Dragon to fly on West Lake

      A special art program to welcome the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi will be submitted to the government for approval on March 25.
According to plan, the great celebrations will run from October 1-10, 2010. The last night will be the most important with two parts: the largest drama so far in Vietnam entitled “The City of Flying Dragon,” and the two chiefs of state releasing the Thang Long – Hanoi – Vietnam 2010 proclamation.
This program is designed by senior and well-known artists of Vietnam, including People’s Artist Trong Khoi, Honored Artist Le Chuc, People’s Artist Doan Hoang Giang and writer Nguyen Khac Phuc.
Deserved proclamation for 1,000-year history
Writer Nguyen Khac Phuc said in the past that Vietnam had masterpieces, like Chieu Doi Do (Edict on the Transfer of the Capital), Hich Tuong Si (Proclamation to the Officers or Call of Soldiers), and the Tuyen Ngon Doc Lap (Proclamation of Independence). Today, it needs to have a message that is deserving of Thang Long – Hanoi of 1,000 years old. The writer said that “The City of Flying Dragon” is worthy to be such a proclamation.
The above group of artists suggested some places to organize the great celebration, namely the National Stadium of My Dinh, the National Convention Centre, the Ba Dinh Square and West Lake. West Lake was selected.
On March 9, a group of experts from the Ministry of Defense made a field trip to the site to see the feasibility of this plan.
According to writer Nguyen Khac Phuc, experts proved the technical aspects and feasibility of this plan. Phuc said the ceremony will be held on a huge stage on the West Lake. Accordingly, the stage will be in the shape of a lotus leaf. The platform and the area for state officials will be designed in the form of a lotus. The platform will turn to the northeast and delegates will look to the Tran Quoc Pagoda.
A long corridor will be built to link the famous Tran Quoc pagoda to the Ly Tu Trong flower garden. This will be the area for Vietnamese heroic mothers, veterans and those who served the country.
The most prominent point of the ceremony would be a dragon, which will fly at a special moment of time.
For the nine days before the major celebration (October 1-9, 2010), each day will be a celebration of a special topic, including: Thang Long’s quintessence, Thang Long with the entire country, Thang Long Royal Citadel, Thang Long – the converging point of Vietnamese culture, Thang Long and 1,000-year-old cities, Thang Long through movies, literature and dramas; Thang Long through sports, and Thang Long – inspirations of youth, creative aspiration.
Talents and dedication
According to authors, there will be a general director for the ten-day great ceremony and a director for each of the ten days of celebration, in addition to several other directors for each program. Once the script is complete and approved by the government, talents will be invited to implement the plan. This will be an opportunity for artists in all fields to show their talents.
Contemporary artist Dao Anh Khanh said that he wished that he would have a chance to contribute to this historical program.
From now until September 2009, the script for the great celebration will be finalized. On October 30, the rehearsal will be held in Hanoi, on the occasion of the opening of the Asia Indoor Games 2009 in Hanoi.
Honored Artist Le Chuc said experts have contributed their ideas to the draft script, so the group of authors hopes that it will be supported by the people.
People’s Artist Trong Khoi said the most difficult thing when they draft the plan is how to ensure the artistic aspect, to tell the history of Thang Long – Hanoi through 1,000 years and the feasibility of the plan.
According to the group of authors, any contribution to the great celebration is valuable because this is a rare chance for all people to show their unity.
Proclamation to the Officers, also Call of Soldiers, was written by General Tran Hung Dao (1228–1300) right before the second Mongol invasion of Dai Viet. The proclamation was issued to motivate the soldiers' spirit so that they could defeat the incoming Mongol invaders.
Edict on the Transfer of the Capital is the edict written by King Ly Thai To and was issued on the spring of 1010 to transfer the capital of Dai Co Viet from Hoa Lu to Dai La.
The Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was written by Ho Chi Minh, and announced in public at the Ba Dinh flower garden (now the Ba Dinh Square) on September 2, 1945.