The biggest Gong of Vietnam displayed at int’l festival

A ceremony to present Vietnam’s biggest gong was held by the Vietnamese Guinness Record Center in the city of Pleiku November 13.
The gong, measuring 2.5 meters across and weighing 700 kilograms, was cast by artisans and experts at the Phuoc Kieu Bronze Casting Village in the central province of Quang Nam.
The gong took 90 days to take shape, with one ton of brass and 100 kilograms of other metals used.
The gong is displayed at the Green Field Cultural Park during the four-day the International Gong Festival in the central province of Gia Lai.
On the same day, there were gong performances by 15 troupes, including groups from Indonesia and Cambodia.
Three international troupes, including Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines, also performed at Dien Hong Park, Pleiku.
On the framework of the International Gong Festival 2009, Gia Lai Province’s People’s Committee held a conference on investment promotion.
The conference attracted more than 250 domestic businesses nationwide.
The province called for investment in 53 projects with a total capital of VND11.2 trillion.
Pham The Dung, chairman of the province’s People’s Committee, said the province needs businesses to invest in many fields, such as industrial plant processing, mining, tourism and wind power.
At the conference, many businesses donated over VND48 billion to the province’s social welfare fund to build houses and hospitals for disadvantaged people.