Hanoi one week itinerary

Household waste, stored in plastic bags, is piled in Hoang Van Thai Street, Hanoi.

Phạm Huy, a small trader in a traditional market in Long Biên District, said plastic bags and products were selling in large quantities in local markets because they were not only cheap but also convenient.

It costs VNĐ30,000 (US$1.3) per roll of 100 plastics bags and VNĐ20,000 ($0.8) for 50 plastic cups, he said.

Huy said the number of people shopping at the market was very large and most of them asked for plastic bags. Few people carried their own bags to the market.

“If we do not use plastic bags, we have nothing to store things for our customers,” he said.

An owner of a food shop in Quán Thánh Street, Ba Đình District, said his customers often asked for takeaway food in plastic containers.

Although he knew of the impacts of plastic bags and products on the environment, he still bought them to store food for his customers, he said.

Hồng Hà, a resident of Ba Đình District, said due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, food and beverage outlets had to close and only sell online.

People often ordered using popular applications such as Grab and Now to eat and drink at home, she said.

The shops often used plastics bags and products to wrap up their wares for shippers to bring to customers, she said.

Solutions

Lê Tuấn Định, deputy head of the city’s Natural Resources and Environment, said it was estimated that about 6,000 tonnes of waste were discharged daily in the capital, including 60 tonnes of plastic waste.

Plastic waste discharge was believed to increase year after year, adversely affecting the environment, he said.

In response to the situation, the city administration views combating plastic waste as a key task.

In 2019, the city issued Plan No 232/KH-UBND on ‘Preventing plastic waste and bags by 2020, a vision towards 2025’, calling on local administrative and public service agencies and State-owned enterprises not to use disposable plastic products and plastic bags, as well as mobilising organisations and individuals to say no to disposable plastic products.

The department has relevant agencies to strengthen dissemination to improve people’s awareness of the impacts of plastic waste on the environment. The agencies were told to find alternative materials to reduce the use of plastic products.

He said the department would conduct surveys on the use of disposable plastic products and the demand for recycled products to find alternative products to replace disposable plastic in local traditional markets and trade centres.

The department also compiled mechanisms to support enterprises to manufacture environmentally-friendly packaging, he said.

It was strengthening inspections and encouraging enterprises to manufacture environmentally-friendly packaging and pilot training programmes to improve capacity to design environmentally-friendly products for commercial, service and manufacturing facilities in the city.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), around the world, 1 million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute, while 5 trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide annually. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once and then thrown away. — VNS

Spraying disinfectant on buses.

The Hanoi Department of Transport has also issued detailed instructions on prevention and control of Covid-19 in the new situation on intra-municipal passenger transport vehicles.

Accordingly, public transport vehicles still have to seriously take measures to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic, implementing the government’s 5K message.

The Ministry of Health previously announced a message featuring 5K (in Vietnamese) Khau trang (facemask)- (Khu khuan) disinfection- (Khoang cach) distance- (Khong tu tap) no gathering – (Khai bao y te) health declaration to help citizens get used to living safely with the COVID-19 pandemic in a ‘new normal’ state.

Public transport vehicles must have hand sanitizer solution (at least 60% alcohol content) and trash cans with lid.

Transport enterprises and vehicle owners have to require drivers, attendants and passengers to wear masks during the entire trip, and disinfect vehicle surfaces before and immediately after each trip.

Transport firms and bus stations must strictly comply with the regulations on medical declarations using QR Code.

Since February 16 Hanoi has not recorded new cases of Covid-19 and basically has controlled the situation, but risks are high as the pandemic still exists.

Risks come from foreign experts who enter Vietnam for work, illegal entries via land border, and students from other provinces who are returning to Hanoi for resuming study.

Hanoi authorities affirmed that ny loosening social activities, the tightening of epidemic prevention and control must be performed at a higher level.

Tran Thuong

A special exhibition of two collections ofáo dài(Vietnamese traditional dress) by renowned designerswill open at theÁo DàiMuseum in Long Thuận Garden, District 9,on Monday. It is part of the city’s cultural activities to celebrateÁo DàiWeek 2021 launched byViệt Nam Women Union. (Photo courtesy of the organiser)

A special exhibition of two collections of áo dài (Vietnamese traditional dress) by renowned designers will open at the Áo Dài Museum in Long Thuận Garden in District 9 on Sunday.

It includes áo dài owned by outstanding women working in politics, culture and arts, such as Dr Trjnh Thị Hoà, former director of the HCM City History Museum, and veteran soldier Đặng Hồng Nhựt, who have encouraged young women to study and develop their careers as well as live more independently.

The musuem displays áo dài owned by Nguyễn Thị Định, the first woman major general to serve in the Việt Nam People’s Army, former vice State president Nguyễn Thị Bình, and HCM City’s well-known cải lương (reformed opera) artists, including Kim Cương and Bạch Tuyết.

