These ten artisans are from Bahnar ethnic minority group in Dak Wok village, Ho Moong commune, Sa Thay district. Artisan A Bek is nearly 80 years old.

According to Phan Thanh Bang from the Kon Tum provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and head of the delegation to the Republic of Korea, this a great honour of artisans from Dak Wok as well as people in the Central Highlands to perform the arts of gong, which was recognized as an oral and intangible cultural heritage of the human beings by UNESCO. This kind of arts has been preserved and promoted in the Central Highlands as well as in Vietnam.

This is the second time artisans from Dak Wok village has performed gongs in a foreign country. The first time was in the US with the theme “Mekong – the river connecting cultures” held in July 2007.

A booth introducing Vietnamese traditional food such as spring roll proved to be popular among visitors, as did a show of Vietnamese traditional dress (ao dai) at the fair.

APWA gathers ambassadors’ first ladies and women diplomats of Asia-Pacific countries in Belgium who hold charity activities to raise funds for disadvantaged people.

Proceedings from this year’s fair will go to the poor in Afghanistan , Myanmar and Papua New Guinea.

The programme, aimed mark the traditional new year festivals of Vietnam’s three neighbouring countries included many art performances of each country’s students.

It featured the Lao Bun-pi-may, the Cambodian Chol-chanam-thmay and the Thai Song-kran festivals, which are held annually from April 13-15.

Earlier, leaders of the HCMC People’s Committee presented flowers to the three countries’ Consulates General in the city.

Nha Trang welcomed between 25,000 and 30,000 tourists per day during the period, said the local tourism sector, adding that the number of arrivals to the coastal city were three or four times higher than normal days.

On May 1, Nha Trang City also received over 1,600 passengers and crew on board the Bahamas-flagged Legend of the Sea.

The world heritage site of Halong Bay the northern province of Quang Ninh saw some 150,000 tourists during the week from April 25-May 2.

Ha Quang Long, Deputy Director of the Quang Ninh provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tousim, said the surge in visitor number is partly attributable to the Halong Tourism Festival which featured a wide range of activities.

Popular beaches such as Do Son in the northern port city of Haiphong, Sam Son in central Thanh Hoa Province, Cua Lo in central Nghe An Province, also welcomed large numbers of visitors who wanted to make the most of the long holiday.

The tourists crowd have sent service charges up sharply and caused traffic jams in many major roads.