The first Rice Festival for heightening the values of the age-old rice civilization and honouring rice growers has been held in the Mekong delta province of Hau Giang on November 28. In his opening speech, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung emphasized that the Rice Festival is significant in bringing together rice producers, businesses, importers, distributors, consumers and scientists to seek opportunities for cooperation and partnership.

Binding closely with the nation’s history of construction and defence, rice has by far accounted for 90% of the output of seed crops and created jobs and incomes for around 80% of Vietnam’s households in rural areas, he said.

Accordingly, rice plays an extreme importance in ensuring the nation’s food security, PM Dung underscored, hailing Hau Giang Province for coordinating with relevant ministries, sectors and rice-growing localities, VINAFOOD II and donors to organize the festival.

The Prime Minister highlighted the fact that rice has brought Vietnam from a food-shortage country into the world’s second largest rice exporter which has for 21 years exported more than 70 million tonnes of rice to earn nearly USD20 billion for the country.

He noted that the Mekong Delta has held a crucial position in the nation’s rice production industry, as it churns out more than 50% of the total rice paddy output and 90% of rice export.

While talking about untapped potential in rice farming and production, he spoke of difficulties and challenges facing rice farmers and businesses, including natural calamities and especially climate change.

To deal with those, the Party, the State, farmers, scientists, businesses and the entire political system should work together in developing and carrying out response plans for climate change to mitigate risks and consequences to rice growers, he said.

The Rice Festival is taking place on the banks of the Xa No Canal, the place where Vietnam sent its first shipments of rice abroad hundreds of years ago.

It sees the participation of over 30 provinces and cities and 300 local and foreign companies engaging in agriculture and rice.

Previously, the province had submitted documents to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to seek recognition of the local ‘Hat Xoan’ singing as an intangible World Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent protection.

Pham Sanh Chau, Director of the Department of External Culture and UNESCO under Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that if things go as planned, the UNESCO will announce its decision on the two applications in 2011.

Director of the Hung Temple historical site, Nguyen Tien Khoi, said that there are more than 600 places nationwide that worship the Hung Kings, their generals and their families but the largest number of them is found at the Nghia Linh Mountain historical site in Hy Cuong Commune, Phu Tho Province.

The Hung Temple Festival has been held annually since 1460 under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong to commemorate the 18 Hung Kings who founded the country and started a golden age in Vietnamese history.

Since then, the Hung Temple Festival has become a symbol of national unity and spirit and is a chance for Vietnamese people both at home and overseas to express their gratitude to their ancestors.

The anniversary of the death of the Hung Kings, which falls on the 10th of the 3rd lunar month, was officially recognised as a national celebration in 2000 and in 2007 the National Assembly approved a regulation making it a national holiday.

The Hung Temple is located on Nghia Linh Mountain, Phong Chau District, in Phu Tho Province, 100km northwest of Hanoi and is a complex of ancient tombs, monuments and temples.

Notably, the Lower Temple, a popular tourist destination, was according to legend, where Au Co gave birth to a sack containing 100 eggs from which 100 babies were born. The eldest son, Hung Vuong, named himself king and the throne was passed down over 18 generations.

This year’s Hung Temple Festival is being held on the largest-ever scale from April 14-24 (the first to the tenth day of the third lunar month). Cities and provinces across the country will also celebrate the festival at places of worship dedicated to the Hung Kings.

“Hat Xoan”, a kind of folk song from northern Phu Tho Province, is believed to have been created more than 500 years ago. It is not only popular in 18 communes along the Lo River in Phu Tho Province, but is also sung in the midland and northern regions.

“Hat Xoan” is similar to a lullaby. As with “Quan Ho”, many of the songs are about love, but it is also a kind of folk music that praises village genies.

There are many forms of “Hat Xoan” including duets and choirs, all accompanied by several kinds of dances.

Xoan festivals are often held in spring in village temples. On the 5th day of the 1st lunar month it is often sung at the Hung Temple Festival.

The statue, which measures 27 metres high and weighs 3,000 tonnes, is one of the largest stone statues in Southeast Asia and the first of its kind in Vietnam.

The statue is based on the model of Amitabha Buddha statue which was made of stone during the Ly dynasty.

It took three years to complete the work, which cost VND75 billion (US$3.8 million) sourced from the State budget and donations made by organisations, individuals and Buddhist followers nationwide.

On September 26, a ceremony was also held in Tien Du district to name the Phat Tich Pagoda project celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The project to renovate Phat Tich Pagoda has a total investment of over VND50 billion. After two years of execution, the project has restored 82 iron wood compartments and upgraded 150 metres of stone jetty.

Phat Tich pagoda is a cultural and historical relic in Vietnam which contains cultural and sculptural values of the Ly dynasty.

Besides keeping the Amitabha Buddha stone statue dating back to the 10th-11th centuries, which is considered a precious object, the pagoda is also a Buddhist cultural centre and a place where the Buddhism rose up in Vietnam.

Tri Nguyen fishing village is a small village consisting of about 50 households hidden behind a mountain in the Tri Nguyen cluster of islands in Vinh Nguyen Ward, Nha Trang City. Old people say that a long time ago the Tri Nguyen cluster of islands had no residents. Then strong storms brought fishermen’s boats from the central provinces of Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh and Quang Nam to hide in this place. After that, these fishermen chose the Tri Nguyen cluster of islands to settle down and lived by fishing in the sea.

In between the immense sea wind and endless ocean, the village looks tiny and scintillating in the sunlight with many boat houses to feed shrimps and fishes. In the village, there are some restaurants serving local specialties but tourists can challenge themselves by fishing for their meals and letting the fishermen do the cooking. Especially, there’s a kind of good-tasting wine made from noni fruit being soaked under the sea that goes well with seafood.

After a meal, tourists can enjoy the ocean in a coracle (small round boat). Tourists will find it hard to control these coracles because they will spin around and do not follow a straight line. Or tourists can take a boat trip to visit floating houses to try various kinds of fishes, shrimp and cuttlefish. Each floating house is more than 150m in width and is divided into different cells to feed different kinds of creatures including white bass, shellfish and cuttlefish among others. Some tourists find it an interesting method for relaxation looking at these creatures of the ocean swimming around.

Sitting in one of Tri Nguyen fishing village’s floating houses overlooking the sea when the sun goes down and the sea changes color and savoring steamed and grilled shellfish could be an unforgettable experience for tourists. In the shade of sunset, this village looks seductive and shy with its gentle waves, with boats bobbing on the sea and voices and laughter of friendly fishermen and tourists.