“This immense area with wonderful features
Makes one wonder whether it is fairyland
Huong Son itself is fairyland
Which is seen in this earthly world”

The beautiful verse describes scenic spot of Huong Pagoda, designated by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site, which makes one can’t help having the feeling that is one were lost in a world of fairies. Huong Son attracts visitors not only with its wonderful landscape, but also with its sense of philosophy embodied inside its splendid caves, of which Huong Tich and Tuyet Son are the most impressive. Visitors are bewitched by the beauty of these cases which look half real and half unreal. That explains the reason why the cold weather cannot keep thousands of pilgrims and tourists away from the Huong Pagoda Festival, the nation’s longest and most elaborate annual festival.

Legend has it that the festival is held to worship a princess named Dieu Thien who incarnated Avalokitasvara and attained enlightenment there. As the princess was born on the 19th day of the second lunar month, that date is now observed by all Vietnamese Buddhists as a saint day. The shrine in which she practised her religion was discovered in the 15th century by three monks. The pilgrimage to Huong Son dwindled to a trickle during the war years and the temples and shrines were left vacant.. In 1770, Lord Trinh Sam wrote five Chinese characters to describe Huong Tich Cavern: Nam Thien De Nhat Dong (the most beautiful cave in Vietnam). The Huong Pagoda Festival started during the Le-Trinh Dynasty. In 1958, after the restoration of peace in North Vietnam, the Government and President Ho Chi Minh personally gave instructions for the repair of the pagodas and temples and the restoration of the festival. Annually, visitors to the festival to enjoy the beauty of the Huong Son limestone mountains at a time when apricot trees are in bloom and pay tribute to Buddha, specifically to Avalokitasvara, one of Buddha’s disciples.

According to the legend, a pilgrimage to Huong Pagoda in the spring will bring health, prosperity, good luck and happiness. And whether you believe in the story or not, there’s no disputing that a trip like this offers a perfect chance to get closer to both nature and Vietnamese tradition.

A meaningful pilgrimage

The festival is a traditional Vietnamese Buddhist celebration, held simultaneously in three locations: Huong Tich, Tuyet Son, and Long Van. The festival is most crowded from the 15th - 20th day of the 2nd month of the lunar calendar as this period marks the the main festival. However, since the first day of the lunar New Year, thousands of tourists and pilgrims have flocked to the sacred land to tour and pray for a prosperous and happy year. Spring is the idea time for bothVietnamese and foreigners come to Huong Son. Heading there, you have chances to live in a boisterous atmosphere of a spring festival amidst beautiful landscape. They seem to be free from all tiredness and sorrow and come to pay respect to the compassionate Buddha.

Unlike many other festivals, the Huong Pagoda Festival does not centre around traditional games, but rather romantic trips to caves, pagodas and temples and participation in ceremonies to beseech favours from Lord Buddha. The Venerable Thich Minh Hien rang the bell to officially open the festival at the Huong Pagoda, on the sixth day of the first lunar month. The opening ceremony began at the Thien Tru Pagoda with pilgrims and tourists invited to take part in the incense offering ceremony. In order to warning up the festival’s lively ambience in the chilly weather, the traditional raditional songs and dances took place before and after the ceremony. Visitors attending Huong pagoda festival usually make some wishes and when they are worshipping Buddha’s in the pagoda, they pray for their wishes to come true. The visitors bring offerings with them from home, including boiled chickens, boiled pigs’ heads and steamed sticky rice. After prayers, each person will take a small portion of the offering (called loc) which is then carried home for their family. Loc is a sacred and precious thing as it is believed to bring good luck to those who eat it. In addition, cultural activities and sporting contests are also held on the occasion of Huong Pagoda Festival: boat racing, climbing, folk song singing, etc. These festive activities take place throughout the festival.

A pilgrimage to the Huong Pagoda Festival cannot only be for religious reasons, but to see the numerous natural shapes that are typical of the landscape and the buildings that are valuable artifacts of the nation. When you make a pilgrimage to Huong Pagoda you are in the middle of nature at its best, with a gorgeous river, caves, and mountains.Therefore, people of different ages all so interested in the Huong Pagoda Festival…

Halong Bay - one of Vietnam’s World Heritage Sites - is officially a contender in the second phase of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

The announcement was made on January 7 on the New 7 Wonders’ (N7W) website. To earn the elusive status, 261 national and international sites will vie to make it into the top 77.

