A programme entitled ‘Spring Honours National Culture’ was held at the Sui Pagoda historical and cultural site in Gia Lam district, Hanoi on February 6, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

President Truong Tan Sang sent a congratulatory letter and Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan sent a basket of flowers to honour the occasion.

The programme opened with a ceremony to pray for peace that attracted many Buddhist monks and followers.

The event, which aimed to honour the country’s treasured tangible and intangible cultural heritage, also included a ceremony commemorating King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong, a seminar on ‘Truyen Kieu’ (Kieu’s Story), and the launch of a Kieu’s Story reciting contest as well as various other cultural activities such as a lion dance and calligraphy writing.

The event was held jointly by the Centre for Supporting Talent Development, the Institute for Heritage Conservation, and the Vietnam Association of Young Scientists and Engineers under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Information Communications, as well as the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Association and the Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee.

On the occasion, the ‘Map of Pagodas in Hanoi’ project was launched by the Vietnam Centre for Communication and Cultural Heritage under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST). This is part of the Vietnam Heritage Site Map’ project to create a database of the country’s cultural heritage sites, preserve their legacies, and promote tourism while advertising the country’s image to international friends. (Source: Nhandan)