Cultural events mark capital’s 1,000th birthday

      The Hanoi Chapter of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations on July 17 announced a number of key activities for the remaining months of the year that will mark Thang Long-Hanoi’s millennial celebrations.
A symposium on “cultural diplomacy year 2009” and measures to enhance diplomatic activities in conjunction with cultural activities were also announced.
From now until the end of the year, the Hanoi Chapter and the Vietnam Friendship Organisations together with a number of overseas countries will co-organise various activities to mark the 10th anniversary of Hanoi’s title “the City of Peace” and the 55th anniversary of Hanoi’s Liberation Day.
They include a peace and friendship music festival, a contest on Thang Long-Hanoi entitled “Hanoi – the place to meet”, a Japanese flower arranging contest and the “Canada run for children”.
In September, the Hanoi Chapter will arrange a visit to France and hold an exhibition of Vietnamese traditional dresses ao dai and publish a handbook on Hanoi’s cuisine in six languages to mark Thang Long-Hanoi’s forthcoming millennial anniversary.
To publisise the capital’s historical and cultural traditions, the chapter has oganised exchange programmes for international friends to visit a number of famous tourist spots in Hanoi, including the Son Tay Citadel, the Duong Lam Ancient Village, Va Temple, the spiral-shaped Co Loa Citadel and the Thanh Chuong Palace.