The Bat Trang Pottery Museum has been ranked 15th on a list of the 24 most beautiful buildings in the world by the UK-based Time Out magazine.
Located in the historic Bat Trang pottery village in Hanoi, the museum is recognized for its striking design inspired by the potter’s wheel — a symbol of the village’s thousand-year-old ceramic tradition.
The museum’s distinctive spiral form consists of seven large, interlinked blocks. Its structure combines slender reinforced concrete with traditional materials such as terracotta tiles and ceramic bricks, allowing it to integrate seamlessly into the cultural landscape.
In 2023, the museum was also voted one of Vietnam’s “Top 7 Impressions” by readers of Saigon Tiep Thi.
Whales spotted off Vietnam’s central coast
Whales have been sighted near the shores of Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces in central Vietnam in recent days, drawing attention from locals and tourists.
A mother whale and her calf were observed off the coast of Vung Boi in Gia Lai’s An Luong Commune on June 30. The adult whale was estimated to be 10 meters long, with the calf measuring about 6-7 meters, local resident Dang Van Hai told the Tuoi Tre news site.
A few days earlier, Hai had also spotted a lone whale, about 10 meters long, surfacing in the waters off Nhon Hai.
On the morning of July 1, a large whale was seen feeding near Mui Dien in Hoa Xuan Commune, Dak Lak Province. Nguyen Kim Phung, a 32-year-old fisherman, said he saw the animal around 6 a.m. while out at sea. It surfaced for about five minutes before diving back underwater.
The frequent appearance of whales near the shore is a positive sign indicating that the local marine environment is steadily improving.
Live stream sale of lychees for farmers
After six hours of live selling, Pham Van Thinh, vice chairman of Bac Ninh Province, and his aids sold up to 54 tons of Luc Ngan lychees for local farmers.
The special live sale took place on an e-commerce platform during the Luc Ngan Lychee Week held as part of the province’s digital transformation plan. Thinh told vnexpress.net that he joined the live commerce as he believed that this could benefit lychee growers, adding that he would like to encourage young farmers to enter the global market.
The provincial vice chairman said despite lacking online sales skills, he was confident in the quality of Luc Ngan lychees and he would like to share such confidence to consumers. The outcome of the live sale exceeded the initial expectation: 54 tons of lychees were sold after six hours. The event received thousands of positive comments on social media. Orders continued to come from Hanoi City, HCMC, the U.S., Australia and Japan.
As an official in charge of e-commerce and farm produce consumption of the province, Thinh had invited IT experts to train live stream skills and package design for local farmers free of charge.
A man travels on foot across the country with a goose
Nguyen Viet Vinh, a.k.a. Ty, 41, from Dong Nai Province has traveled on foot across the country with his goose over the past one and a half years.
Departing from Vietnam’s northwestern region, Ty and his white goose named Dona arrived at the Ca Mau Cape National Park in Dat Mui Commune, Ca Mau Province, on July 1. Walking his electric bike as a means to carry his belongings, Ty walked in the front while Dona followed him a few steps behind. Whenever he took a rest in a hammock, the goose lay under the hammock. Dona would swim when it saw a pond or a canal in sight.
Ty made a “pair of shoes” of soft fabric for Dona to protect its feet from injuries because of long-distance travel. He also wore a shirt for the goose. Along the way, he collected discarded bottles and cans for sale and bought food for him and Dona. Some people also gave food to him and his goose. Others asked to buy Dona, offering him even up to US$1,000 in cash, but he refused, saying that the bird is his friend, not for sale, thanhnien.vn reported.
