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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Places to visit in Hanoi

Places to Visit in Hanoi:
 

Introduction
 

Hoan Kiem Lake
Hanoi, with an estimated population about nearly 7 milion, the area of 3328.9 km2. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam. The city is located on the right bank of the Red River, in the centre of North Vietnam. Hanoi is the heart of a thriving modern, country and its economic, cultural and political centre. For about a thousand years, the capital was called Thang Long (Dragon ascending), then changing to Dong Do, Dong Kinh and finally, in 1831, to Hanoi which means “the hinterland between the rivers”. The city became the Vietnam capital in the 7th century. It was oocupied by the French in 1873 and passed to them ten years later. From 1902 to 1953 Hanoi was the capital of French Indochina. In 1940, the city was occupied by the Japanese and was liberated five years later when it became the seat of Vietnam’s government. From 1946 to 1954, it was the scene of heavy fighting between the French and Viet Minh forces. After 1954 Hanoi became the capital of North Vietnam and following the 1975 events it became the capital of the unified country. Today, Hanoi is a modern city full of charm, with remarkable colonial architecture, large shady avenues, and numerous lakes and gardens.

Travel guide:
Throughout the thousand years of its eventful history, Hanoi still preserves many ancient
architechtural works worth a visit including the Old quarter and over 600 pagodas and temples. Marvellous places include the One pillar pagoda (built in 1042), the Teple of Literature (built in 1070), Hanoi citadel, President Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum & Museum (Inside the beautiful Ho Chi Minh complex), the National Fine Arts Museum, the Quan Thanh temple and the Hanoi Opera House. Hanoi’s unique beauty is improved by 18 charming lakes such as Hoan Kiem lake, West lake, Truc Bach Lake, Thien Quang lake, Seven hectas lake… that really deserve a visit. Many traditional handicrafts are also practiced in Hanoi including bronze silver carving, lacquer, embroidery.

Land Marks and historic sites
1.    Hanoi city tour
From Hanoi we organize several tour around Hanoi city and in Vietna. We propose you to try our city tour, to discover the enchanting and cultural capital. The First step of our city tour is important heritage of our nation’s great father, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, which were his home between 1985 to 1969. Now it’s a museum where you can get to know the life of this president and what he did for Vietnam. We continue our tour in Hanoi at the One pillar pagoda: a group of buildings erected as a symbol of peace, this structure consists of a pagoda and a tower built in the shape of a lotus in the middle of a lake. Our city tour of Hanoi proceeds with the visit of the Temple of Literature, built in the early 11th Century as a dedication to Confusius and later become the first university of Vietnam. After a cultural immersion in the history and art of Hanoi we will have lunch at a popular local restaurant and taste typical flavours of Vietnam. We will continue to visit of Ngoc Son temple on the Hoan Kiem lake, and the ethnic of history museum where is displayed culture, custome and house of 54 minorities of Vietnam. Or if you travel on Monday and Friday we will visit Bat Trang village stead of Ethinic Minority Museum. Bat Trang which is far from Hanoi around 18km, is a traditional pottery and ceramic village. Check more details of Hanoi city tour
Price ( join with group tour) is 28 US$/person (included: entrance fees, local English speaking guide, transfer, lunch).

2.    Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Address: No 2 Ong Ich Kiem street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi tel: +84 4 38455 124
Ho Chi Minh is the father of the Republic of Vietnam and former prime minister and resident of the democratic republic of Vietnam. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum was built in his honour. The tomb complex encompasses a palace museum, a traffic free zone and some parks. The centre of the structure has a large tomb where the body of the great leader rests in a bier inside a glass case. No photographs are allowed within the mausoleum and visitors have to leave their personal belongings outside. The grand mausoleum overlooks the pond and, through the windows, visitors get a glimpse of the rooms where furnishings and belongings of the late leader still exist. Near the tomb is the Presidential place and a short walk from this is the tomb of the unknown soldier which looks stunning when lit up at night. Here you can also find the Hanoi citadel.


