The highlights are three bronze jars dating back to the Dong Son period around 4,000 years ago and bronze and pottery artifacts made during the Ly – Tran dynasty era (600 to 1,000 years ago).

Lam Du Xenh of Quang Ngai offered 27 items, including nine swords and 18 bronze jars.

Most of the donors are members of a UNESCO club that collects and studies antiques.

On the same day, the museum opened an exhibit featuring seven private collections ranging from ceramic and metal artifacts to exquisite china used by royalty. It will remain on show until the end of the year.

This traditional epic narrative, similar to the Finnish epic, “Kalevala”, was pieced together using several different epic and folklore tales from several Vietnamese ethnic minority groups.

The epic yarn includes a mythological section explaining the origins of the Earth, rice and buffalos, as well as the stories behind many other creatures.

The second section of the tale is a heroic epic telling how Mon Man, the eponymous hero, defeats a series of enemies.

“The Descendant of Mon Man” was written by the translator, Dr. Bui Viet Hoa, who has spent many years studying epic tales from around the world, including a translation of Finland’s “Kalevala” epic tale from Finnish to Vietnamese in 1994.

Bui Viet Hoa successfully completed a doctoral thesis at the University of Budapest on the subject of “Comparing the Kalevala Epic of Finland and the Birth of Earth and Water Epic of the Muong Ethnic Minority of Vietnam“.

The author applied the same methodology that Elias Lonnrot, the author of the “Kalevala”, used when writing “Kalevala”. Using this methodology, the author, in addition to taking the role of a collector and a note taker, also takes the role of the narrator and an artist. Through the use of this method, poems and their topics are integrated into the tale in the best possible manner.

Illustrations for the epic tale were created by Dang Thu Huong, whose paintings have been displayed at the international exhibition “The Sound of Kantele” organised in Finland, Hungary and Vietnam in 2005.

The elaboration of the linguistic form and the revision of geographic and human names were undertaken by Dr. Vo Xuan Que. Finnish experts also participated in the project.

The museum will present the dances, songs, traditional games and festivals of Vietnam’s ethnic groups.

For the first time, visitors will get the chance to see performances by the inhabitants of Co Lam and Tu Xa communes, Lam Thao district in Phu Tho province.

Audiences can also see water puppet performers from Hong Phong village and will even get a chance to learn how to manipulate the puppets themselves on a small stage after the show.

The museum will also offer traditional music and dance performances including ‘mua xoe’ and ‘mua sap’ of the Thai people, ‘mua khen’ (pan-pipe dance), ken la (leaf horn instrument) and ‘dan moi’, a musical instrument of the H’Mong in Yen Bai province.

There will be calligraphy and painting demonstrations and visitors can be artists themselves, learning how to make ‘mat na trau’ (buffalo-shaped mask) and ‘trau dat nan’ (buffalo-shaped sculptures).

Traditional games, such as ‘danh du’ (swinging), ‘keo co’ (tug of war) and ‘choi trau’ (buffalo fighting) will also be offered.

Visitors are invited to dine on traditional Vietnamese Tet dishes in the festive museum atmosphere.

At 7.30pm on Jan. 29, 2009 (the fourth day of the Lunar New Year), the museum will have a fireworks show and a water puppetry performance.

Participants focused their discussions on increasing cooperation in trade and investment, industry-energy, transportation, tourism, agriculture, health care, and human resource development. They highlighted practical achievements made by ACMECS countries after five years of implementing cooperation programmes.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Doan Xuan Hung and it is essential to encourage investment attraction in the region and enhance cooperation with other partners.
Delegates looked at tourism promotion activities, including the initiative “Five countries, One destination”, aimed at connecting cultural and natural heritage sites in ACMECS member countries.

They agreed that in the current context when Mekong sub-region countries are entering a new dynamic development period with opportunities and challenges, ACMECS member countries should increase the effectiveness of their cooperation in all fields.

They underlined the need to select preferential projects to call for investment and encourage businesses to boost cooperation within ACMECS framework while promoting dialogue between the business community and the government.

They reached a consensus on the agenda of the 3rd ACMECS Summit to take place at the National Conference Centre in Hanoi on November 7, 2008 and the joint statement of ACMECS leaders on trade, investment and tourism promotion to be submitted to the Summit for approval.

On this occasion, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Vietnam and Thailand on vocational training development in ACMECS member countries. The MoU aims to establish a necessary framework for implementing cooperation programmes between Vietnam and Thailand in vocational training development for the ACMECS countries.

ACMECS (the Ayayewady - Chao Phraya - Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy) of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Vietnam became an official member of ACMECS at the first ACMECS Ministerial Meeting in Thailand in November 2004.