As winter is approaching, yellow flowers are in full bloom on the outskirts of Hanoi.
Young people often gather on weekends at Thanh Tri bridge pier, Phu Dong-Gia Lam dyke, in Yen Vien fields, or along the embankment of the Duong River to pose for beautiful photographs that make use of the romantic atmosphere.
The yellow flowers reach full bloom in March and November.
Following are several photos snapped by reporters:
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A festival to celebrate the 1418 Lam Son revolution was held at the Lam Kinh historical site in the central province of Thanh Hoa's Tho Xuan District on Saturday.
The annual three-day event honoured the services to the country of the historical figure Le Loi, who led a 10-year resistance against the Chinese Ming invaders and brought independence to his people. He was crowned the first king of the late Le dynasty (1427-1789) with the title of Le Thai To in 1428.
The event also marked his coronation as well as the 579th anniversary of his death.
The festival was kicked off with a palanquin procession from the Le Thai To Temple to the grand court of Lam Kinh Palace, where a ritual ceremony dedicated to the national hero took place.
Earlier, incense was offered for Le Loi and his general, Le Lai, who sacrificed himself to protect Le Loi, at historical sites across the province.
Several artistic activities were also organised during the festival, including five Xuan Pha folk dances, considered the best of traditional Vietnamese dance. This was the first time the dances were reintegrated and staged by local farmers of Xuan Pha Village, expressing the unique features of the wet rice civilisation.
Other traditional games were also held, attracting thousands of people to join in the fun.
The festival provided an opportunity for local travel agents to boost provincial tourism. Tours to several attractions across the province, including the Tay Do-Lam Kinh royal area, Ho Royal Citadel, and Sam Son Beach, were introduced at the event.
The festival, which has been held annually since 1995, will conclude today.
Source: VNS
Gao village in Thanh Loi commune, Nam Dinh province, has preserved the age-old tradition of making unicorn heads for the annual full-moon festival which falls in the middle of the eighth lunar month.
During the subsidized economy several decades ago, the villagers decided to establish a cooperative that only made unicorn heads for the festival.
The cooperative created intricately designed unicorn heads from materials such as used papers, inks, and bamboo supplied by the State, and delivered them to State companies to sell.
Having experienced many upheavals over the years, only three households in the village now earn a living from making unicorn heads. They still maintain the traditional manual work, from building and painting the bamboo frames to arranging and gluing decorative papers to create the final product.
The village is most well-known for making large-sized unicorn heads. Hung, a local villager, says he inherited the craft from his father who specialised in large unicorn heads. He used his own initiative to develop lighter, more durable unicorn heads using cloth instead of paper.
He says he is happy because the trade continues to grow and flourish, and his new products are selling well.
At another house in the village, the entire family is working hard around the clock to deliver products to their dealers on schedule. A small unicorn head costs just VND8,000 (38 cents).
Although the full-moon festival is celebrated only once a year, Gao villagers hope to preserve their traditional craft and make enough money to cover some of their daily expenses.
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| Making large-size unicorn heads |
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| Cloth pieces are used instead of old papers |
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| The unicorn head is made of rattan and bamboo splints |
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| Gluing the head |
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| The inner framed layer of the head |
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| Unfinished products |
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| Painting the head |
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| Drying the products in the sun |
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| Putting the finishing touch to the product |