Hoang Thanh Citadel

3.    Hoang Thanh citadel (Hoàng Thành Thăng Long in Vietnamese)
Address: 18 Hoang Dieu, Ba Dinh, Hanoi


Also known as the central old citadel of Hanoi and it was former residence of the Vietnamese monarchs. This was the time when the city was known by all as Thang Long. In 1009, King Ly Cong Uan was enthroned, founded Ly Dynasty. In July, 1010, the King promulgated the royal decree (Chiếu Dời Đô) to change the capital city from Hoa Lu (Ninh Binh) to Dai La citadel. After transferring the capital city, The Thang Long citadel was built and finished in early 1011.
This UNESCO SITES was constructed in 1010 under Ly dynasty and till 1810, it remained as the seat of the Vietamese court. In late 19th century, this place was destroyed by the colonial French people, though some strctures remained like the Flog Tower of Hanoi, the Down Mon gate and the steps of Kinh Thien Plalace along with the Hau Lau (Princess Palace). It was in 2010 that this beautiful citadel of Thang Long on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Today, this complex is in the process of being released by the Army, with two building being accessed.
This place is highly recommended for who is keenly interested in knowing its historic background and some insight into glorios Vietnamese heritage.

4.    Temple of literature
Adress: 58 Quoc tu giam street, Dong Da District, Hanoi.
Opening time: 8:00 to 16:30 everyday from Mon to Sun. Entry fee is 20,000 VND

This architectural masterpicece from 1070 is dedicated to Confucius. The Temple of
Khuê Van Cac
Literature was initially the first university of Vietnam. But, nowadays, the temple is a relaxing park in the centre of Hanoi. It is a symbol of the rich and great Vietnamese culture. When the temple was a university, it was a highly renowned centre which awarded doctorates to many eligible students. The 82 stone diplomas on the stone tortoises is an extraordinary sight. These stone sculptures hold the names and birthplaces of all the graduates from the university. The ealiest stele is in 1484 and the last one is in 1780.
The original reason for the construction of the temple was to make a place of worship of the saints of Confucianism. Six year after construction, the temple was turned into a centre of education. Altars to Confucius can still be seen and many fervent believers also visit the temple to pay homage to the site. There is a belief that if you rub the tops of all 82 tortoise steles, you will be blessed. That why if you have chance to visit temple of literature in summer (after summer holiday for student and nearly examition for university) you can see thousands of students come to Temple of literature to rub the tops of tortoise.

History Museum


5.    Museum of History
Adress: No 1 Pham Ngu Lao street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. Tel: (84-4) 38241384
Entry fee is 20,000VND. Opening time 8:00 to 16:30 everyday from Mon to Sun.
National museum of Vietnamese history is situated in the district of Hoan kiem behind the Opera House. The history of Vietnam is showcased here with large displays that cover each and every period. Housed in a colonial French building that got completed in 1932, the museum building was exclusively designed by architect, Ernest Hebrard. He is known to be a successful architecture using a blend of traditional Vietnamese and French colonial architecture, a style known as Indochina architecture. Visitors to this amazing museum are locals as well as tourists. It is worth for visiting and it is vast collection of displays, this historic museum focuses more on the history of Vietnamese people and their lifestyle. This museum is an beautiful display of ancient as well as historic relics of nicely displayed items with some basic descriptions in English to help along the way.

