On December 10 last year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to add the rice vermicelli-making village of Van Cu (Huong Toan Commune, Huong Toan Town, Hue City) to the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritages.
On February 19, Van Cu-Nam Thanh Village held a ceremony to receive the national intangible cultural heritage title for its rice vermicelli-making craft. The two-day event included a ritual to commemorate the rice noodle-making founder, food festival, music shows, cycling trip in Huong Toan Town, and introduction of local specialties.
According to vtv.vn, the traditional rice vermicelli-making craft in Van Cu Village is more than 400 years old. It is the only locality in the central region to organize a ceremony to commemorate the founder of the rice noodle-making craft on the 22nd day of the first lunar month every year. The village has been recognized as a traditional craft village of Hue City since 2014.
Van Cu Village produces 25-28 tons of rice vermicelli a day; the figure may be double, triple, or even quadruple on holidays. Van Cu rice vermicelli is sold at markets, eateries and restaurants around the city. It also plays an important part in the reputation of bun bo Hue (rice vermicelli soup with sliced beef, shrimp or crab paste, and pork knuckle).
Two Dutchmen cycle to Vietnam
Two young Dutchmen, Rick Keijzer, 21, and Sven Broekhuizen, 25, who are bosom friends and cycling lovers, have wished to travel to the other end of the world by bicycle for a long time. They decided to pick Vietnam as their final destination. Their cycling trip also aimed to raise funds for CoopAfrica (Cooperative Facility for Africa, a technical cooperation program of the International Labor Organization – ILO).
Keijzer and Broekhuizen started their cycling trip from the Netherlands on March 10 last year. Keijzer said they cycled slowly from Europe to Asia so as to be able to watch the sceneries of the countries they arrived in, meet local people, and learn about local cultures. Broekhuizen said they were impressed when cycling through Turkey, where many locals were aware of their trip thanks to what they had posted on social media, and Annapurna Circuit circling the Annapurna mountain range in Nepal.
After 343 days of cycling some 20,000km, crossing from town to town, from city to city, and from one country to another, Keijzer and Broekhuizen arrived in HCMC on February 16, completing their cycling trip 20 days earlier than planned, tuoitre.vn reported.
A young man’s dedication to vitreous enamel art
Truong Thanh Tung, 30, lives in Hoc Mon District, HCMC. He happened to learn about vitreous enamel art, or porcelain enamel art, five years ago. In 2022, he decided to devote all his time and effort to this ancient art.
Tung tried to study vitreous enameling from the Internet and from overseas friends. He also learned from the porcelain enameled artifacts of the Nguyen Dynasty displayed at museums in HCMC and Hue City. He spent his savings worth VND200 million buying necessary materials and a furnace.
According to vnexpress.net, vitreous enamel is a decorative art that originated from Europe and came to Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). It is a glass coating that is fused to metal – usually copper, silver, or gold – at high temperatures. In Hue, porcelain enameled objects were used in royal court and royal families, and mausoleums with typical colors and rich patterns.
Tung has reaped initial success after two years of trial and error. It took him 1-15 days to finish a vitreous enameled item. He now has about 300 different products in the forms of dragon, phoenix, flowers, leaves, and jewelry, which are sold at VND150,000-VND5 million apiece.
A couple clings to life in caves
In the remote mountains of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, an elderly Arem couple has spent nearly a century living in caves despite local government efforts to resettle their community, reported the VnExpress news site.
Dinh Ne, 91, and Y Ru, 93, live in Chim Cave, two hours by foot from Tan Trach Village in Quang Binh Province. They spend much of the year in the forest, returning to the village only when necessary. Their shelter consists of a wooden bed elevated to avoid wild animals, a small garden near the cave entrance, and a nearby stream providing water for daily needs.
“Life in the forest is easier,” Y Ru said. “There are plenty of fish and wild vegetables. In the village, we only have rice with salt and chili.”
When they were still in good health, the couple rarely left the forest, only going back to the village occasionally for rice and salt. As their strength waned, they stayed in the village longer, but from March to October each year, they returned to the caves, coming home every few weeks.