The Mekong River, which flows China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar was nominated by six countries.

Voting will go on until July 7, 2009. Finalists will be chosen by the N7W Panel of Experts for short listing.

Twenty-one sites will be chosen in July 2009 to go forward to the next stage of voting.

The final voting stage will take place between 2010 and 2011. During this time, the N7W World Tour will visit all 21 sites. The N7W of Nature will be unveiled in the summer of 2011.

During the first phase of the campaign, which ran from July 2007 to December 31, 2008, three of Vietnam’s tourist hot spots were nominated, including Halong Bay, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park and Fansipan Mountain.

(Source: VNA)

Diverse culture, tourism and sports events are taking place across the country to welcome the upcoming lunar New Year Festival (Tet) - the Year of the Buffalo.

The main streets in Nha Trang City of central coastal Khanh Hoa Province are bedecked with flowers, colorful lanterns, slogans and flags to welcome Tet. The director of the Khanh Hoa provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Truong Dang Tuyen, said many activities will be launched for the occasion, such as a Tet trade fair, a spring flower trade fair, a spring newspaper exhibition, a film week, photo and calligraphy exhibitions, a lion dance contest and a human chess competition.

Apart from film shows in Nha Trang City, two mobile film screening teams will be sent to the two mountainous districts of Khanh Son and Khanh Vinh to serve local ethnic minority people.

During a week-long cultural event in Khanh Hoa, many folk games and traditional ritual festivals will also be held, such as the Cau Ngu Festival, the Thap Ba Ponnaga ritual, a boat racing, a sea swimming competition, a junior football tournament and a sea volleyball competition. Organisations and individuals are encouraged to participate in all these events.

Firework displays will be launched in Nha Trang City and Dien Khanh District with generous sponsorship from local businesses.

To meet the people’s demand for entertainment during the Tet holiday from January 15-31, the central province of Quang Ngai will organise many sports, culture and tourism activities for local residents.

There will be a fireworks show on Lunar New Year’s eve in Quang Ngai City and in the Dung Quat economic zone along with many exciting programmes. Diverse cultural activities will also be held in a number of places in the province, including an exhibition on art and handicrafts, film shows, folk games, and sports games such as volleyball, badminton, Chinese chess, traditional martial arts and boxing. The national music and dance troupe and the provincial cinematographic centre will give performances to entertain local residents in seven mountainous districts and islands.

Local people will enjoy lion dances and performances and celebrate the 79^th anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. An exhibition to display photos of the late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong will also be held.

(Source: VOV)

ASEAN tourism ministers at a meeting in Hanoi on Jan. 8, 2009 agreed on the need for further exploration of the regional market and the involvement of the private sector in the industry.

At the 12th meeting of the tourism ministers of the Association of the Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN), the participants said these measures will help mitigate the impact of the current global economic downturn on tourism.

The ministers suggested tourism officials in the member countries cooperate with private businesses in offering highly competitive package tours to ASEAN customers as well as those from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, which are the region’s major markets.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating the integration process and enacting the initiative by ASEAN’s top national tourism officers (NTOs) on developing a strategic plan for the industry in the 2011-2015 period.

The meeting adopted a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), which is expected to improve human resources for tourism and facilitate the move of skilled tourism workers in the region.

Further steps are expected after the signing of the agreement to improve the capacity of concerned regional and national agencies within the MRA framework.

In the last year, ASEAN countries held a number of promotional activities to expand their foothold in potential markets, including an agreement to establish an ASEAN-Korea centre in Seoul in early 2009, the ASEAN-India conference in Myanmar last August on Buddhist pilgrimage tours, and the ASEAN Tourism Investment Forum in the Philippines last July.

The regional tourism industry served 54 million foreign visitors in 2008, 7 percent higher than the previous year, despite the ongoing global financial crunch and political turmoil in some member countries.

The 12th meeting of ASEAN tourism ministers was organised as part of the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2009 (ATF), the biggest regional tourism event ever held in Vietnam.

The ATF’s programme includes a tourism fair (TRAVEX) to take place on January 12, 2009 with the expected participation of nearly 600 international travel agencies.