6.    Museum of the Revolution
Adress: 24 Tong Dan street, Hanoi. Entry fee is 20,000VND
Location: it is located in the Tong Dan street and opposite to Vietnamese History Museum

Revolution Museum Hanoi

in the French style architecture area of Hanoi city (or we call French boulouvard). It was established in August 1959 in a two stories building and it was redesigned in 2008 with 30 galleries, it contains in excess of 40,000 historical exhibits, formerly used by the Trade Department of Vietnam. The content is divided into three parts
Part 1:1858 – 1945 which correspond with the French colonialism period. Topic covered are the National liberation movements of the Vietnamese against French troops.
Part 2: 1945 – 1975 with period Vietnam war and the Post-war
Part 3: and since 1975 – now with the social construction of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
As impressive as the range of topics covered is the interior and exterior design of the building, which can be found only in other historic places put up during the eary 20th century.
How to get here:
It takes about 10 – 15 minute walk from the Hanoi Old quarter area. Either you can take taxi, Xe-om or walk down to French architecture area and it is easy to ask people the way to Opera House (Nha Hat Lon in Vietnamese).
7.    Geology Museum
Adress: No 6 Pham Ngu Lao street, Hoan Kiem District.
The Geology Museum or Bao Tang Dia Chat narrates the stry of the geologic processes. Most of the explanations here are in Vietnamese though. This museum is  housed inside a
beautiful French building that was constructed in early 20th century. The museum displays endless rocks and minerals kept on display. There are also sketchy blurbs that offer basic details for the geo-novice visitors. Moreover, the museum offers multicolored maps which look similar to works of art, offering visual glimpse of the complex geological history and resource lifestyle oof Vietnam. Further, there are also display of sampling of ores gemstones and fossils offering students other than researcher an insight of the extensive collection of practical materials. Many can see rubies too, which are the most abundant gem stone in Vietnam and can be bought at the shop for a reasonable price right next door to the Museum.
8.    Aircraft Museum or Air Force Museum
Address: No. 171 and 179, Truong Chinh Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi. Tel: 04.8522658 : 04.5630630
The Vietnam people’s Air Force Museum (Bảo tang phòng không – Không quân in Vietnamese) is on the edge of the disused Bach Mai airfield.
The museum tells the history of the Vietnam People’s Air Force from its formation in 1954 through to the present day. There is a heavy emphasis on its role in the second Indochina War and the Cambodian – Vietnamese War.
The Museum comprise one main building where displayed on the history of the Vietnam People’s Air Force, biographies of Vietnam People’s Air Force aces, uniforms and fightsuits, aircraft weaphonry and engines, items from downed US aircraft and the forward fuselage of a MiG-21. And Museum outsite is a static park with aircraft of Vietnam people’s Air Force including tanks, guns and American airplane which are explained and tell story of victory during the war. Some planes were created by Vietnam people’s Air Force.
It opens  from Mon – Thurs and Sat from 8: to 11 and 13:00 to 16:00. And the entry free is 5,000VND for Vietnamese visitors, 20,000VND for foreign visitors.

B52 - History Museum

9.    B52 Victory Museum
Address: No.157, Doi Can Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi Tel: 04.8237075 Website: http://www.btlsqsvn.org.vn . It opens from Tues – Sat from 8:00 – 11:30AM and 1:00 – 4:30PM.
The B-52 Victory Museum situated in Hanoi opened in 1998. This museum illustrates the Hanoi people’s victory and about the armed forces over the US strategic B-52 air raid held in late December 1972. Whether the display is of the scrap heap of giant tires, pieces of wing poking out or of engine parts, the museum takes one back t the usage of powerful artillery by the US military against Vietnam.
Moreover, this museum displays two surface to air missiles, Soviet made MG fighter and an entire room that is devoted to prisoners of the war. One can find photos, mental battle days and the victory along with the cunning and creative resources in the struggle of the People against the American empire. The section includes geographic and physical sand table,  sound and light systems, documentaries, models and smoke, bringing Hanoi’s 12-day and night air defence campaign in late 1972 to life. This museum is worth visiting for any tourst whilst in Hanoi, who interested in history can visit this museum.

Military History Museum

10.     Vietnam Military History Museum (or known by the name “the War or Army Museum)
Address: 28A Dien Bien Phu street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi. Tel: (+84 4)  3733 4682
The Vietnam Military History Museum (Bảo tàng lịch sử Quân Đội in Vietnamese) the first opening is on 22nd December 1959 on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of establishment of Vietnam People’s army.
It is considered as one of the seven national museums in Vietnam. It has an impressive collection of war relics charting the struggle of Vietnam for liberation.


