Local Lowdown

(10-11-2005)

Japan supports court music preservation

THUA THIEN-HUE — Japan has granted US$154,900 to the Hue Cutural Relic Preservation Centre to preserve and promote nha nhac (court music) in the imperial city of Hue from now until 2007.

Traditional court musicians from Hue will join the Viet Nam ethnic groups festival in the northern province of Ha Tay from November 18-20. UNESCO has recognised the tradition as a World Oral and Intangible Heritage.

First cinematography library to be opened

HA NOI — The Viet Nam Cinematography Association plans to launch this month a library to preserve scripts, films and documents related to cinematography.

Funded by the Ford Foundation Khong Gian Dien Anh (Cinematography Space), the library will boast more than 700 films. All foreign films will have Vietnamese subtitles. The library will increase its archived films to 2,000 over two years.

Bronze drum and jar found in Hai Duong

HAI DUONG — An ancient bronze drum and jar have recently been unearthed in Thanh Ha District in Hai Duong Province.

The 42.5cm-high drum and the 41.5cm-high jar are believed to be relics of the Dong Son civilisation, which dates back more than 2,000 years.

Numerous bronze drums from the Dong Son civilisation, which is renowned for the quality of these relics, have been discovered throughout northern Viet Nam. This drum is the third one to have been found in the province.

Wedding photos from last century to be displayed

HA NOI — The Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology is gearing up to launch a collection of wedding photos taken over the course of the 20th century this month.

The museum received 600 photos in the two years since they asked for submissions. Some of the photos included are from family albums sent from abroad.

The exhibition will also display hundreds of wedding invitations and stories about weddings that took place during the wars.

Ha Noi’s rock show keeps on rolling

HA NOI — A rock show entitled Hon Da Lan (Rolling Stone), with two Ha Noi bands – hard rock band The Wall and thrash metal band The Light – will rip it up in the capital city tomorrow night at the Giang Vo Exhibition Centre.

Each band will perform 10 songs, of which some are familiar to fans and some are new. After this performance, the Rolling Stone show will surely gather no moss, says Tran Lap, composer and vocalist of The Wall.

Le Dalat ranked best restaurant in Bangkok

BANGKOK — Bangkok Restaurant Review has selected the Vietnamese restaurant Le Dalat in Bangkok as the city’s best for dish arrangement and quality of Vietnamese food.

This is the eighth time it won the title. Two other restaurants, Le DaNang and Nha Hang Thien Duong (Paradise Restaurant), were also promoted by the review as the leading restaurants in Bangkok. The review was held to promote nationally characterised gastronomic creations. — VNS