This exhibition will display collections of ceramic and stone-made antiques of the Ly and Tran dynasties, which were excavated at the Thang Long royal citadel.

Dalat Museum was the villa of Nguyen Huu Hao, father of Queen Nam Phuong, the wife of Vietnam’s last King Bao Dai.

The museum has over 15,000 objects, including the first legal documents after Dr Yersin discovered the Lang Biang plateau, now Dalat, in the late 19th century.

The most outstanding objects at the museum are antiques of the Phu My and Cat Tien relics, stone-made musical instruments, Linga-Yoni, statues of Brahman gods and ancient scripts.

The museum also showcases the largest tomb excavated in Vietnam in 1983. Called Dai Lang, it contains many objects made of various materials, from iron to bronze.

Objects of ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands like Ma, Kho, Churu are also displayed in the Dalat Museum.

This film will be broadcasted on TV5’s Tourism Discover programme, which introduces unique tourist sites to the French-speaking community. The film will be on TV5 Quebec (Canada) in January 2010 and on global TV5 Monde in March 2010.

In Vietnam, apart from shooting the world natural heritage site of Halong Bay, the French film crew paid special attention to the community tourism model, with Vit Co Xanh ecological tourist site as the example.

France is a key market for the Vietnamese tourism industry. Around 300,000 French visitors come to Vietnam annually to discover culture, history and ecological tourism.

Some main contents of the programme are as follow: enhancing local people’s awareness of respecting principles and laws; behaving friendly and culturally with foreign tourists; keeping public places clean and hygiene; spreading banners on environment protection and building a system of modern public restrooms. The Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports & Tourism, along with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and Vietnam Tourism Association would well cooperate to make the programme successful.

At the conference, Mr. Truong Minh Tien, Deputy Director of The Hanoi Deparment of Culture, Sports & Tourism expected the participation of mass media to promote the programme.

Mrs. Hoang Thi Diep, Deputy Director General of VNAT highly estimated the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports & Tourism’s initiative. She also pointed out that it is necessary for the Department’s leaders to manage well all the activities in the significant year of 2010, enhance tourism service quality, promote the values of local culture and history. She strongly believed that the programme would be a success.

The black and white and colour photos record the simple moments of an ancient and peaceful Hanoi which is now on the pathway of development and integration.

Visitors have a chance to share with international friends their feelings about the capital city’s relics and landscapes through photos of Hoan Kiem Lake, Hoa Phong Tower, The Huc Bridge, Tortoise Tower, Ngoc Son Temple, the Temple of Literature with doctors’ steles and antique Khue Van Cac (Pavilion of Constellation of Literature), as well as Long Bien Bridge and Tran Quoc Pagoda.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Ngo Thi Thanh Hang said the exhibition is a beautiful flower in the multicoloured flower garden celebrating the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, helping strengthen the friendship, understanding and cultural exchange between people of Hanoi and Vietnam with international friends.

The exhibition, entitled “1,000-year-old Hanoi through international friends’ eyes”, will run until September 28 at 45 Trang Tien St.