To help Ha Long Bay remain a green, clean, and beautiful destination attractive to domestic and international visitors, joint efforts by all local residents, tourists, and the international community are necessary, he said.
Located off the coast of northern Quang Ninh province, Ha Long Bay, the first world natural heritage site of Vietnam, was recognised by UNESCO in 1994 for its natural landscape value, and in 2000 for the values of natural landscape, geology, and geomorphology. It was listed as a special national relic site in 2009 and became one of the new seven natural wonders of the world in 2011.
In September 2023, the World Heritage Committee approved the extension of the world heritage site’s boundary to the neighbouring Cat Ba Archipelago of Hai Phong city.
Boasting globally and nationally outstanding values and holding many domestic and international titles, the bay has long been a tourist magnet in Vietnam as well as the region and the world.
However, this heritage is now under multidimensional pressure, especially environmental issues, as its onshore areas are adjacent to many localities with fast urbanisation while the bay is a venue for a wide range of socio-economic activities such as tourism, aquaculture, fishing, and sea transportation.
Cuong said realising the importance of environmental protection, the bay management board and local authorities have paid consistent attention to communications to enhance the local community, businesses, and tourists’ sense of responsibility towards the task.
He noted that the board has stepped up the collection and treatment of waste and wastewater, as well as the control over waste sources. Waste collection focuses on two zones – along the edge of the bay to prevent waste discharged from urban and concentrated residential areas, and in the bay’s core areas where tourism, services, and other socio-economic activities take place.
Ha Long Bay is also taking the lead in applying scientific and technological advances to environmental protection, especially wastewater treatment, he said, noting that with support from Japanese experts, the waste treatment system at places of interest is being upgraded to use the Jokaso technology, which treats wastewater at source by Japan’s biotechnology.
The quality of the bay’s water environment has been monitored quarterly and found to be within the permissible level under Vietnam’s standards. Besides, wastewater from tourist vessels, attractions, and coastal residential areas has also been handled.
In 2019, a campaign named “Ha Long Bay free of plastic waste” was launched by the bay management board and has received strong support from businesses, travellers, and locals to eradicate the use of single-use plastic products in tourism activities, Cuong continued.
In addition, authorities have also promoted the replacement of polystyrene in floating facilities on the bay with sustainable materials. In the core zone of the heritage site, tens of thousands of polystyrene objects have been replaced, reaching 94%, the official said, describing this as encouraging.
Hanoi prioritizes development of smart transport
Hanoi has prioritized the development of an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) as a key factor in creating a sustainable transport network, according to Nguyen Phi Thuong, Director of the city’s Department of Transport.
He said ITS is an advanced application that aims to provide innovative services related to different modes of transportation and traffic management. It enables users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated, and smarter use of transportation networks.
Some of these technologies include emergency calls in the event of an accident using surveillance cameras to enforce traffic laws or signs that indicate speed limit changes. “ITS technology is being used around the world to streamline busy roads, reduce travel time, improve traffic quality, and limit accidents. In Vietnam, some big cities such as Hanoi have deployed AI application solutions in traffic control and piloted smart traffic models such as intelligent traffic management systems and open road ticketing,” Thuong added.
The application of science and technology in traffic management and operation in Hanoi laid the foundation in 2014 when the Hanoi People’s Committee tasked the city’s Department of Transportation to renovate and upgrade the traffic light control center and peripheral devices.
“ITS provides real-time information and flexible traffic control solutions to ensure traffic order and safety, reduce travel time and costs, minimize traffic accidents, protect the environment, creating a smart and safe city,” Thuong stressed.
Hanoi currently has about 2,300 traffic intersections, of which 540 intersections are equipped with traffic lights. Of these, 474 are monitored by the 54 Tran Hung Dao Street control center. In addition, the city has 579 CCTVs at 149 intersections to watch traffic, punish violators, and detect vehicles.
Smart traffic applications in Hanoi include a bus search application, surveillance cameras to ensure bus safety and order, software to manage road traffic infrastructure systems, and electronic passes on some bus routes.
The department also piloted a vehicle overheight warning system at the Thai Ha-Chua Boc overpass starting December 1, 2022. The signs help detect, classify, and identify oversized trucks and vehicles and display their license plate on the electronic board as a warning.
