The Cham towers complex is the only relic of the Cham culture. The towers have a long history of establishment, existence, preservation and development from the eighth century to now. The towers were built when Hinduism prevailed in the land.

The tower is about 23m high and holds statues of goddesses and animals. Striking inside the tower is a giant statue of a goddess sitting on a lotus flower and leaning her back on a large rock in the shape of a bodhi tree leaf.

The outside stone wall of the tower is covered with images of dancers in traditional costumes, sailors, farmers husking rice and hunters with bows and arrows. There is an altar with a statue of Po Nagar with 12 hands, two hands on her knees and five embracing weapons on the right side and five more holding bells, plates, bows and horns on the left side. Scattered around the temple are statues of humans and animals that augment the ancient Cham architecture and décor.

The complex also puts on traditional dance performances by Cham ladies.

Speaking at the talks on 40 years of implementing the late President’s testament, Vietnamese ambassador in Argentina Thai Van Lung described the event as an opportunity for professors, scholars, culturists and friends of Vietnam in Argentina and other countries to exchange their thinking and sentiments on the late President’s daily life and his revolutionary course for freedom and independence of nations all over the world.

At the talks, which was jointly organised by the Vietnamese embassy and the Vietnam-Argentina Culture Institute, Lawyer Rodolfo Caffero Kramer affirmed the long-lasting value of late President Ho Chi Minh’s testament and called it an immortal document. Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the Institute for Strategic Studies of Argentina (IPE) Pascual Albanese said that Vietnam now, with the direction of socialism and socio-economic development achievements, is “a legal inheritor” of the late President’s historical testament.

Participant to the talks also dealt with President Ho Chi Minh’s image in Latin American countries’ heart, his contributions to arts and literature and his lessons bequeathed in the fields of education, human development and international solidarity construction.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on August 23 for the “Hanoi-the heart of motherland” exhibition, VNA’s Deputy General Director Nguyen Duc Loi said the exhibition reflects the capital city’s glorious history during the country’s struggles for national independence and construction as well as simple images from days gone past.

He said that VNA’s staff, along with people the length and breadth of the nation, are reverently welcoming the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, which is in October this year.

Apart from the documentary photos of Hanoi in the past, there are also images of late President Ho Chi Minh and other state leaders as well as of the capital city in its struggle for freedom during the US and French wars and the industrialisation and modernisation process.

The exhibition will last until August 29.

The capital city of Seoul in the Republic of Korea has offered to organise a wide range of activities, entailing artistic performances, a Seoul-Hanoi friendship night, a Seoul-Hanoi trade fair, and a seminar on the Red river project.

The capital city of Moscow in Russia has proposed organising Moscow days while Berlin, Germany has offered to hold a classical music concert during the event.

The Ile de France region of France said it wants to organise a fashion show and a seminar featuring French architecture in Hanoi, and other French cities such as Toulouse, Lyon and Rouen have registered to participate in street shows, and various musical, circus, and modern dance performances.

The Australian embassy has registered with a programme to introduce its country’s ancient and aboriginal culture, while the Danish embassy has offered a street art performance, the Italian embassy, a photo exhibition and a musical concert, and the Argentine embassy, a performance of tango.

The committee said a number of cities and international organisations have registered to take part in projects to light the Long Bien Bridge and public works located in the heart of Hanoi, such as the Government Guest House and the Ly Thai To garden.