Around 80 kilometers from Hanoi, Van Long Lagoon in Gia Van Commune, Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh Province is considered as the biggest wetland nature reserve site in the northern delta with an area of 3,500 hectares and is home to thousands of rare fauna and flora species, with many of them on the brink of extinction. Once arriving in the sightseeing spot for the first time, tourists may be enchanted by its harmonious combination of imposing cliffs and mountains and vast lakes which form the breathtaking and poetic scenery that nature has blessed the land of Ninh Binh. In addition, tourists are highly recommended to take bamboo basket boat tours to indulge themselves in a tranquil atmosphere with familiar sounds of nature in the early morning or late in the afternoon to admire the breathtaking view of flocks of storks returning to their nests at sunset. Although it was opened for tourism in 1998, Van Long is still as primitive as ever and becomes a promising destination in the...

A wide range of entertainment activities will be organised in Ho Chi Minh City during the National Day holidays from September 2-4 (Photo: VNA)   HCM City (VNA) – A wide range of entertainment activities will be organised in Ho Chi Minh City during the National Day holidays from September 2-4. During the holidays, the Dam Sen Cultural Park in District 11 will offer numerous activities themed the “Autumn Festival”. A kite that is 50 metres long and 30 metres wide and carries about 4,000 wishes written by visitors to the park in the summer, along with two other giant kites, will help fly 70 smaller kites. Visitors can also enjoy unique traditional and modern arts and take part in street music performances. They can benefit from 50 percent discount tickets when wearing Vietnamese flag-themed T-shirts. At the Ho Chi Minh Monument Park and on Nguyen Hue walking street in District 1, a free musical programme will be held by the HCM City...

Besides Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho city and Cai Be floating market in Tien Giang Province, travellers are also urged to visit a lesser-known floating market for fruits in HCM City’s Kenh Te (Te Canal) where poor migrants from the Mekong Delta live in makeshift houseboats and earn their daily bread by selling fruit.  Vendors from the Mekong Delta sell fruit on boats along the Te Canal on Tran Xuan Soan Street in HCM City’s District 7.  Along Tran Xuan Soan Street in District 7, one can see dozens of boats anchored along the canal selling typical Mekong Delta produce such as banana, coconut, rambutan, mango, and grapefruit.   The vendors are mostly from Mekong provinces such as Vinh Long, An Giang, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh and Ben Tre. Tran Van Hung, 42, from Ben Tre said he and his wife have been selling dried coconuts and bananas from their hometown at the market for more than 15 years and spend most of their time on their wooden boat. Like many of the...