 
Hanoi Opera House

11.    Hanoi Opera House (Nhà Hát Lớn Hà Nội in Vietnamese)
The Oprea house is stading as the architectural, cultural and political symbol in central Hanoi. It was built under colonial administration of the French between 1901 to 1911.
It was modeled on the oldest opera house of Paris, the Palais Garnier. The opera house is considered to be one of the architectural landmarks of Hanoi. It is not only the venue for art performances, but also a popular destination for tourists and visitors to enjoy the historical architecture of almost 100 years. It is the largest theatre in Vietanm and has always been one of the favorite haunting grounds for those who love theatrical performance, traditional music, songs, symphonies, classical opera and opera.
Opera House is located in French quarter. History Museum, Hoan Kiem Lake, Sofitel Metropole, Hilton Opera Hotel situated near Opera House.

12.    Quan Thanh Temple (Đền Quán Thánh in Vietnamese)

Address: The corner of Quan Thanh Street, Thanh Nien street Near West Lake
Quan Thanh temple built in 11th Century, the temple was dedicated to Xuan Wu or Trấn

Quan Thanh Temple
Vũ in Vietnamese, one of the principal deities in Taoism Who is one of the Four Sacred temples of the capital including Bach Ma temple (Hang Buom street) in the East, Voi Phuc temple in the West, Kim Lien temple in the South, Quan Thanh temple in the North.
Quan thanh temple is located the end of Thanh Nien street on the left hand of Ho Chi Minh museum.  Quan Thanh is attractive tourist places because of structure, culture and history.
Quan Thanh temple has been renovated several times, most recently in 1893. Architecture is a mixture of the many different styles of the imperial era. The main furtures of Quan Thanh temple are a large yard shaded by a giant bayan tree and a shrine that contains that famous bronze statue Tran Vu.
For more information of Quan Thanh temple you can find in link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qu%C3%A1n_Th%C3%A1nh_Temple


Tran Quoc Pagoda
13.    Tran Quoc pagoda (chùa Trấn Quốc)
Address: Thanh Nien road, Tay Ho district, Hanoi.
Opening everyday from Mon to Sun from 8:00 to 18:00
The Tran Quoc pagoda is situated on an island to the east of West lake. This pagoda is a remarkable place worth visiting for any tourist as it has a history of 1500 years. It known to be an oldest pagoda with highest tower in Hanoi, the architecture is a beautifully done. This place is a popubar sacred place of Buddha, an attraction for many Buddhist devotees as well as visitors.
In 1989, this pagoda was recognized as a historical monument to the national culture. As years passed, the site has been renovated many times and presently is surrounded by modern amenities like shops, otels, restaurants… The historic place is situated on a single island of biggest freshwarter lake in Hanoi (West Lake).
This pagoda is a must visit place while you are visiting Hanoi for any tourist with family and friends.
14.    Fine Arts Museum (Bảo Tàng Mỹ Thuật in Vietnamese)
Address: 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc street, Hanoi.
Opening time: Opened from Tues to Sun time from 8:30 to 17:00. Entry fee is 20,000VND (1US$). It is just cross the street from back wall of the Temple of Literature. For more information you can visit their website: http://www.vnfam.vn/index.php?lang=en
The Fine Arts Museum is housed in a building with two floors of exhibition with planty of

Fines Art Museum
artworks from Vietnam and foreign country and two floor for new wings with selling art and souvenir and display costumes and decorative arts of Vietnam’s ethnic group. It is served as the French ministry of information. The structure and form is very classical.
The ground floor of the main wing houses the oldest artifacts. These include tha sandstone sculptures of the Champa and Funan kingdams. The best reason to visit Fine Art Museum is the evolution of lacquer as a fine art in Vietnam. In the first floor there is one of the largest and most impressive works is the “One thousand Eye, One thousand arm Guan Yin”.  In the last rooms on the first floor contain lacquer Buddha images from the late 18th century.
On the second floor that is changing from sculpture to painting. In the early 20th century, the works are very impression with oriental touches.
On the first floor of New wings, there are some galleries lining the walkway selling art and souvenir.  On the second floor displayed the costumes and decorative arts of Vietnam’s various ethnic groups.




Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The artistic and cultural works

* Nguyen Thi Dinh Memorial Park in Luong Hoa village, Giong Trom district, was the place where she was born. She was an elite woman, the first female general, an outstanding leader who devoted all her life to the liberation of the country.
* Hero Phan Van Tri Memorial Temple, located in Thanh Phu Dong village, Giong Trom district, Ben Tre province is 22km far away from Ben Tre city.
photo collection
*  Lieutenant General Dong Van Cong Memorial, located in Tan Hao village, Giong Trom district, was the place where he was born. He was an elite man, a hero of resistance against foreign invaders, an outstanding military leader who contributed his life to the liberation of the country, a hero of the armed forces.
photo collection
* Tan Ke Shrine located at My Chanh village, Ba Tri district, Ben Tre province is 35km far away from Ben Tre city.
photo collection
* Military governor Phan Cong Monument
Located in An Hiep village, Ba Tri district, Ben Tre province is 38km far away from Ben Tre city. Heaven and earth are yin and yang, man has virtue; man’s duty is first piety and loyalty; general’s morality first has humanity - mind – bravery;
“Up to now, change is common,
In sum, piety and loyalty are the best!”
Military governor and general Phan Ngoc Tong, born in An Binh Duong village, Bao An district, was well-educated, kept on studying, and once taught people in Ben Tre town.
photo collection
* Ben Tre Museum is located at 146 Hung Vuong Street, Ward 3, Ben Tre city. The museum was built in the French style in the early twentieth century, once a Palace by reference (French) and Province Chief Palace (the U.S.), with a 2 ha campus. Here they displayed artifacts, traditional historical documents of Ben Tre Revolution. The museum collects and displays historical artifacts and becomes important attractions for tourism of Ben Tre.
photo collection
* Dong Khoi Monument, is in Ward 4, Ben Tre city. This is a cultural work which was built and inaugurated on 17/01/1995.
photo collection
* Ton Co Tu Society in Quoi Son village, Chau Thanh district is the province's oldest temple, built from the time of Canh Hung (1740) and Monk Long Thien was the abbot. It was built 30 years after the earliest Buddhist temple built in the South.
photo collection
* Catholicism appeared in Ben Tre in the middle of the eighteenth century. Cai Bong Church is the oldest in Ben Tre and the largest and most beautiful ones are Ben Tre City Church in Ward 3 and Cai Mon Church in Cho Lach district.
Church in Ward
* Caodaism in Ben Tre includes four sects: the original, Tay Ninh, Tien Thien and Minh Chon Ly. Ben Tre has two holy sees: the Caodai Holy See in Ward 6, Ben Tre city and Tien Thien Holy See in Tien Thuy village, Chau Thanh district. This is the central government of Caodaism and in its great festivals, Caodaism believers from everywhere gather here.
The Caodai Holy See in Ward 6, Ben Tre city

Thursday, November 22, 2012

The First 72 Hours - A Filmmaker's Perspective




“What are you doing next week?  Do you have a passport?!” 

It’s a rainy Tuesday morning in Vancouver, and I’m riding on a city bus on the way to shoot a video about seeing-eye dogs at a local animal shelter, when I get the most important phone call of my life.

“There’s a project going on in Vietnam, and they need a guy to come out and film what they’re doing.”

Trying to sound unfazed, I hide my obvious enthusiasm at the thought of simply packing up and heading around the world in under a week’s time as Bill Thumm, the director of the Bosa Center of Film & Animation, continues on.

“They can meet up on Thursday afternoon, will that work for you?”