According to the Hanoi Department of Transport, there is currently no comprehensive study on the status and orientation of the application of modern technologies for synchronized traffic management and operation, especially the development of ITS.
“High-quality human resources with qualifications and knowledge in ITS management and operation still cannot meet the demand. On the other hand, most drivers use motorcycles, which makes it difficult to access real-time online traffic information and undermines the effectiveness of ITS,” Thuong said.
He stressed that Hanoi needs a strategic direction to develop ITS within 5-7 years. The most important thing is to create a long-term, unified, and sustainable ITS master plan that focuses on addressing the shortcomings of Hanoi’s current traffic and future vision.
Hanoi has set a goal to complete the digital transformation of operations in the construction, management, and maintenance of traffic infrastructure systems; create a traffic management database; and equip all expressways and national highways in the city with a smart traffic management and operation system.
“By 2030, it is necessary to establish Hanoi’s Smart Traffic Operations Center to integrate at least 10 major functions, including monitoring, control, traffic information, violation handling, public transport monitoring and operation, electronic payment data integration, traffic demand management, freight transport management, traffic infrastructure management. Human resources must ensure effective mastery, use and operation of technological applications of the industrial revolution 4.0,” Thuong stressed.
South Korean farm music performed in Hanoi
The traditional Nongak (“farm music”) dance of South Korea will be one of the highlights of this year’s “Vietnam-Korea Cultural Friendship Road” festival.
With the theme “The Friendship Road”, the festival will be held from December 2 to 3 at Tran Van Lai Street, My Dinh-Song Da Urban Area, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi.
Nongak is a dance combining traditional wind instruments with a percussion orchestra, a typical Korean performance art inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014.
In addition to Nongak, the audience will enjoy the unique Korean drum dance art (Samulnori), also known as “the play of four things”. Samulnori creates many folk-like rhythms that fully depict the agricultural life of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) of Korea.
Speaking on behalf of the organizing board, Chang Eun Sook, President of the Korean People’s Association in Hanoi, said that Samulnori and Nongak have a strong and energetic rhythm that carries the Korean cultural identity. That is why the organizer chose these two art forms to introduce to the Vietnamese public.
This year’s event is expected to have about 100 booths, offering many cultural and culinary experiences, displaying unique products, and promoting the image of Vietnamese-Korean agencies and businesses. Some large booths belong to the Korean Embassy, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) in Vietnam, the Korean Cultural Center, Woori Bank, and Samsung.
On December 2, the opening ceremony will be held with musical performances by popular young singers such as Hoang Ton and Liz Kim Cuong from Vietnam and classical music groups Pilgrim and Lieblings from South Korea.
The second day of the event will feature performances by a Korean traditional instrument group, a Korean b-boy dance group, and most notably, the legendary singer Wax.
Korean singer Chang Eun Sook will perform music that evokes nostalgia and beautiful memories. This is a gift from the organizing board to the Korean community living in Hanoi.
The organizing committee hopes the program will become a cultural event that symbolizes harmony between the two countries and promotes the development of the My Dinh-Song Da area, known as the “Korean Quarter in Vietnam”.
The organizer also hopes the event will become a magnet for Korean and Vietnamese tourists, especially young people, to engage in cultural exchange and friendship.
Enhancing professionalism and effectiveness in hospital social work: A call for standardisation
The significance of social work in hospitals continues to grow, playing an increasingly vital role in medical facility operations, experts agreed yesterday at a seminar on social work in hospitals.
The seminar, hosted by the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Administration under the Ministry of Health, discussed the urgent need to standardise social work within hospitals, ensuring higher professionalism and effectiveness. It also invited feedback on amendments to a circular on the tasks and operation of social work at hospitals in the southern region.
Associate Professor Nguyễn Tuấn Hưng, Deputy Director of the Department of Personnel and Organisation at the Ministry of Health, highlighted that social work departments and groups had been established in all central hospitals in Việt Nam, with provincial and district hospitals following suit at rates of 96.8 per cent and 89.9 per cent, respectively.
Over the past decade, social work activities in medical facilities made strides towards professionalisation across legal documentation, human resources, training, scientific research and practical applications.
