On May 5, the Vietnam Buddhist Culture Exhibition was officially opened at the Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Binh Chanh District, HCMC, where the United Nations Day of Vesak 2025 took place.
This was the first time that 87 replicas and images of Vietnam’s national Buddhist treasures were introduced to the public at the Vietnam Buddhist Culture Exhibition titled “Language-Ceremonial Costumes-Architecture-Heritage.” The 87 replicas and images of the national Buddhist treasures on display were statues, bas-reliefs, ritual items, scriptures and books, reflecting well the identities of the Ly, Tran, Le and Nguyen dynasties of the country.
Some highlights at the exhibition were the replicas of the stupa and the Amitabha Buddha statue of Phat Tich Pagoda; the replica of the Thousand-armed and Thousand-eyed Avalokiteshvara statue of Bao An Pagoda; the replicas of the Three Worlds Buddha statues and the Thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara statue of But Thap Pagoda; the replica of the Three Worlds Buddha statues of Linh Ung Pagoda; the replica of the Thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara statue of Me So Pagoda, to name but a few.
There was also the world’s largest Buddhist flag measuring 500 square meters flying at the Vietnam Buddhist Academy on the occasion of the Day of Vesak 2025, thanhnien.vn reported.
Finding 400 bullets during house construction
On May 7, while building the foundation for his new house in Hoa Nhon Commune, Hoa Vang District, Danang City, Do Huu Minh was startled to find two rusted ammunition boxes with 400 intact bullets in these boxes.
Halting the construction, Minh informed the police of Hoa Nhon Commune of the ammunition he had just found. Dang Van Cong, senior lieutenant in charge of the local quarter, and his fellows helped dig out two ammunition boxes with four bullet belts carrying 100 bullets each. On
May 8, the local police transferred the ammunition to the Danang City Military Command for destruction as regulated by law.
Minh was praised by the local authorities for his awareness of abiding by the law, according to thanhnien.vn.
The special collection of a veteran
Nguyen Trung Hoan, 77, a veteran living in Nhu Thanh District, Thanh Hoa Province, possesses a huge collection of hundreds of war tools and military equipment after nearly two decades of great effort to collect.
In 2007, when visiting the Central Highlands where Hoan used to fight during the war, his old comrades gave him some old pith helmets and cartridges. Back home, he thought of collecting such war tools and military equipment to display at his house. At first, he and his wife traveled around to collect such items from their fellows. Later, learning about his intention, his friends sent what they had found to him in a bid to enrich his collection.
After nearly two decades, Hoan has collected about 300 war tools and military equipment, mainly cartridges of different types and sizes, military canteens, mess kits, portable communication devices, and military clothing. In the large living room of his house, he displayed all the items on the shelves around the room like a mini museum.
Hoan told dantri.com.vn that his collected items were used during the recent wars, some of which belonged to his late comrades. He added that the showroom is a place for veterans to get together to recall their old combat days.
Financial aid for women with two kids before 35
The HCMC Population Department is making the list of women having two children before the age of 35 to support them as per a resolution promulgated by the HCMC People’s Council.
Pham Chanh Trung, head of the department, told dantri.com.vn that Resolution 40/2024/NQ-HDND is aimed to encourage localities, organizations and the people to participate in activities to improve population quality, cope with low birth rate and gender imbalance issues, and take care of the elderly.
Accordingly, women having two children before 35 can receive VND3 million each. Pregnant women and newborn children living in poverty-stricken families, or on islands, can receive VND2 million each (VND600,000 for prenatal checkups, VND400,000 for postnatal care, and VND1 million for personal use).
Despite a working-age ratio of 74%, HCMC is facing a fast-aging rate due to the long-lasting low birth rate. For years, the city has been among the localities with the lowest birth rate in the country. In 2024, the HCMC’s birth rate was 1.39 children per woman, much lower than the country’s birth rate of 2-2.1 children per woman.
