Street of calligraphersOne of the traditional events in the lead up to Tet holiday is Pho ong do (street of calligraphers) at the HCMC Youth Cultural House on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Pham Ngoc Thach streets.This year, the event will take place from February 2 to 15 (from the 17th to the 30th of the 12th lunar month). More than 30 calligraphers of different ages and in traditional Vietnamese costumes are ready at booths to write meaningful words for Tet at the request of customers.Traditionally, when Tet is drawing near, the Vietnamese often keep the custom of writing nice words in calligraphy in hopes of enjoying good luck in the new year.In addition, there will be numerous booths selling calligraphy paintings, calligraphy words about good luck, health and prosperity in the lunar new year and Tet decorative items during the week-long event. Spring Flower FestivalAs in previous years, the Spring Flower Festival will come back at Tao Dan Park in District 1 from February 10 to 21 (the … [Read more...] about Major cultural events in HCM City for Lunar New Year holiday
Main street in park city
Pilot plan to curb motorbike traffic on main streets
Motorbikes throng on Truong Chinh Road, Ha Noi. The city will pilot new restrictions limiting the use of motorcycles on several main streets. — VNA/VNS Photo Bui Tuong HA NOI — Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the municipal People's Committees of Ha Noi and HCM City to pilot new restrictions limiting the use of motorcycles on several main street in central city areas. If the restrictions were effective, he said he would request relevant agencies to adopt the measure on a larger scale to ease traffic jams on the nation's busy streets. Ha Noi has already begun planning. Deputy Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Van Khoi said on Thursday that he had instructed the transport department to implement new motorcycle restrictions. He expected a report on the next steps to be submitted to the People's Committee during the next quarter. Khoi said this would be a very complicated issue to handle because there would inevitably be disruption in the … [Read more...] about Pilot plan to curb motorbike traffic on main streets
Da Nang to build three underground parking lots
Da Nang People's Committee has approved a plan for three underground parking lots in the city. The sites will be at the Foodinco project on Tran Phu Street, the parking area at Quang Trung-Ong Ich Khiem-Tran Cao Van streets, and the park in front of the MeridianTwinTowers on Hung Vuong Street. The designs of these parking lots will allow three underground levels and more above, and will provide parking spaces for more than 2,000 cars. In addition, they will have spaces for other recreational services. It is not expected that the cost of building these parking lots will be funded by the city budget. Instead, the city authorities will call upon enterprises to make the investments. Da Nang is also encouraging other investors and owners of projects and buildings along main streets in the city to include basement parking in any new construction plans. From Da Nang Newspaper … [Read more...] about Da Nang to build three underground parking lots
ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 20/9
Craft village fair to open later this month Around 350 stands will be displayed at the Vietnamese Craft Village Fair 2012, scheduled to be held at Hoa Binh Square in the northern province of Nam Dinh from September 25-30, announced the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (MARD) at a press conference in Hanoi on Tuesday, Sept 18. The fair will showcase and sell products from various crafts, demonstrate craft making skills and introduce exhibits from craft villages from many different localities. The event is also a good opportunity to for the craftsmen to share their experience and skills, as well as help to promote trade and tourism by advertising through images of the craft villages and their products. During the fair, many interesting arts programmes will be held to attract visitors. The MARD will also co-ordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Nam Dinh provincial People's Committee to organise a seminar on developing craft villages and … [Read more...] about ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 20/9
Over 70 percent of high-rise buildings in HCM City lack parking
VietNamNet Bridge - Only 18 percent of multistory buildings in HCM City have sufficient parking space, said the Ministry of Transport's inspectors. According to a recent inspection of the Ministry of Transport on the management and use of roads and pavements in HCM City, Vietnam's biggest city did not attach adequate importance on building parking lots. The city has only one complete three-story parking lot at the Vincom building and a public parking lot at the Lam Son Square. The city planned to give 1,141 hectares of land to build parking lots but at present, it only has 561 hectares. Notably, over 80 percent of high-rise buildings in the city do not have enough parking space. Of 80 multi-story buildings inspected by the Ministry of Transport inspectors, 73 percent do not have sufficient parking and 7.5 percent do not have parking lots. According to a Decision issued by the HCMC People's Committee on December 30, 2005, day and overnight parking charges for motorcycles … [Read more...] about Over 70 percent of high-rise buildings in HCM City lack parking