French travel guide Hachette has also highlighted the “Crazy House” as a not-to-be missed hotel stay on any trip to Vietnam.

The house, occupying nearly 1,600m² on Huynh Thuc Khang Street, was completed in 1990 as a personal project by architect Dang Viet Nga. The controversial building once dismissed as “crazy” has now become a regular feature on tourist visits to the city.

The free-form undulating structure is quite unlike anything else in Dalat, let alone Vietnam. The house is constructed on a numerous levels with a naturalistic theme interpreted through concrete curves, twists and bends, giving it the appearance of an out-grown tree.

The interior is equally unorthodox, with almost every surface twisting, curving and running fluidly along the internal corridors, stairwells and rooms.

Mismatched windows give the impression of a fairytale house straight from Little Red Riding Hood, while stone tigers, bears, eagles, kangaroos and pheasants decorate the environs adding to the surreal environment.

The building has been dogged by controversy since conception with arguments centering on the structure’s insufficient architectural integrity, ad-hoc character and lack of formal aesthetic.

Nga shrugs off criticism, “Many people have criticised me, even my colleagues. I don’t blame who don’t understand me.” Instead she believes that the controversial character of the house has won her more attention.

“When they first saw the house, people would exclaim that it was a “crazy house”! So that’s how it got its name, and now, it’s one of Dalat’s leading tourist attractions,” Nga says.

Nga is more concerned with conveying history and myth through the structural and decorative styling of the house rather than conforming to strict architectural rules. The house for her is interconnected by “a cobweb, which can be conceived as a bridge linking reality and the spiritual world, linking the self and the infinite universe,” she says.

Visitors have been responded to Nga’s creation, one French visitor noted in the guest book: “Thanks for showing me the meaning of life. The fairy tale house took me back to my childhood, to when things were pure and natural.”

The People’s Committee of Lam Dong Province has designated the house as a serious architectural work and its owner, Nga, has had the architectural plans and style of the house copyrighted, becoming the first of its kind to receive such recognition in the province. With the new certificate from the city administration, she now can expand and plans to build another house in 2010.

The nine other buildings selected by China’s People’s Daily include the Forest Spiral – Hunder Swasser Building in Germany, the Ideal Palace in France, the Basket Building, the Public Library Building and the upside down Wonderworks in the US, and the Cubic houses in the Netherlands.

Nguyen Van Tuan, Director General of the VNAT, said that VNAT would classify tourist boats in the same way hotels are classified from one- to five-star standards.

“The VNAT will recognize tourist boats from three-star standard and higher. The provincial government will recognize two-star boats and those of lower quality,” he said.

He said the VNAT has mapped out criteria to classify these boats. However, VNAT needs to work with the Ministry of Communications and Transport in activities to classify the boats because they are operating under rules of the ministry.

“We expect to finish the activity this year to help tourists to select quality boats with convenience and create a competitive environment for boat owners to improve services as well as methods and equipments to protect tourists,” Tuan said.

According to him, the new rule of the VNAT will have an impact on such kinds of tourist boats in Halong Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh, as most tourist boats that accommodate tourists overnight are operating there.

The official estimated that around 460 tourist boats are operating on the bay, and some 100 of them are qualified for star rating.

Dozens of its artists have fanned out around Tra Vinh, Soc Trang and Ca Mau provinces for performances based on the cultural and lifestyle of the Khmer.

Dressed in traditional ethnic clothes, young and veteran performers sing and dance, and perform serious plays focusing on the religion, traditional customs, and arts of the Khmer people.

“Our performances showcase the beauty of the Khmer spirit,” said Meritorious Artist Kim Thinh, head of Anh Binh Minh, one of the province’s leading art troupes.

“We hope out shows enable young people to improve their knowledge about tradition, understand the greatness of their country’s rich culture, as well as learn useful lessons about love, life and people,” he said.

In Ca Mau, Thinh and his colleagues have visited remote districts like Thoi Binh, Tran Van Thoi, and U Minh, performing in front of several thousands of people.

“We’re not looking to make a profit from these shows but we hope to encourage young people to love their culture more,” said Thinh, who often travels with his staff by boat to remote areas to meet their fans.

“Chol Chnam Thmay is a time for people, especially youth, to celebrate after a year’s hard work and studies,” Phan Huu Hung, a farmer in Thoi Binh District, said.

“We love to see Anh Binh Minh artists because their shows are quality and feature our Khmer culture,” he added.

As in past years, the troupe along with many others is putting up free performances during the festival.

There are nearly 1.3 million Khmers in the Mekong Delta, chiefly in Soc Trang and Tra Vinh.

Local residents and visitors have flocked to participate in music programmes, traditional games, and sports competition launched at the beginning of this month by local authorities.

Hundreds of pictures depicting the cultural and spiritual life of the Kinh, Hoa, Cham and Khmer people in HCMC was also displayed in the exhibition titled “Cultural Traits of Peoples in HCMC” at District 5’s Cultural Centre.

Featured in the music and dance programme will be Chinese traditional music, don ca tai tu (traditional southern folk music) and Cham and Khmer dances performed by artists from the Bong Sen (Lotus) Theatre.

The HCMC Information and Exhibition Centre will open an exhibition featuring images of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups at the Lam Son Park in District 1.

The centre will also bring the Kinh and Hoa traditional musical forms to a two-day festival at the Dong Mo Commune in Hanoi’s Son Tay Town to celebrate the Ethnic Groups’ Cultural Day. The festival in the capital city will also host an exhibition titled “Hoa People’s Cultural Imprints in HCMC” presenting 10 water-colour and calligraphy works by Hoa artisans.

Ethnic Hoa painter Truong Han Minh will demonstrate his calligraphy and finish a water-colour on Dong Mo before presenting them to the Vietnam Culture and Tourism Village.

Artisan Nam Dum will create the 1.4 m high and 1.6 m wide fruit sculpture using papaya, mandarin, grapefruit, mango, mangosteen, pear, apple and coconut.

All Kinh and Hoa artisans who participate in the festival will wear their traditional ao dai with khan dong (turbans) and trousers or skirts with five panel vests.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism says the festival celebrating the nation’s first Ethnic Groups’ Culture Day will attract about 1,500 artists and artisans from 33 cities and provinces.

The festivities will be broadcast live on the VTV1 channel on Sunday night, April 19, 2009