(Source: VNA)

This morning, ASEAN tourism forum (ATF) has been opening ceremony in Hanoi with the participation of Minister of Tourism from 10 countries in the region. The first session discussed about broadcasting the images of ASEAN to the world and agreements of mutual recognition among the countries.

10 countries attended ATF includes Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

First session was chaired by Mr. Tran Chien Thang, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Information and Tourism. The delegates discussed measures to promote a stronger image of ASEAN tourism while the number of international visitors to the area is declining.

According to the discussion, the countries will coordinate with the U.S Agency of International Development to implement project for strengthening ASEAN competitiveness. The MOU will be signed at the tour seminar on January 10.

Particularly, the meeting adopted the final draft Agreements of mutual recognition in tourism so that Ministers can sign on January 9. This text will give favorable conditions for ASEAN citizens when travelling, developing human resource in the region.

The delegates also discussed about the construction of tourism investment corridor, the list of bases in residents’ house, assessing the performance in 2008. The delegates also proposed projects implemented in 2009 on all fields of marketing, human resources, investment, tourism standards, information of tourism crisis and cruise, etc.

In the morning of January 5, 2009, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced a discount campaign for 99 tours, from 30% - 50%, that is named “Impressive Vietnam”. 114 travel companies, hotels participate the promotion that is the biggest one to date.

This is the biggest reduction in comparison with most countries in Southeast Asia. 37 international travel companies and 55 three-star or five-star hotels, 2 passenger carriers pledged to reduce the cost by 30%-50%, equivalent to the discount level for ticket of Vietnam Airlines on international and domestic flights. 6 hotels accepted the reduction of 5%-30% for the agreement signed with the travel companies or applied other promotions. In addition, 14 shopping points in HCM City has also registered to join the program, giving priority to passengers who buy the promotional tours.

According to Mr. Tran Chien Thang, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, five market groups – France, Western Europe, Japan, Asean, Australia and New Zealand will be the major partners of the discount programs. General Department of Tourism will establish four market groups more in North America, Russia and Eastern Europe, Northern Europe and South Korea to continue the implementation.

Although international visitors are strongly declining, Mr.Trinh Hong Quang, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Airlines, said that in 2009, they will maintain the direct flights to Russia, Australia, France and expect to increase market share in Laos, Cambodia to help Vietnam’s travel companies in connecting tours for international vvisitors to the two countries. Especially, in January, Vietnam Airlines has decided to test package tour of Seoul - Da Nang - Siemriep with ticket of low price.

General Department of Tourism will coordinate with Vietnam Airlines, travel companies, some embassies to promote in this market and offer promotional products. Moreover, there is also a series of measures such as inviting travel companies, newspapers from major markets to involve in the survey, create international tours to China and ASEAN countries, negotiate with the tourism management of some countries to strengthen tourist exchange.

Center for Tourism News will launch the website of the campaign, continuously updating information and link to promotional tours of travel companies involved. Promotion activities ram expressly in ASEAN Tourism Forum and Travex Fair taking place in Hanoi from January 6 to January 12.

“Tour discount and keeping the quality” is confirmed by Mr. Vu The Binh, Director of Tourism, General Department of Tourism. Each Vietnam’s travel company involves in the program must be potential and have prestige to reduce the cost of tour but remaining service quality. Monitoring the implementation according to the commitment of the business has been assigned to the local offices in collaboration with the Association of Tourism by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

According to Vice Minister Tran Chien Thang, it has been impossible to declare that the campaign will attract many tourists and earn much money, but clearly that it has improved competitiveness in Vietnam’s tourism. It is worthy that in the most difficult context, enterprises has been responsible for creating their own power.

In 2008, Vietnam welcomed about 4.1 million of international tourists, has not achieved the target of 4.8 to 5 million visitors as proposed.

In the morning of January 5, 2009, in Hanoi, General Department of Tourism held a press conference about solutions for increasing the number of international tourists international tourists to Vietnam.

Mr. Tran Chien Thang, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Director of General Department of Tourism chaired the meeting report. Attending the conference also reported Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy Director of General Department of Tourism, Mr. Vu The Binh, from Department of Tourism; leaders of Units of Tourism and many journalists, editors from local and central newspapers.

