Major cultural park gets facelift ahead of Tet

Investors of Mot Thoang Vietnam (A Glimpse of Vietnam) are putting final touches on their major project in Cu Chi District in HCMC in preparation for the grand opening of the Cultural and Craft Village Tourist Park on February 14.
Tran Thi Tuyet Nga, deputy head of the Vietnam Association of Craft Villages, said that some VND200 billion (US$10.8 million) had been invested in the project developed by war veterans in the outlying district.
Nga told the Daily during a press tour to Mot Thoang Vietnam, more than 50 km from the center of town, last Friday that the investment had been disbursed over the past two years to upgrade and build new components to make the tourist park a destination for travelers who want to look into the history, culture, peoples and craft villages of Vietnam.
A village temple, a botanic garden, traditional houses of Vietnam in different regions, quarters for handicrafts and Vietnamese cuisine are among the upgraded and new facilities to be inaugurated at Mot Thoang Vietnam on February 14.
Nga said as February 14 was the first day of Vietnam’s Tet the tourist park had prepared various entertainment activities and games typical of Lunar New Year as well as special foods for this biggest holiday in Vietnam.
Nga said the entertainment would feature love duets of Bac Ninh Province in the north, Vietnamese operetta and drama of the Mekong Delta, folk games and dances of the northern mountainous region and gong performance of the Central Highlands.
Mot Thoang Vietnam will dish up traditional Tet dishes from the north and the south as well as typical wines for both Vietnamese and foreign visitors to the tourist park at Phu Binh Village in An Phu Commune.
Nga told reporters that all the activities and programs kicking off on February 14 would reflect the festive atmosphere of Tet in the northern, central and southern regions of Vietnam.
“What we are doing is to develop Mot Thoang Vietnam into a destination for guests to grasp a glimpse of true cultural values and attractions of our country,” Nga said.
Nga initiated the idea of building Mot Thoang Vietnam into a preservation place for Vietnam’s cultural diversity and craft villages in 1991 and has contributed a great part to making the idea the reality it is today.
Nga estimated more than US$20 million had been pooled into the project since work started less than 20 years ago. A spiritual area and a resort are the future components of the tourist park covering nearly 22 hectares.
Nga said the HCMC government had approved a plan for a special bus route and a waterway connecting Mot Thoang Vietnam and the business precinct of the country’s economic hub.