Great ceremony for peace attracts thousands of people

On February 17, thousands of people and around 1,000 Buddhists from Da Nang City and Quang Nam province attended a ceremony praying for nation’s peace and prosperity at the Ba Da Pagoda, Da Nang. This is an annual festival, with various activities but the highlight is the release of hundreds of birds, crabs and fish.

Releasing birds and fish at the ceremony:

From early morning, nearly 1,000 Buddhists went to the temple.

At 8am, the ceremony begins.

All people pray for peace and good weather.

The Chair of the ceremony sprinkles water from a rose to help people shake off the dust of life. He then sprinkles the water on the paper boxes containing birds, crabs, snails and fish before they are released.

Buddhists set birds free in front of the temple.

Fish, shrimps, eels and snails are released on a bridge cross the Cam Le Bridge.

Great ceremony for peace attracts thousands of people

Hue plans inclusive tourism

Hue is seeking to involve residents and the private sector in developing tourism, seeking to take advantage of the area’s enormous tourism potential by promoting its heritage sites and natural beauty.

 

Holiday hotspot: A group of foreign visitors inside the former Royal Palace in Hue, a familiar tourist attraction.

Also, local authorities will develop policies for residents who want to take part in public tourism programmes, as well as create locals centers for tourism services in the former capital city.

At the same time, authorities will have tourism promotional programmes to expose more foreigners and international agencies to Hue’s monuments and natural landscapes.

The year 2014 will be the first year for implementing this strategy. Accordingly, tourism sector expects to receive 3 million visits, including 1.3 million visits by foreign tourists, bringing in total revenues of US$139million.

Hue Festival 2014, the biannual tourism event focusing on traditional arts, music and dance, along with performances by international art troupes, is expected to serve as the primary tool in reaching this year’s tourism goals.

The festival, which will take place in April 2014, however, seems to be less attractive at the international level because its organisers could not work more successfully with global media and Vietnamese media agencies that publish in foreign languages.

In 2013, Hue attracted 2.5million visits, including nearly one million international tourists. For 2014, local tourism sector officials expect to have 2 million visitors stay over night in the city, though in the past most tourists considered Hue to be a place to visit during the daytime, while they spent nights in the adjacent Da Nang City or Hoi An Town.

In comparison with other popular destinations, Hue is lagging behind in providing qualified tours, food and beverage, as well as accommodations for visitors, resulting in slower tourism development, despite the huge potential for tourists wishing to tour monuments, enjoy beaches, the natural landscape, the area’s food, as well as the culture.

Hue plans inclusive tourism

Can Tho-Da Nang air route to open in 2014

Can Tho-Da Nang air route to open in 2014

A new air route connecting Da Nang city in the central region and Can Tho city in the Mekong Delta will be launched in 2014, according to Vice Chairman of Can Tho People’s Committee Dao Anh Dung.

Dung made the statement while working with provincial agencies on preparations for a conference to open more flights to the Can Tho International Airport slated for late February.

According to him, the new air route will be served by three flights a week, catering for the demand of businesses and tourists wishing to see both the Mekong Delta and the central region.

It will play an important role in boosting economic and tourism development in Can Tho city and the Mekong Delta region at large, he predicted.

Can Tho International Airport was put into operation in 2010. It is now serving domestic flights to Hanoi, Phu Quoc and Con Dao islands as well as international flights to Taiwan (China) during Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.-

Saigontourist profits hit $128m to claim top tourist operator title

Saigontourist Holding Company reported increased revenues of VND2.7 trillion (US$128.5 million), while billing 480,000 foreign and local visitor bookings in 2013.

The firm’s profits increased by 25 per cent, compared with 2012. During the year, it welcomed 170,000 tourists arriving in Viet Nam by cruise ships. Saigontourist general director Vo Anh Tai told Thanh Nien newspaper that the company would continue to focus on improving its ability to compete, while working to see a 20 per cent growth.

Thanks to these achievements, the company was honoured with the title of “Viet Nam’s leading international tourist company”, “Viet Nam’s leading domestic tour operator” and “Viet Nam’s leading outbound tourist operator” at the Viet Nam Tourism Awards in December.

