Expense for fireworks set off is contributed by individuals and organisations.

This year, the capital city of Hanoi will set off fireworks for 15 minutes in all 29 districts and towns for the first time.

Meanwhile, people in HCMC will enjoy firework performance in seven locations compared to six last year.

Ethnic people in many northern mountainous provinces including Cao Bang, Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Dien Bien and Lang Son will be able to watch firework for the first time.

Firework will also be set off in all five provinces of Kon Tum, Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Dak Nong in the Central Highlands region.

This was stated by German journalist Maris Kristin, who agreed with 14 other reporters, who went on a week-long tour of the city called “the Heart of Vietnam”, organised by the municipal People’s Committee from September 9-15.

Moved by Hanoi’s beauty, Park Hae-Yoon from the Republic of Korea, wrote 7 pages on Hanoi, describing it as active, but ancient and peaceful.

Coming from a country which is famous for its culture, Refat Ablelsamiaa Abbas Abdelmoaty Hussein from Egyptian Television, learnt about Hanoi through its folk songs. He said he loved these melodies and intended to use them as background music for his report on Hanoi . He added that he wants to get a CD of Vietnamese folk music.

Meanwhile, Vansili Bounthi, a reporter from the Laotian daily newspaper the Pasason, described the tour as his return to his home. “ Hanoi is very close to my heart and I have with many memories of when I was a student there,” he said.

During the tour, the foreign reporters visited world heritage sites recognised by UNESCO, including the Thang Long Royal Citadel and the Temple of Literature, the country’s first university. They also visited the historical sites of Son Tay citadel and Duong Lam village and the craft villages of Van Phuc for its silk and Bat Trang for its ceramics.

While writing about the capital city’s culture, traditions and economic development, all the journalists on the tour said they believed that Hanoi would have wonderful 1,000 year birthday celebration.

Vietnam has potential to develop a very strong homestay tourism market, a Malaysian tourism official told the Malaysia Homestay Seminar and Travel Mart at the Duxton Hotel Saigon in HCMC. “We are proud of our country and the achievements of homestay tourism. Your country is endowed with beautiful natural landscapes, your country has enough human resources, and I think you, Vietnam, can also develop homestay tourism as much as we are doing and have done,” said Mohd Akbal Setia, Director of Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board in HCMC on October 23. Dato Hj Sahariman Hamdan, Chairman of Malaysia Homestay Association, said that homestay tours are an experience where tourists stay with selected families, interact and experience the daily life of these families and local culture. The local tour operators that attended the event were very interested in the success of Malaysia’s homestay industry. It is not classified as accommodation, Setia said. Tourists to each state in Malaysia can taste the state’s unique culture and entertainment activities such as traditional dances, songs, food, folk games and sports, he said Homestay visitors get to witness first hand farming practices such as rubber tapping, fish farming, paddy farming, cocoa, palm oil, fruits and jungle trekking, white water rafting, and craft villages, he said. “We have jungle homestay, we have island homestay, we have paddy homestay, we have mountain homestay, so we offer diverse options for tourists,” Dato Shahariman said. As far as landscapes and places of interest were concerned Vietnam was on a par with Malaysia and should exploit the potential, the conference heard. “Homestay’s development is based on the landscapes, cultural and historical values and people, said Lam Van Son, Director of Can Tho Tourist Company. “We can have mountain homestay in Daklak, Sapa, Lai Chau, island homestay in Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, orchard homestay in Can Tho, Vinh Long, craft village homestay in Hanoi and highlands homestay in Dalat,” Son said. Huynh My An, marketing manager of Viettours said, despite having 54 ethnic groupings with rich cultures and histories, we still don’t know how to promote it to international tourists. Established since 1995 at Temerloh Village in Pahang State, the Malaysian homestay program has spread to 227 villages around the country. Local villagers are trained by the governmental organizations and can earn good incomes, said Dato Sahariman, adding that last year, Malaysia had 161,000 tourists that used homestays. “The Malaysian government has provided significant funding to build infrastructure in remote areas and a lot of farmers can speak English to communicate with tourists. In Vietnam, we need support from government and an association for homestay tourism,” said Nguyen Thi Anh Tho, Director of Viet Legend Travel. “We have homestay services scattered in some regions such as Mekong Delta, Mai Chau, Buon Ma Thuot and Dalat but they have developed in isolation, so we are not using everything we can to develop the service,” Tho said.

Such features of the city as the Khue Van Cac – Pavilion of the Constellation of Literature in Van Mieu (Temple of Literature-Vietnam’s first university), and O Quan Chuong – one of the ancient gates into Hanoi, are lively depicted in the paintings although the painter has been living abroad for quite a long time.

The paintings reflect the painter’s “Glimpse of the thousand-year old Thang Long”, where its age-old distinctive architectural buildings and space have partly been maintained.

The two-month exhibition will last until May 16.