The event aims to present to Hanoians the cultural values and tourism potential of the country's sea and islands, and raise awareness about their preservation and protection. — Photo chinhphu

HA NOI (VNS) — A Viet Nam Sea and Islands Culture and Tourism Week will be held in the capital on November 20-24.

An art show titled Praising Sea - Islands Culture and Tourism will open the event on November 21 at the Viet Nam Culture and Arts Exhibition Centre in Hoa Lu Street. It will be broadcast live on VTV2.

It will gather participants from culture, sports and tourism departments in 13 cities and provinces including Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ba Ria Vung Tau and Kien Giang.

According to the organisers, the event aims to present and honour the cultural values and tourism potential of the country's sea and islands, call for investment to develop the economy in sea and island localities - and raise awareness about their need for preservation and protection.

Various activities will be organised, including an exhibition titled Culture Heritage, Viet Nam Sea and Islands Tourism which will display tangible and intangible values of antiques found at various sea areas throughout Viet Nam.

The exhibition will showcase antiques from a shipwreck found at Cu Lao Cham, which includes more than 240,000 ceramic objects from Chu Dau in northern Hai Duong Province dated back to the 15th century.

The exhibition will display fishing and working tools used by sea and island inhabitants. As many as 60 paintings by Ha Noi artists on sea and islands and 100 photos on Vietnamese culture.

The Navy Museum, the museum of Viet Nam's Border Defence Force and Coastal Guards, will be responsible for an exhibition titled Building and Protecting the Nation's Sea and Islands.

The exhibition will gather old photos, paper maps, 3-D maps, royal documents from the Nguyen dynasty, administration documents of the French government and the southern Viet Nam administration between the years 1955 and 1975 proving Viet Nam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

Participating cities and provinces will have a chance to introduce cultural identities, festivals, beauty spots and other tourism potentials. Visitors can buy special handicrafts made by coastal people as well as agricultural products from the islands.

Various art shows will be organised with hundreds of amateur and professional artists throughout the country. This will include don ca tai tu (southern folk music) from HCM City, folk singing from central provinces of Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, northern province of Quang Ninh and central province of Thua Thien — Hue.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Education and Training, the High Command of Coast Guards, the High Command of the Navy, the High Command of Border Patrol Directorate and the Ho Chi Minh Central Communist Youth Union. — VNS