On 9th May 2012, the Taiwan tourism promotion workshop was held at Sheraton Hotel (Ha Noi). The workshop had the attendance of Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT); Mr. Liu Hsi Lin, Deputy General Director of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau; Mr. Bui Trong Van, Chief of the Vietnam Economic & Culture office in Taipei, Mr. Huang Chih Peng, Chief of the Taipei Economic & Culture office in Vietnam and delegates, travel agencies, airlines, journalists of Vietnam and Taiwan.

Starting from May 21, the secret trench in the five-star hotel Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi will open for tourists, nearly one year after it was discovered. While laying the foundation of a bar at Hanoi’s Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel last August, construction workers accidentally discovered an air raid shelter allegedly created during the war.

The HCM City Tourism Association (HTA) and the national flag air carrier Vietnam Airlines has reached an agreement about the cooperation to ease the tour fees in a program to stimulate the demand.

The second chartered flight from Russia with 150 tourists onboard arrived in the central Da Nang city on May 15. Earlier, on May 12, the first chartered flight from Novosibirsk city of Russia landed in Da Nang international airport. The third flight will arrive in Da Nang on May 16.

Word is out. Various magazines and travel websites such as CNN Go are now letting our neighbors in on a secret we in Vietnam have long known to be true. Our very own capital city is definitely coming into its own as one of the top street food meccas in Southeast Asia. Hanoi offers foodies and locals alike a wide selection of dishes unique to its sidewalks. The very same dishes providing commonplace sustenance to generations of native Hanoians now send the newly initiated on a culinary adventure with tastes long remembered.

The police will tighten control security at crossroads, bridges and road tunnels, and expand patrols and raids to strengthen protecting foreigners from criminals, said the chief of the municipal police.

Vietnam Festival in Japan will take place in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan on September 15-16. The event is organized by Vietnam Festival Council in co-ordination with the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan.

The 2012 Lang Sen (Sen Village) Festival will be held in the late President Ho Chi Minh’s home village of Kim Lien commune, Nam Dan district in central Nghe An province from May 17-19, as part of a range of activities to celebrate his 122nd birthday.

An exhibition on sea-cultural-heritage will open at the National Museum of Vietnamese History in Hanoi on May 18.