Because of negative impacts of global financial crisis for the world’s tourism in general and Vietnam’s tourism in particular, to block the declining, attract international visitors to Vietnam and promote domestic tourism, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has issued the Decision No.5476/QD-BVHTTDL on December 31, 2008 - Approval of the Action Programs of Tourism. Mr. Vu The Binh, from Department of Tourism, presented the major contents of the action program in order to attract international visitors and promote domestic tourism, including:

- The nationwide promotional tour. Announced a batch of 37 international travel companies, 61 hotels, 3 carriers, 14 shops to register for discounts from 30% to 50%, from now to September, 2009 with 99 tours.

- Broadcasting promotional campaign called “Vietnam Impressive”, with the participation of media in and outside the country, especially in key markets; General Department of Tourism has built a website for promotions to the domain: www.promotour.gov.vn; organized Famtrip and Presstrip groups for travel companies and foreign press to Vietnam.

- Establishing nine market groups, including international travel companies and Vietnam Airlines, with the participation of some hotels, restaurants and shops. This is the core for developing the promotion.

- Creating new tourism products. This is a long-term solution, to give favoured conditions for sustainable development of Vietnam’s tourism, as a base to attract international visitors and promote domestic tourism.

After the exchange and answering questions by journalists, Mr. Tran Chien Thang thanked the attention and encouragement from newspapers and radio reports for Vietnam’s tourism. In the spirit of connection, close cooperation between enterprises of tourism and service; administrative tourism in the central and locality, active support from newspapers and radio reports, Vietnam’s tourism strives to restore the growth of visitors in 2009 and in the coming time.

Known as the city of love and romance, Da Lat has often been compared to a graceful girl of the Highlands. The city is most impressive for many kinds of beautiful flowers…

Da  Lat  rose is much favored not only in Da Lat itself, but also nationwide. Da Lat sells lots of its roses to the bigger cities, such as Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City. You can find many Da Lat roses in Da Lat markets. The flower comes in all sorts of colors and shades, such as red, pink, velvet and yellow. The yellow roses, which bears the name of Josephine, wife of  the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, are much valued in Europe. They are also quite abundant in Da Lat. Da Lat brides love to decorate their weddings with the local white roses. Some other roses bear the names of  movie stars, such as Princess Grace of  Monacc (Actress Grace Kelly) because they have the colors of the dresses worn by these personalities. Some of Da Lat’s roses can last from seven to 15 days in vases.

The peach blossom is a sentimental symbol of Da Lat. It reminds many natives of springtime in northern Viet Nam. Though

slender, the peach blossom branch also exudes the solemnity and determination of the Vietnamese people. Flower connoisseurs often prefer peach blossoms that are bright red as rubies. Years ago, Da Lat used to have an entire forest of peach trees. Up until the 1970’s, one could walk along Cam Ly Springs. It flowed slowly from Xuan Huong Lake in the west to a cliff and dropped abruptly to make a majestic waterfall. Tourists could then see the brilliantly red shawl of peach blossoms up on the Da Cat Hill each spring. That forest now only remains in the memory of Da Lat elders and older tourists, as deforestation has nearly wiped it out completely. Fortunately, there are still quite a few peach trees grown near Xuan Huong Lake. They blossom during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year (January-February).

Mimosa is popular in Da Lat not only because it appears in many places in town, but also because it has found itself into the hearts of locals and visitors through the lyrics of songwriter Tran Kiet Tuong: “Dear Darling Mimosa, where do you come from? Da Lat’s mountains and hills wave majestically… Da Lat with immense sky and water…”
The mimosa, which originally came from Australia, is three to six meters tall. It has bright yellow flowers and leaves that are green with a silvery luster. The tree blossoms two or three times each year and flourishes during the sunny seasons. Da Lat has two types of mimosa trees: long and short-leafed. Its scientific name is Acacia Podaly-riaefolia Cunn, Mimosaceae. According to folklore, Da Lat girls often like to place the mimosa between the pages of a book, then send it to their boyfriends. The flower retains its sweet scent, which is a reminder of her affection.

