Vietnam central province opens tourism festival
18:06 04/03/2009

      Ninh Thuan province in central Vietnam, known for beautiful beaches and splendid Cham towers, will inaugurate Friday evening a festival showcasing a variety of cultural, sporting, and leisure activities.

Themed Integration, Development and Friendly Ninh Thuan, the four-day event is meant to promote marine tourism and Cham cultural attractions, generating business opportunities and drawing the attention of foreign investors and enterprises.

The 2007 Ninh Thuan Festival opens in the provincial capital of Phan Rang with dance and musical performances and releasing of balloons and flying lanterns.

The sporting contests will include an all-terrain vehicle race at the Son Hai sand dunes in Ninh Phuoc district.

National volleyball and archery contests, a beauty contest for sheep, traditional dragon boat races, and the Cau Ngu, a traditional fishermen’s festival held to pray for a bumper fishing year, will also be featured.

Traditional craft villages like Bau Truc pottery village and My Nghiep brocade weaving village will be showcased.

A food and red wine festival and a Best Cook contest for professional chefs sponsored by Saigontourist will be organized at the Ninh Chu – Binh Son Tourism Center.

There will be delicacies from Ninh Thuan, which is famous for lamb dishes and red wine, and other parts of the country.

Tour companies have been offering tours to the festival, also taking in famous sites in the province like Bau Truc pottery village, Po Klong Garai Temple of the Cham people, and Vinh Hy Bay.

Situated 42 kilometers from Phan Rang Town, Vinh Hy bay is surrounded by white sand banks and a stones.

Besides exploring the colorful corals by glass bottomed boats, visitors can also learn how local fishermen make salted and dried fish.

An excursion to Po Klong Garai Temple, 9km northwest of Phan Rang, will give visitors an insight into the religious beliefs of the Indic Cham civilization.

At Bau Truc, one of the oldest pottery villages in Southeast Asia, visitors can see demonstrations of the art of making pottery by skillful Cham artisans.

Ninh Thuan is famous for delicacies like Phan Rang chicken rice, goi ca mai (raw fish and vegetables), and lamb dishes.

Source: Thanh Nien, Saigontourist, Lao Dong – Compiled by Thu Thuy

Source : thanhniennews.com