The visit is part of an exchange programme, which aims to mark the Germany Year in Vietnam and the Vietnam Year in Germany . It is an opportunity for the two countries’ students to meet and explore their cultures and boost the solidarity, friendship and cooperation between the two countries’ youths.

Mursal Ghiasi from Hessen State ’s Frankfurt secondary school expressed her good impression on the country’s hospitable people and beautiful landscape.

The joint activities have created a cultural connectivity and a premise for future looking friendship between the Vietnamese and German youths, said Vietnamese student Cao Bao Ngoc.

During the fortnight stay in the country, the students paid floral tributes to late President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum, visited the Museum of Ethnology and the world heritage site Ha Long Bay.

Under the programme, 50 Vietnamese students are expected to visit Germany in October for similar exchange programme with German students.

According to Vu The Binh, Director of the Department of Travel under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the incentives aim to lure more foreign tourists to the country during those two months and are part of a programme to boost tourism this year. The programme entitled “Vietnam – Your destination” was announced by VNAT in March.

During the two months, trade centres, shops and other tourist service providers in Ho Chi Minh City, Danang and Hanoi will offer 10-50% discounts for both domestic and foreign tourists.

This is the second time the tourism sector has asked the government to exempt international tourists to the country from visa fees.

Last year, after a proposal from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the government agreed to grant free visas to foreign visitors when they booked packaged tours under a promotion campaign dubbed “Impressive Vietnam”. The campaign ended in late last year.

According to Binh, the exemption is a chance to boost the country’s tourism and encourage travel firms to compete fairly by improving their tourism services.

“The exemption not only helps tourists save on expenses but also lures more international tourists to Vietnam in the coming time,” said Binh.

The Thang Long Ca Tru school is developed from the Thang Long Ca Tru club founded in August, 2006.

Among artists, researchers, musicians and audiences at the debut ceremony were Prof Tran Van Khe, who has made active contributions to promoting Ca Tru abroad, and music researcher Dang Hoanh Loan, who involved in developing documents on the ceremonial songs to submit for UNESCO’s recognition as the world cultural heritage in 2009.

Prof. Tran Van Khe described the establishment of the Thang Long Ca Tru school as an effort in making the art prosper and reviving a type of traditional art activity in former Thang Long.

Ca Tru (ceremonial singing) was listed as a cultural heritage in need of urgent protection by UNESCO at the fourth session of UNESCO inter-governmental committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage in Abu Dhabi September 30, 2009.

‘Ca Tru’, also known as hat a dao or hat noi (ceremonial singing) which dates back to the 15th century, has also been listed among 12 intangible global cultural heritage traditions in danger of disappearing.

Ca Tru, like many old and highly developed arts, has many forms. However, the most widely known and widely performed type of ca tru involves only three performers: the female vocalist, a lute player and a spectator (who also takes part in the performance).

The female singer provides the vocals whilst playing her phach (small wooden sticks beaten on a small bamboo box to serve as percussion). She is accompanied by a man who plays the dan day, a long-necked, three-string lute used almost exclusively for the ca tru genre.

Last is the spectator (often a scholar or connoiseur of the art) who strikes a trong chau (praise drum) in praise (or disapproval) of the singer’s performance, usually with every passage of the song. The way in which he strikes the drum provides commentary on the performance, but he always does it according to the beat provided by the vocalist’s phach percussion.

They will stage the opera “A Christmas Carol”, adapted from the short story of the same name by the great English writer Charles Dickens, in Hanoi, plus the central cities of Hue and Danang and the central province of Binh Dinh as well as Ho Chi Minh City.

This is the second time that the TNT theatre group has performed in Vietnam. In May, 2009, the theatre group visited the country and staged the opera “Romeo and Juliet”.

Speaking at a press conference on November 22, the group said that they would like to bring more western drama productions to Vietnam.