Dong Nai hopes to develop waterway tourism

The southern province of Dong Nai on January 8 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a United Arab Emirates company promoting waterway tourism.

The MoU is expected to help with Dong Nai’s socio-economic development and expand the market of the Azure Marine CH company.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Phan Thi My Thanh hailed the cooperation between the two sides, asking the UAE company to design attractive tours in order to draw not only domestic but also foreign tourists to the province.

Earlier, the company had made a fact finding tour to local sites which are said to hold huge potential in tourism, including Cat Tien National Park , Tri An Lake and the grapefruit growing village of Tan Trieu.

The company pays heed to several models such as floating restaurants, biological tourism and luxury resorts.

It also hopes to popularise the province’s tourism to visitors from the Emirates.-

Can Tho-Da Nang air route to open in 2014

Enjoy the beautiful scenery from Ngu Hanh Son

An interesting journey to Ngu Hanh Son will bring out most relaxing time for visitors. The mountain is a fairy land with a dreamlike scenery, pagodas, grottoes…

Ngu Hanh Son (The Marble Mountains) is about 8km southeast of Da Nang City. This is a cluster of five marble mountains lying close to the sea. That is why, it is dubbed Hon Non Nuoc, which means Mountain and Water in Vietnamese. In the early 19th century, King Gia Long, the founder of the Nguyen Dynasty, passed by and named the five mountains as Ngu Hanh Son. He also named each of them according to one of the five elements of the universe: Kim Son (metal of gold), Moc Son (wood), Thuy Son (water), Hoa Son (fire), and Tho Son (earth). According to Oriental philosophy, metal, wood, water, fire and earth are five elements that create the universe. Five is a very important number in oriental mentality and life. And so, the five mountains that compose Marble Mountain are filled with mysterious. Thuy Son is both the highest and the most beautiful.

Marble mountains associates with many different legends. Thuy Son, covering an area of 15ha, has three peaks namely Thuong Thai, Trung Thai and Ha Thai. As a result, the pagoda built on the mountain was named Tam Thai. Thuy Son has been exploited as a popular tourist resort because of its alluring beauty. Stone steps carved into the mountain lead to Tam Thai Pagoda where Phat Di Lac is worshipped. In the past, the pagoda paid tribute to Hindu and Buddhist gods and is now dedicated to Cham deities. Also on the cliff of the mountain are such beautiful grottoes as Linh Nham Grotto, Van Thong Grotto, Tang Chon Grotto and Huyen Khong Grotto. Huyen Khong Cave was the base for Vietnamese revolutionaries during wartime. The Marble Mountains are famous for their traditional stone engraving activities. In Dong Hai village close to Thuy Son, 600 families chisel stone producing statues, jewelry, and art work. Stone from the Marble Mountains has been exported to many countries. Cultural and historical vestiges are still on every pagoda and tower of the early 19th century and on Champa sculptures of the 14th and 15th century. There are poets of the Le and Tran dynasty engraved on stones. All monuments such as the grave of Capital Tran Quang Khai’s mother, a temple for worshiping Ngoc Lan princess (Minh Mang King’s younger sister), autograph of conferring Tam Thai pagoda to be the national one, Da Chong tunnel, Ba Tho cave, Kim Son mountain, Am Phu cave, etc. are forceful evidences to the legendary Marble Mountains. The stone carving village stretching along the road leading to the Ngu Hanh Son entrance is also a very attractive sight for visitors. At this village, you can admire all those wonderful works created by patient craftsmen right in front of you. All the stones for the works are taken and transferred from the Marble Mountains.

The Marble Mountains are situated between Da Nang City and Hoi An ancient town and very close to Non Nuoc Beach, which stretches for kilometres with clean and white sand and is one of the nicest beaches in Vietnam, which is very convenient for visitors who want to go climbing and bathing. Ngu Hanh Son is familiar to almost everyone who has been to Da Nang. It is so well known that many people consider it as the symbol of the area.

Enjoy the beautiful scenery from Ngu Hanh Son