Jacaranda Acutifolia, also known as purple flamboyant or flame tree, is another special feature of Da Lat, because its flowers are purple instead of the characteristic red color of its brother in northern Viet Nam. The tree’s scientific name is Jacaranda

Acutifolia. belonging to the Bignoniaceae family. Since its leaves are very similar to those of the mimosa, the purple flame tree is also called J. Mimosaefolia. Moreover, as its leaves bear the shape of an egg, the tree is also called J. Ovalifolia. The purple flame trees in Oa Lat blossom toward the end of winter and through spring. In the past, the entire town had only four purple flame trees, including three in the town’s flower park and one on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street leading to Da Lat Market (in front of Thuy Ta Restaurant).
The purple flame tree came from Brazil. It is widely grown for ornamental purposes on roadsides and in parks in South America, Africa and Oceania. Vietnamese engineer Luong Van Sau was the first person to bring the purple flame tree to -Da Lat and grew it here. Mr. Luong Van Sau was also a member of the Societe Francaise des Roses. After him, other growers multiplied the purple flame tree in Da Lat.

Hydrangea is grown in  many places  in Da Lat, especially in private gardens, at offices and in parks. The flower has been associated with an old Roman story. According to legend, in southern Europe, a beautiful Roman princess had reached marital age. But she rejected all the proposals from the most noble and wealthy men. One day, while she was making an excursion outside the town, she saw a general being cheered by a crowd. She threw the flower she was holding in her hand, and it landed on the general. That’s how she selected her husband. The flower is shaped like a ball. Its four colors change with each cycle of growth. When it first appears, the flower is white. Then it changes into light green, then dark green and finally purple.

Orchid is another Da Lat attraction. Named “queen of the world of flowers,” the orchid is a common sight wherever you go in Da Lat. Among the world’s 100,000 species of orchids, Viet Nam already has many of which grow in Da Lat. Da Lat grows all four types of orchids found worldwide, including those on other plants and trees as parasites, those on high rocks and cliffs. Those in leaves and mud. Those on other kinds of vegetation.

Lang Biang and Da Lat have a very interesting kind of orchid, Ian hai. In Vietnamese, “hai” is a beautifully embroidered shoe that used to be worn by noble ladies. The flower is so named as it has the shape of a “hai”. It originates from the species P. Delnatii. The flower received attention and praise at an international orchid exhibition in 1995 in Tokyo, Japan.

Gladiolus is very popular among growers in Da Lat because it is easy to grow and yields high returns. As legend has it, a Roman general captured two  young prisoners and kept them in his house. His two daughters fell in love with   the   two   prisoners. When the  general  discovered this situation, he became   angry and made the two prisoners fight each  other  in a duel. However, the two young men  refused  to fight and fixed their swords into the ground. The general ordered them beheaded. Strangely enough, as soon as their heads touched the ground,   the   two swords turned into flowers the shape of a sword. In Latin, “gladiolus”  means  a  short sword.  Da Lat’s gladiolus has several colors ranging from white, yellow, to purple. However, the most abundant is red and the most valued is the same red as  Bordeaux wine. Da Lat sells its gladioli throughout the entire country, especially during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year (January-February). The Vietnamese believe it symbolizes promise and love.

Pansy is popular in Da Lat not only because it adapts well to the local climate, but it adds to the romanticism that locals hold dear to their hearts. The flower has been grown in Da Lat since the French colonial days. Young sweethearts give each other the flower to express their warm feelings, just as its French name “pensee” suggests. The pansies are grown widely, especially around villas which bear its name such as Pensee 1, Pensee 2 and Pensee 6.

Wild sunflowers grow abundantly along Road No. 20, the passes of Bao Loc and Prenn and in valleys around the town of Da Lat. The

flowers also grow plentifully in other provinces of the Central Highlands on the western side of the Truong Son Range, such as Kontum, Gia Lai and Daklak. They are thus considered the typical wild flower of the Highlands of southern central Viet Nam. The wild sunflower tree is one to two meters tall. Its flower is bright yellow and has a diameter of 10 centimeters. The tree begins to flower toward the end of the rainy season and blossoms profusely in the dry season. One can say the dry season has begun in the Highlands when you see lots of wild sunflowers outside.

Do Quyen flower is grown in gardens or pots. It doesn’t shed its leaves. Its flower grows at the far end of the branch and has 3-cm long petals. Da Lat has four varieties of Do quyen: white, pink, red and orange. The most numerous are pink. Most of the do quyen varieties sold at the market are imported from overseas. However, the red one is native to Lang Biang Mountains.

Nature has granted Da Lat a graceful beauty making it an ideal tourist destination, of which land scape exudes a sweet fragrance and shows off var colors all year round.