And just like that, in two days time, on that Thursday afternoon meeting, my life was about to change forever.  I met the Chrises: Dr Chris Bottril, Dean of Capilano University’s Tourism program, and Chris Carnovale, the project’s logistics guy and resident ‘fixer’. 

The crash course interview, where only moments before meeting the pair did I finally get a chance to check out the CBT Vietnam website and get familiarized with who the Dao and Hmong peoples were and where they lived around Sapa, was a memorable one. 

As Chris Carnovale, or Carno - as we like to call him - asked me about my past travel experience, only to realize that apart from a few road trips and a couple all-inclusive escapes to Mexico and Cuba I was pretty green, I saw his face go sickly pale, and the stress levels go up.

“I don’t care what you’re doing on this trip.  I just need to know if you’re going to freak out because that can’t happen. And we won’t be able to wait around for you.” 

Chris Bottril, on the other hand, told me more about the project, about sustainable tourism and about what our goals were as well as ideas on how to get them across in the video.  I was immediately both interested and excited about the project, and given my experience working on film sets where a short day on set clocks in around 12 hours, and you routinely find yourself in uncomfortable situations, dealing with opposing personalities and sometimes polarizing team dynamics, I felt pretty confident that I’d be able to come in and get the job done.  Or at least show up and not freak out in the airport.

I felt that I’d be fine out there, but how do you really know?  Working and dealing with challenges and situations in a culture that is about as far removed as it can be from what we deem to be normal seemed to be a big question mark.  And then dealing with the pressures of shooting a documentary and playing the role of director, cameraman, and editor wouldn’t make the gig any easier.

A phone interview with team leader, Jen Reilly followed the conversation with the Chrises, and it became clear that I was going to be a part of this trip.  But it also became clear that I had under 72hrs to completely prep and organize a camera package to film a short documentary about a subject I had no idea or past knowledge about. 


In addition, it became clear that getting an extra round-trip ticket to Hanoi, an extra Vietnamese visa, four travel vaccination shots, passport photos, and all the other basic preparations you’d make for a trip across the globe had to now be dealt with in a compressed amount of time.

To say that everything that needed to happen for the film to be made was impossible, which at times I felt, would not be acceptable.  No couldn’t be an option. 

I had no way of testing a lot of the gear I’d be bringing over to Vietnam; an old Macbook G4 laptop, the only one available for us to use, for example, frequently crashed while we tried turning it on in the studio.  One of the hard drives that we’d copy media onto in the field was duct-taped together.  Another drive had a horrible buzzing noise when plugged in.  

The extra expense and stress that my surprise involvement automatically added to the not-for-profit-project certainly made the pressure on myself to be fully ready and able to film on day one in Vietnam all the more greater.  I took videotapes to record onto as a last resort if the laptop, hard drive or main camera failed - the equivalent of planning to record a symphony orchestra piece on an old cassette tape.

And as I continued sorting through and testing the equipment from the Bosa Centre for Film and Animationat Capilano University, Chris Bottril called to reveal to me that whatever this film that I was creating was - I still wasn’t completely sure myself - that it had to be completely finished and ready to be screened at the PATA Foundation Conference taking place in less than a week after we’d return.

Crazy? Sure. Impossible? Nope. By this point my flight with the team was scheduled, my Visa greased past Vietnamese immigration far quicker than the typical processing period, and I was able to get all my vaccines, malaria pills, and film equipment locked-down and ready for departure.

Planning ahead to cutting a video in 8 days?  Why not?  It’s not like it would be any crazier than everything that had come at me so far…

As the hours grew nearer to departing, with myself mentally going through what it was I was about to be getting myself into, I knew that without a doubt, my life would be changing as a result of being involved in this project.

And over a year after that first trip in March 2011, and the two project trips since, I know, without a doubt, that my life path has absolutely shifted gears.

The opportunity to spread a message, to share a story through video or new media is one that has the potential to emotionally engage and affect audiences in ways that simply cannot be expressed when written in articles, new stories, or books.

