Attending the opening ceremony were Vietnamese ambassador to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland Tran Quang Hoan, Prince Andrew and the Duke of York. As the only gallery in London to solely specialise in contemporary Vietnamese art, it will introduce many iconic works by the featured artists to art lovers in the UK in particular and visitors from around the world.

Later the same day, the exhibition, by Dang Xuan Hoa, Do Quang Em, Hong Viet Dung, Le Quy Tong and Pham Luan, attracted numerous visitors.

A photo exhibition and a seminar on Hanoi ’s architecture and urban life were opened in the Vietnam Cultural Centre in Paris, France, on October 21. The documentary photos chronicled Hanoi from the past till the present day with its famous relic sites namely Hoan Kiem Lake and Van Mieu (Temple of Literature), or French-styled architectural works such as Long Bien Bridge, Hanoi Opera House and Presidential Palace. At the seminar, French architect Christian Pedelahore de Loddis, who used to live in Hanoi for ten years and has a good understanding about the city, explained Hanoi’s architectural characters through pictures on the screen. The exhibition will remain open until October 27.

Deutschland fur Anfanger (Germany for Beginners) answers questions about the country through platic models of 24 letters of the alphabet, representing German words like V in Verein (Association), B in Brauchttum (Custom), or Z in Zukunft (Future).

Inside the models are windows, drawers and screens containing words, poems, articles, photos, videos and music that explain the meaning of a world and give information related to the words.

Visitors use all five senses to enjoy the exhibition, said Paul Weinig, head of Goethe Institution in HCMC.

For example, in the model F in Fubball (football), visitors can hear old and new songs about football, watch clips about football matches, see players’ pull their signs and read information about a German female football team.

The exhibition organised by the Goethe Institute Vietnam, is an activity of German Year in Vietnam to celebrate 35 years of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Germany.

The exhibition remains opened at the HCMC General Sciences Library at 69 Ly Tu Trong Street in HCMC’s District 1 until April 18.

The same exhibition, held in Hanoi last month, attracted more than 3,000 visitors.

Bui Minh Chinh, general director of Petroland, said that the realty firm would invest some VND300 billion to develop the Petroland Tay Ninh Hotel on Hoang Le Kha Street in the heart of Tay Ninh Town, some 100 km from HCMC.

The project, covering some 1.2 hectares, is designed with two blocks of 18-storey buildings, including a 14,400-square-meter section for office space and a section for the hotel with 144 guest rooms. Besides, there will be serviced facilities for conference, restaurant, fitness center and spa among others.

Chinh said the company had seen potential in the hospitality market in the province because there are few standard hotels there, and that business and leisure travelers would be among the target guests for the forthcoming hotel scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2012.

Petroland, Chinh added, is mulling another property project in the southern coast city of Vung Tau, some 125 km from HCMC.

The company will set aside some VND4,000 billion for this urban town development on about 70 hectares. It will include sections for hotel, housing, and resort. The project’s groundbreaking event is set for early next month.

The company is working on two condo projects in HCMC’s districts 2 and 7. When in place by the fourth quarter next year, those projects will provide the market with around 660 apartments, he said.

Established in 2007, Petroland is active in investment and construction fields including housing, office and hotel projects, infrastructure development and property trading.