1,000 Overseas Vietnamese to join “welcome home” programme

As many as 1,000 overseas Vietnamese (OV) throughout the world will return to Vietnam to participate in a programme called Xuan Que Huong (Spring in the Homeland) scheduled to take place on February 6. The programme is the first in a series of planned celebrations for the 1,000th founding anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.
It will be jointly organised by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People’s Committee of Hanoi, Vietnam Television and other concerned agencies.
As part of the programme, the OV delegates will join Party and State leaders in an incense-offering ceremony and a cultural festival to be held at the relic site of Thang Long royal citadel on the afternoon of February 6.
Later in the day, a Vietnamese culture night – the highlight of the Xuan Que Huong – at the Hanoi-based Bao Son Paradise Park will be televised live on Vietnam Television and a channel of the Vietnam Multimedia Corporation.
A large number of local singers and artists and those of Vietnamese origin living abroad will give performances during the programme, which will also include TV reports featuring Vietnam’s international integration and the deep sentiments of OV towards their home country.
Exhibitions showcasing the calligraphy, handicrafts and cultural Vietnamese products and gastronomy of Hanoi and regions across the country, as well as flowers and bonsais will be held at the park during the occasion.
A wide range of folk games such as bronze drumming, human chess, cock fighting, swinging and singing at the park, will draw up a colourful picture of Vietnam’s intangible culture.
The organisers expect that the successful hosting of Xuan Que Huong 2010 will lay a foundation for the Festival of the Flying Dragon to be held as part of the Thang Long-Hanoi International Tourism Festival in October.