Having the opportunity to go in and film a story about the positive and negative impacts that tourism can have on sensitive ethnic communities was an eye-opening personal and professional experience. It was an incredible experience, one I’ll never forget; and it has since made me want to continue to search for stories that are important. Stories that are original.  Stories that are meaningful, and stories that are full of emotion.  

Stories that every writer, journalist, and filmmaker strives to find.  They are the stories that have the potential to make an impact to the world; they are the stories that have the potential to inspire.

Whether it be sharing to the world a remarkable individual’s unique accomplishment, an ordinary family’s daily life and routine, or a dying culture’s last chance to be heard by a wider audience, searching for and sharing stories that have the potential to make differences is something I would like to strive to achieve over the next few years. 
And I hope that it's something we can continue to share to people all over the world with the CBT Vietnam project.
Kyle


To see the video's Kyle has shot for the Capilano University / PATA Foundation Vietnam Training Project you can check out the project's website or YouTube channel.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Group Interview for the next CBT Team!

This week  fifteen lucky students who were short-listed took part in the CBT Vietnam group interview. Thanks to all those who came out!

In November of 2010, I had to take part in the same process. I still remember my first interactions with what would be my future CBT team members: Louise, Kyla, and Jase. Louise was a quiet facilitator, Kyla brought charisma and charm, and Jase’s strong leadership qualities were apparent from the start. All turned out to be an incredible group of people to work with and get to know.


Last night, I got to be an observer as new team dynamics develop in these early stages of the application process. To watch the group interview from the other side last night was a great experience for me. I’m really excited about the group of applicants that joined us last night. It’s clear that we will have a strong team to take our project through the next stages.

Good Luck everyone,

Taryn

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The national cultural historic relics

(1)* Nguyen Dinh Chieu’s historic grave and monument: The relic is in hamlet 3, An Duc village, Ba Tri district, which is 38km far away from Ben Tre city. Poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu was not born in Ben Tre, but he chose to live here, to open schools to teach, to write and prepare prescription for people and lived with poetry to the end of life. The relic includes a temple, a memorial and a tomb. The tomb contains his grave, his wife La Thi Dien’s grave, and the grave of his daughter, Mrs. Suong Nguyet Anh (the female newspaper editor, "Females in general").

