The Deputy Chairman of provincial People’s Committee’s Nguyen Duc Chinh welcomed the Thai delegation’s visit which aims to discuss opportunities and solutions for cooperating in tourism development.

Chinh introduced Quang Tri province’s archaeological, historical, religious and ecological tourism sites for which investment is being called and which are being promoted, such as Vinh Moc Tunnel, La Vang Church, the Dakrong Natural Reserve and Tra Loc Lagoon.

The deputy chairman expressed his hope that, through the Thai senate delegation’s visit, Thai travel enterprises will understand better and invest further in tourism cooperation with localities of their neighbour country.

For her part, Tungaratt Achariyachai praised Quang Tri province’s potential for tourism development. She said the province of Phuket has accelerated its economic development thanks to the tourism sector. The province has become one of the world’s top tourism destinations with 5-6 million visitors each year.

She said Phuket Province wants to strengthen cooperation with Quang Tri Province so as to boost tourism development.

Under the programme, both sides will co-ordinate in advertising tourism, especially the LuangPrabang-Hanoi route, promoting investment and sharing experiences in the field of tourism.

Representatives from Luang Prabang expressed their wish to connect to some of Vietnam’s cultural heritage sites in the future and co-ordinate with the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to develop tours among Indochina countries.

Luang Prabang has great potential for tourism, especially for eco-tourism. Recently, the number of tourists from Hanoi to the province by air and road has increased remarkably. Currently, more and more Asian and European tourists travel to Laos through Vietnam rather than Thailand

The museum has launched an exhibition featuring artifacts of the Sa Huynh Culture, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the culture’s discovery in Vietnam.

The Sa Huynh Culture is the name given to the urn field (jar burial) culture of the coastal plains in central and southern Vietnam. Archaeological sites have been discovered from the Mekong Delta to just south of the Tonkin region.

Sa Huynh sites are rich in locally worked iron artifacts, typified by axes, swords, spearheads, knives and sickles.

The Sa Huynh cremated dead adults and buried them in jars covered with lids, a practice unique to the culture. Ritually broken offerings usually accompanied the jar burials.

The most typical style of burial of Sa Huynh Culture in the early Iron Age was in burial jars.

Burial jars of the Sa Huynh vary in measurement and type, but they are mostly cylindrical and egg-shaped with conical lids.

The culture is also typified by its unique ear ornaments featuring two-headed animals. The ornaments were commonly made from jade, but also from glass. Bead ornaments were also commonly found in Sa Huynh burials, most commonly made from glass, carnelian, agate, olivine and gold.

“The diversification of objects and the various types of Sa Huynh artifacts have surprised us. Our ancestors made great creations and left for us a heritage that is as huge and interesting as all other ancient civilisations in the world,” said Pham Quoc Quan, director of the museum.

“After 100 years studying the culture we have seen remarkable results, but the number of things exhibited here is limited. There are holes among the artifacts here that need to be filled with new objects from recent and upcoming discoveries and excavations.” said Quan.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition drew hundreds of experts, collectors and foreigners.

“I just arrived here by chance… but it’s really a golden opportunity for me to learn about one of the country’s ancient cultures,” said Marie Johnsons, from the US.

“I’m not an expert, but I’m really interested in the artifacts displayed here, which are various and beautiful. It’s also the first time I’ve heard of these kinds of jars; it’s an amazing idea by the Vietnamese,” she said.

The display is organised in co-ordination with the Institute of Archaeology and the Museum of Anthropology.

An earthenware coffin found in the Sa Huynh salt marsh in Duc Pho District,

Quang Ngai Province, in 1909 by a French scientist, was the first landmark of the culture’s discovery. So far, about 80 relic sites related to the Sa Huynh Culture have been found.

This is the fourth consecutive festival held by Do Son District of the northern port city of Haiphong, drawing the interest of many tourists to Do Son Beach.

After 15 rounds of competition, buffalo number 17, owned by Mr Nguyen Van Son from Bang La Ward of Do Son District, won the championship, while second prize went to buffalo number 10. Buffalos 3 and 8 shared third prize.