Doll and the city

Unlike northerners who cook square-shaped Banh Chung, southerners prefer cylindrical Banh Tet during the traditional Tet holiday. Both cakes are made of glutinous rice, green bean paste and pork, and they are wrapped in La Dong (Dong leaves). The leaves can be found at the La Dong market that is located at the Cach Mang Thang Tam-Pham Van Hai intersection. The market, the biggest of its kind in HCM City, often opens from the 15th day of the 12th lunar month and lasts several days before the start of Tet. A bunch typically contains 10 leaves costing between VND70,000 and VND80,000. Flowers are among indispensable items during the Tet holiday, and the Binh Dong flower market in District 8 is an ideal place to visit. Coming here, visitors can see boats full of flowers and ornamental trees sourced from gardens throughout the Mekong Delta region. From the 20th day of the 12th lunar month, gardeners gather at the market in order to prepare for the Lunar New Year festival. … [Read more...] about Unique lunar New Year markets in Ho Chi Minh City

Chopping sticks to make a perfect broom is a step when making a broom. Photo: Minh Phuong / Tuoi Tre Three workers laugh with one another during a short break after working hours. Photo: Minh Phuong / Tuoi Tre Chopping sticks to make a perfect broom is a step in making a broom. Photo: Minh Phuong / Tuoi Tre The workers making brooms are often exposed to dust from flowers, but they are happy to continue doing the traditional work. Photo: Minh Phuong / Tuoi Tre Around five brooms are bundled into a pack to be available for being transported to local markets. Photo: Minh Phuong / Tuoi Tre A worker braids a broom with a metal thread, another stage of making a broomstick. Photo: Minh Phuong / Tuoi Tre It takes Tran Van Cuong only five minutes to bundle a broom, but he must use a lot of power to do it well. Photo: Minh Phuong / Tuoi Tre A worker handles flowers of dot trees, one of the first stages of making a broomstick. Photo: Minh Phuong / Tuoi Tre Nguyen Huu Hieu, 48, bundles a … [Read more...] about Hustle and bustle in a unique hamlet making brooms in Ho Chi Minh City

Traditional artists will perform at the Nhạc Hội Đờn Ca Tài Tử Nam Bộ (South Folk Music Festival) in front of the city’s Opera House on Đồng Khởi Street, District 1, on January 30. The event is among many cultural activities organised by the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and its partners to celebrate Tết. (Photo courtesy of the organiser) … [Read more...] about HCM City offers cultural activities for Tết

Kien Giang (VNA) - The first round of the National Billiards and Snooker Tournament 2020 kicked off in Rach Gia city in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang on June 11. This is the first time Kien Giang has hosted a national billiards and snooker tournament, which will determine the competitors in international championships this year. A total of 944 players from 26 cities and provinces nationwide will compete in six competitions: three-cushion billiards, cushion carom, six red-ball snooker, English billiards, and nine-ball pool and ten-ball pool during the ten-day event, which will wrap up on June 20./. … [Read more...] about More than 940 players competing in 2020 national billiards, snooker tournament

HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam’s imports of high-value seafood such as king crabs and lobsters are rising due to their falling prices, and are expected to rise even further during the Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival, experts have said. Robert Greenan, Deputy Consul General at the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, said last year exports of Alaskan seafood rose 125 percent to 19 million USD. Vietnam became the US’s sixth largest buyer of agricultural products and foodstuffs with imports worth 4 billion USD. According to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute in Vietnam, demand for seafood is rising in the country, and several processing factories are moving from China to Vietnam due to tariffs. Alaskan seafood is mostly bought by restaurants and hotels and processors. The institute aims to expand the distribution network so that more customers can buy Alaskan seafood for cooking at home. During Tet, there is especially high demand for Alaskan king crab since it is relatively … [Read more...] about Demand for imported high-value seafood rises