The central city of Hue has opened Emperor Bao Dai''s palace to the
public to mark the New Year, giving tourists to the former royal capital
a closer look at life during the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945).
The central city''s museum is displaying a translation of 12 royal
diplomas that Emperor Tu Duc conferred on Pham Phu Thu, a high-ranking
mandarin of the dynasty.
Breathtaking views of the East Sea from the rolling
Ba Na Hills, brick-tower relics from the ancient Hindu-Buddhist Cham
culture that once ruled powerful sea-trading city-states – and
traditional martial-arts villages draw many visitors to the central
province of Binh Dinh.
The Viet Nam National Symphony Orchestra will
perform Mahler''s Seventh Symphony on Friday and Saturday at the Hanoi
Opera House. This will be the first time the symphony is performed in
the country.
A report on the excavation of Quan Tuong in Hue has
identified it as the country''s only ancient observatory intact enough to
be preserved as a monument.