
The week-long event, which has been organised by the Republic of Korea’s Calligraphy Association (RoKCA) and the Nghe An provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, is to mark the Vietnamese national hero’s 120 birthday, the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and the 18th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-RoK diplomatic relations.
At the opening of the exhibition, the Chairman of the Nghe An provincial People’s Committee presented a certificate of merit to RoKCA President Choi Chang Joon and association member Kim Hye Kaeong for their contributions during the hosting of the Lotus Village Festival in 2010.
Since December 2009, the works, created by 25 eminent calligraphers from the Republic of Korea, have been on display in seven major cities in the Rok and four cities in Vietnam, Hanoi, HCM City, Vinh and Hue.
The collection will be presented as a gift to the Ho Chi Minh Museum after the exhibition closes.
Children’s painting contest honours late President Ton Duc Thang
A children’s painting contest entitled ‘Children with Uncle Ton’ has recently been launched at Ton Duc Thang Museum to celebrate the 122nd birthday of the late President.
The contest features the life and career of President Ton Duc Thang as well as his love for Vietnamese children.
The contest is open to children of between 5 and 14 years old from Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang province – the former President’s home land.
The event is held jointly by the Ton Duc Thang Museum, Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Cultural House, Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association and the city’s Fine Arts University.
Sixth songwriters’ congress held in HCM City
The sixth songwriters’ congress in Ho Chi Minh City in the 2010-2015 term was held on June 25 by the city’s Songwriter’s Association at Ho Chi Minh City’s Municipal Theatre.
At the congress, delegates reviewed the association’s activities over the past five years; discussed amendments to the association’s regulations and establish an the action plan for the 2010 – 2015 tenure.
The congress highly valued achievements in the city’s musical activities – an Vietnam’s advanced music imbued with national identity.
Participants also underlined the association’s issues relating to the inappropriate development of different music genres as well as the weak connections between composing and performing music.
The congress appointed a new executive committee for the association with musician Tran Long An as the chairman and musicians Nguyen Van Hien, Nguyen Ngoc Thien, Tran Vuong Thach as vice chairmen.
Photo exhibition highlights Vietnam in peace
An exhibition displaying 150 photographs of peaceful daily life in Vietnam is being held in the Adlershof Cultural Centre in Berlin from June 25.
The photo exhibition entitled ‘Flow – Vietnam in peace’ is part of activities celebrating the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Germany and Vietnam.
Attending the event was the Head of the Treptow-Koepenik borough, Gabriele Schoettler; the Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany, Do Hoa Binh; and a large number of German visitors and Vietnamese expatriates in Germany.
Ambassador Binh praised the traditional friendship between the two countries and expressed his gratitude to local authorities and artists that organised the event.
He also introduced important events in Vietnam Year in Germany and invited those attending the photo exhibition to participate in the Vietnam Festival, scheduled to take place in Alexander Platz on August 28-29 with performances by famous Vietnamese artists.
The exhibition, which lasts until August 6, is a project undertaken by the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle, Germany.
Work starts on restoration Truong Bon historical site
The groundbreaking ceremony to restore and preserve Truong Bon historical site was held yesterday in My Son commune, Do Luong district, Nghe An province.
Covering an area of 21.7 ha, the project has a total capital of VND 175.4 billion (around US$ 9.3 million) contributed by the State budget and organisations and individuals at home and abroad.
Under the project, a tomb monument, victory statue and other working items will be built and the area’s infrastructure will be improved.
Truong Ton was where a group of 14 revolutionaries from Squad No.317 of the Nghe An Province Volunteer Youth Force were killed in a bomb attack by the US air force in the early morning of October 31, 1968. Since then, the place has symbolised the undaunted fighting spirit of the people of Nghe An and all of Vietnam.
The project, which is expected to be completed 2015, aims to honour and commemorate the heroes and martyrs who scarified their lives during the past struggle for national independence and freedom.
PV