photo collection
(2)* Dong Khoi historic relic in Dinh Thuy village, Mo Cay district is the place where the first shot of the Dong Khoi Movement in 1960 was outbroken, uprising in the province and then spread to the South.
photo collection
(3)* Tuyen Linh Pagoda, a historic relic in Minh Duc village, Mo Cay Nam district, was built in 1861. Great-grandfather Vice-doctor Nguyen Sinh Sac - President Ho Chi Minh’s father - once lived here, teaching, taking people’s pulse, writing and preparing prescription for people in the region. It was the basis of protecting, caring staff of the revolution against France and America in war years.
photo collection
(4)* The North - South end of the bridge to receive weapons, a historic relic: It includes such relics as Khau Bang Mouth of a river, Bung Islet, Loi Islet and Lon Islet. They are ranges of isles adjoining the East Sea in Thanh Phong village, Thanh Phu district. In the past, this place was the precarious harbor of the special shippings to provide weapons from North to South for battlefields in Ben Tre and provinces in Quarter 8. In 1946, at Khau Bang Mouth of a river, a small boat sailed for the first time, crossing the sea to the North to report to Uncle Ho, the Party Central Committee and asked the Committee to supply weapons, headed by Ms. Nguyen Thi Dinh. Now this place is deploying the investment for Cemetery Park project, Ho Chi Minh Street in the sea, with a total investment of the project is 1,500 USD billion, and this is the attractive place for a visit to the coast when the project is completed.
(5)* Y4 Revolution Base historic relic: The relic is located in 2 villages Tan Phu Tay and Thanh An, Mo Cay Bac district. It is a revolutionary base of the Saigon - Gia Dinh District Commission from 7/1969 to 10/1970 and from here, guidance for big battles on the enemy's head office in Saigon - Gia Dinh. The relic is being invested into restoration to become tourist attractions.
(6)* Great-grandfather Nguyen Van Cung's house historic relic and Cay da doi T-junction. This is the place of the establishment of the first Communist Party Branch in Ben Tre. At the end of 4/1930, the first communist party in the province of Ben Tre was established at Mr. Nguyen Van Cung’s house, comprising 10 members.
photo collection
(7)* Military leader Nguyen Ngoc Thang temple and tomb historic relic: The relic is in My Thanh village, Giong Trom district. He served as a military leader in the army under the reign of Thieu Tri in 1848. On 27/6/1866 he was shot, killed in a fierce battle with the French. Emperor Tu Duc ordained him with clothes and a sword. Since 1984, local people have taken his ancestral tablet into the communal house in My Thanh village to worship as a god who devoted to the fight against invaders.
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(8)* Mr. Nguyen Van Trac’s house historic relic: This is the place where Mr. Le Duan worked from 11/1955 until 3/1956 in Hung Le village, Giong Trom district to direct the revolutionary movement in the South.
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(9)* The massacre monument in Cau Hoa, Phong Nam village, Giong Trom district: On 10/01/1947, two legion platoons commanded by Leon Leroy, a hybrid lieutenant commander, mopped it up because he suspected that Viet Minh was staying at Cau Hoa hamlet. After failing to find Viet Minh, they turned the fire on innocent people, killing 286 people, mostly women, children and old people, burned more than 100 houses. This is the biggest and most brutal massacre in Ben Tre during the war against France.
photo collection
(10)* Great-grandfather Vo Truong Toan’s tomb historic relic: Vo Truong Toan was from Binh Duong, Gia Dinh province. He was a smart learned man. He died on 27/07/1792. After three southeastern provinces fell to French invaders, some intellectuals in Gia Dinh did not want their beloved teacher left the bones in the place occupied by invaders, so they relocated his remains to Bao Thanh village, Ba Tri district.
(11)* Phu Le communal house is in Phu Khuong hamlet, Phu Le village, Ba Tri district. The house is 40 km far away from Ben Tre city, 4km far away from Ba Tri town. It was built in the 7th year of Minh Mang (1826). It is the largest and most beautiful among coastal villages of Ben Tre.
photo collection
(12)* Binh Hoa communal house is in Binh Hoa village, Giong Trom district. This old house is 200 years old. Decoration inside and outside the home combines elements of royal art and folk religion art. Today there are more than 100 things in nature of sharp delicate wood carving, including horizontal board pictures, pairs of parallel sentences which correspond to each other, etc. are stored.
(13)* Tan Thach communal house is in Tan Thach village, Chau Thanh district. Tan Thach house that has a Chinese-transcribed-Vietnamese name as Thach Ho Dinh was built in the years 1843-1844. The house has a Tam-shaped structure, iron wood pillars, a Chinese-tiled floor, surrounded around by walls. Currently the house still keeps many objects which are very valuable in art and history: 6 decrees (4 by King Thieu Tri and 2 by King Tu Duc), 4 brass bamboo-eyed censers, 7 brass sandalwood censers, candlesticks; glass lamps, etc. Also, inside the house was decorated with the horizontal board pictures, etc. and finely carved, painted and gilded splendorously.
(14)* The ancient monument Huynh Phu (Huong Liem) and tombs: Located in Dai Dien village, Thanh Phu district, Ben Tre province, the house was built in 1884 with an area of 500m2, rectangular style, three-door, two attics of three and two tureens. The house was decorated with skillfully carved patterns sculpted by hand from wood by skilled artists in Central and Northern parts at that time. This is a unique architecture, whose interior that is protected remains almost intact, and Ministry of Culture and Tourism Information recognized it as a national monument on 14/4/2011.