The Việt Nam Women Union, organiser of Áo Dài Week 2021, encourages women to wearáo dàiduring March to showthe charm and elegant beauty of the clothes. Photo courtesy of the organiser

A photo exhibition featuring Vietnamese women in áo dài will also be organised. Vietnamese culture and lifestyles are also captured through the lenses of artists.

The two exhibitions will open at 206/19/30 Long Thuận Street and will close at the end of the month.

The museum’s owner, fashion designer Sĩ Hoàng, said Áo Dài Week 2021 promotes traditional cultural identity and the image of Vietnamese women.

Hoàng spent 12 years to establish the museum thanks to his love for the traditional attire. “The long robes have aesthetic, historic and cultural value,” he said.

A series of cultural activities will be organised nationwide on Sunday(March 7) to celebrate Áo Dài Week 2021 (Photo courtesy of the organiser)

The Việt Nam Women’s Union, organiser of Áo Dài Week 2021, encourages women to wear áo dài during March to show the charm and elegant beauty of the dress.

In Hà Nội, the union and Museum of Vietnamese Women have worked together to open a photo exhibition of 358 images featuring Vietnamese women, their place and contributions to the country.

Highlighted works portray women and their heroic activities in the anti-French and American wars. The photos were captured by veteran artist Đinh Quang Thành, who worked for the Vietnam News Agency. — VNS

Analysts from securities firms struggled to figure out the market’s trend this week after last week’s turbulent sessions. — Illustrative Photo

With the market experiencing strong volatility last week, analysts from securities firms are having difficulties forecasting movements this week.

While some expected that cash flows might stay in the market and gradually balance to prepare for the next rally, some analysts predict cash flows will weaken and the market might fall to lower levels to seek new demand.

The market benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) finished last week at 1,168.69 points, up 0.01 per cent, after turbulent sessions. The index kept falling in the morning and bouncing back later in some early sessions of the week.

For the week, the VN-Index rose 0.02 per cent.

With the index nearly sideways in the last session, analysts from Viet Dragon Securities Corporation (VDS) said the market almost reached a balanced territory to prepare for a bullish period.

Meanwhile, BOS Securities Corporation (ART) assessed that technically, the VN-Index had received support from strong demand at the 1,155 – 1,160 points level in the last trading session. However, technical indicators still showed weaker cash flows while signs of a bull market are nowhere to be seen.

The securities firm expects the VN-Index might successfully test the 1,170 points level early this week before confirming the return of a rally.

According to Phu Hung Securities Corporation, on the technical font, the VN-Index will bounce back. Transaction volumes decline but remain higher than the average of 10 and 20 trading days, which means cash flows will stay in the market. Technical indicators showed recovery is the market’s main trend in the short-term, the firm added.

Analysts at Sai Gon – Ha Noi Securities JSC (SHS) said the market rose in the first two sessions of last week to test the psychological resistance level of 1,200 points again. But the effort of buyers failed as selling pressure persisted.

The frequent overload of orders during trading hours on HoSE last week also affected transactions, making investors’ sentiment turn negative.

The short-term trend of this week is unpredictable with the market falling deeper to find new demand.

Last week, the market’s liquidity in both southern and northern exchanges was higher than the week before and higher than the 20-week moving average.

Utilities stocks posted the biggest gain last week with an increase of 3.4 per cent in market capitalisation. Of which, some outstanding stocks were PetroVietnam Gas JSC (GAS), up 3.6 per cent and PetroVietnam Power Corporation (POW), up 6.7 per cent.

Other sectors witnessing good performance were materials, consumer services and industry.

Meanwhile, consumer products stocks reported the biggest loss of 1.2 per cent in market capitalisation with Masan Group Corporation (MSN) down 1.2 per cent, Viet Nam Dairy Products JSC (VNM) down 1.7 per cent and Saigon Beer – Alcohol – Beverage Corporation (SAB) down 5.4 per cent.

Banking, pharmaceutical and healthcare, and information technology (IT) stocks also fell 0.3 – 1 per cent.

Foreign investors fled from the market last week, with a net sell value of over VND3.08 trillion, equivalent to 82.7 million shares. — VNS

Trek to the top of Ma Thien Lanh mountain for a panoramic view of Hon Son Island.

Considered one of the most beautiful islands in Kien Giang, Hon Son is a new hidden gem for nature-loving tourists. With its pristine beauty, graceful beaches reflecting the vast ocean, Hon Son appears as a sparkling jewel surrounded by coconut groves, with a wild look.

With limited infrastructure, islanders are highly sensitive to the environment, and use eco-friendly paper straws at coffee houses.

The best time to visit Hon Son island is from May to December when weather conditions allow for calm seas and fresh, cheap seafood.

To reach the island, visitors can fly to Rach Gia Airport from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, and then catch an hour-and-a-half speedboat ride from Rach Gia pier. Alternatively, visitors can also travel by traditional ferry, which takes around 3.5 hours.

VietNamNet/VNA