At the age of 114, Vi Thi Me, a meritorious artisan of the Tay ethnic community in Na Khau Hamlet, Luc Hon Commune, Quang Ninh Province, can still sing Then melodies in her stilt house like what she has done over the past century.
Me was born in 1911 into a family with Then ritual performance tradition. When she was young, she often accompanied her mother to perform Then rituals to repel misfortune or pray for happiness, bumper crops or health for local residents. The nocturnal ritual performances by the fire and the sound of Tinh lute has created a deep love for Then in the young girl ever since.
In Luc Hon Commune, Me is among the few artisans who can sing long Then songs, even overnight. Then rituals she can perform include Hat Khoan, a ceremony to wish longevity and repel misfortune for grandparents and parents, often held in January; and Lau Then, the largest ceremony of Then practitioners, held from December to the end January of the following year.
Old Me is also good at performing musical and ritual instruments like Tinh lute, rattles, bells and swords. The supercentenarian has also dedicated herself to teaching Then singing and rituals to 25 students. Two of these students have been granted the meritorious artisan title by the State.
To date, Me still keeps an ancient Tinh lute, paintings, photos and many tools used in Then rituals and ceremonies, dantocphattrien.vietnamnet.vn reported.
Crew members of a stranded cargo ship saved
At 6:30 a.m. on January 23, the Thanh Thanh Dat cargo ship with a total tonnage of 2,947 tons, measuring 79.6 meters in length and 12.8 meters in width and captained by Luong Van Hung, was stranded at the entrance to Cua Viet Port when it was en route from Yangpu Port (China) to Cua Viet Port for cargo handling.
The Thanh Thanh Dat was aground at some 700 meters from the shore and about 550 meters north of Cua Viet embankment. There were 11 crew members on board the cargo ship at that time and all of them were brought ashore safe and sound.
It is expected that, depending on weather conditions, relevant agencies will tow the cargo ship to Cua Viet Port for repair, baotintuc.vn reported.
German tourist rescued by the police
While traveling by motorbike along the Ho Chi Minh Road to the west of Danang City, Stefan Weiber, a 36-year-old German tourist, unfortunately fell off his motorbike. The local police took him to the hospital for treatment.
At 3 p.m. on January 20, while patrolling on Ho Chi Minh Road, the policemen of A Vuong Commune (Danang City) saw a foreign man who had fallen off his motorbike. The police officers immediately took the victim, who was identified as Stefan Weiber and had a valid driver’s license, to the A Vuong Health Station for first aid. Later, both the German tourist and his motorbike were transferred to the Dong Giang Regional Health Center for further treatment.
Weiber told the police that while taking a motorbike trip from Hue City to the ancient town of Hoi An (Danang City), being unfamiliar to slippery passes, he fell off his motorbike and suffered some minor external injuries. He expressed his gratitude to the responsible and thoughtful assistance of the A Vuong police, dantri.com.vn reported.
A happy Tet for sanitation workers
On January 5, Nhan Dan newspaper, the HCMC Press Center, and Coteccons JSC jointly organized the Building Tet 2026 program to express gratitude and take care of over 500 urban drainage workers in the city.
At the event, the sanitation workers were presented with Tet (Lunar New Year) gifts as a token of appreciation for their quiet contributions to protecting the environment and maintaining urban infrastructure. These urban drainage workers also received health consulting, got haircuts and took photos.
The Building Tet 2026 program is held by Nhan Dan newspaper and Coteccons JSC from December 2025 to February 2026 countrywide. It is estimated that the program will present over 30,000 Tet gifts to sanitation workers and organize activities such as health checkups, haircuts and photo sessions for them.
This is the fourth year the program has been implemented for sanitation workers nationwide, who contribute greatly to protecting the environment and urban infrastructure. According to the organizing board, the Building Tet 2026 program will take place at 72 construction sites of Coteccons JSC around the country. The program will be expanded to include sanitation workers in general and urban drainage workers in particular in Hanoi City, Danang City and HCMC, baotintuc.vn reported.
