Traditional festivals, rituals and religions of the Vietnamese are introduced in a book compiled by late Prof Nguyen Van Huyen (1908-1975), as a French-educated scholar and Minister of Education of Vietnam (1946-1975).

 VietNamNet Bridge – To celebrate the new year 2018, Urban Sketchers Hanoi group is going to organize a sketching exhibition about Hanoi, with the objective to collect 1,000 sketches for this event.

Aside from Nguyen Van Binh Book Street, book enthusiasts and budget-conscious readers will have a new choice this month as a 3,000-square-meter bookstore has come into operation on the second floor of the Garden Mall in District 5, HCMC.

 After nearly two years of construction, the Hoang Sa Museum in the central city of Da Nang will open to the public next month, celebrating the New Year and offering a new destination to tourists.

The water under Thang Long Bridge in Hanoi’s Dong Anh District, has been severely polluted as locals keep dumping rubbish there in recent months.

 The Korean band GOT7 are set to liven up Ho Chi Minh City with a concert on January 19 along with the participation of numerous Vietnamese singers.

 Over-fishing is fast depleting Quang Ninh’s marine resources, but the northeastern province has not been able to tackle it effectively.

 Bai choi, a folk music genre practiced in central Vietnam, has been officially recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

 Born into a family with a rich tradition in music, young pianist Luu Duc Anh, whose elder brother is acclaimed pianist Luu Hong Quang, has won a number of prestigious international music competitions.

 Following are a couple of weekend destinations which might be of your interest. 

 HCM City’s streets are full of colourful decorations to welcome Christmas and New Year.

Over the past five centuries, locals in the ancient pottery village of Thanh Ha in Hoi An, Quang Nam have kept their traditional method of making pottery - hand made and wheel thrown.

 VietNamNet Bridge - The first solo exhibition by Phan Thao Nguyen entitled “Poetic Amnesia” will be held at Nha San Collective, 15th floor, Hanoi Creative City Building, 01 Luong Yen, Hanoi from December 14 to 24. 

VietNamNet Bridge – Four Vietnamese and 22 foreign films will be screened at local cinemas in December 2017, including Beyond Skyline, Murder on the Orient Express and Daddy's Home 2.

 Thousands of households along Xuyen Tam Stream in HCM City are facing the serious pollution every day as the stream has been turned into a dumping ground.

 Hanoi’s Culture and Sports Department has sent a letter urging the municipal People’s Committee to preserve an archaeological site dating back to 1,000 BC in the city’s western outskirts.

 The show Khat Vong Tre (Young Aspiration), an annual entertainment programme, will be held at Quan Ngua Sports Centre, 30 Van Cao street, Ba Dinh district on December 12.

 Cua Dinh folk singing, the original, standard form of Ca Tru ceremonial performance, was once on the verge of extinction because it was no longer being practiced over the last 60 years.

 A festival will be organised in Hanoi with the aim of introducing Bulgarian wine to Asia. The special beverage holds a significant place in Bulgarian culture, habits and traditions.

UNESCO have added Vietnam’s ‘Bai choi’ and ‘Xoan’ to its representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during the 12th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.