According to Hưng, the organisational models for social work departments vary widely across the country, with the majority situated under departments and faculties, particularly the Nursing Department (36.8 per cent). Only 18 per cent of units currently have a dedicated social work unit, while 7 per cent have independent social work teams.
Despite the progress, challenges persist. Legal documents governing social work in medical facilities exhibit limitations such as overly broad and general tasks, task overlap, and exceeding the capacities of social workers. Moreover, some leaders within the Department of Health and medical facilities show insufficient interest in social work, particularly in preventive medicine and population health.
Addressing the impediments to genuine development, Lương Ngọc Khuê, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, noted the prevalence of part-time human resources (constituting over 60 per cent) within the social work field. The proportion of officers and employees with specialised training in social work remains low. Additionally, there is currently no standardised training program for social workers in hospitals or medical examination and treatment facilities, and competency standards are lacking.
Trần Văn Hùng, Head of the Social Work Department at Hồ Chí Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy University’s hospital, suggested the establishment of competency standards for hospital social workers, the issuance of practice certificates akin to other medical staff, and the inclusion of additional duties, such as assessing and providing psychosocial interventions, in patients’ medical records.
Conference delegates recommended the establishment of social work departments in hospitals or, alternatively, the formation of Social Work Groups. These groups, not necessarily affiliated with specific departments, would allow hospitals to tailor their structures based on unique tasks, operational scales and organisational arrangements.
Furthermore, there was a call to support medical staff in their social work activities, providing psychological support and coordinating resources for financial and material assistance. Simultaneously, fostering improved relationships between medical staff, patients, and their families was emphasised.
In conclusion, participants agreed that the standardisation of social work activities in hospitals was crucial for ensuring professionalism, efficacy, and the overall well-being of both healthcare professionals and the patients they serve.
Travel time from HCM City to Cần Thơ to be shortened when bridge, expressway completed
The expressway from HCM City to Cần Thơ City, which is more than 160km long, will be connected and shorten travel time to just over two hours instead of the current nearly four hours.
The target can be reached when the two projects including Mỹ Thuận-Cần Thơ Expressway and Mỹ Thuận 2 Bridge are completed by the end of this year.
The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has requested investors and construction contractors to urgently speed up the projects’ progress.
A report of the Transport Construction Investment Management Authority (TCIMA) under the MoT shows that the Mỹ Thuận 2 Bridge project is 6.01km in length.
The main bridge is about 1.9km long, has six lanes and a designed speed of 80km per hour.
The road leading to the bridge is 4.7km long, including 4.3km long on the Tiền Giang Province side and 0.4km long on the Vĩnh Long Province side.
The project has a total investment of more than VNĐ5 trillion (US$206.8 million). It started in March 2020 and is scheduled to be completed next month.
The road sections are now completed, whereas the main section of the bridge was finished in the middle of last month.
The MoT requested the investor to direct contractors to concentrate all resources and organise construction all days to ensure the schedule, said a spokesperson from the TCIMA.
The Mỹ Thuận-Cần Thơ Expressway project has a total length of nearly 23km.
The expressway has four lanes and its roadbed width is 17m.
Its total investment is more than VNĐ4.8 trillion ($198.3 million).
The project started in January 2021.
Up to now, construction output has reached 76 per cent of the scheduled progress.
The bridge has been basically completed, and the asphalt work has been done for more than 8km.
In the context of frequent traffic jams during holidays and Lunar New Year, the MoT’s leaders confirmed that the earlier the projects opened for public use, the more effectively they would serve the society.
The projects will not only solve people’s travel needs and limit traffic accidents, but also meet cargo transport capacity, contributing to socio-economic development.
Sóc Trăng hosts Ngo race to celebrate Ok Om Bok festival
Around 46 teams will compete in the Ngo (Khmer long boat) race which will take place from November 25-27 in the Mekong Delta province of Sóc Trăng.
The annual event celebrates the Ok Om Bok festival, also called the Festival of Worshipping the Moon.
The ritual takes place under the full moon in the 10th lunar month annually when the season changes from rainy to dry, and from the growing season to the harvest season.
According to Huỳnh Thị Ngọc Diễm, vice chairwoman of the province’s People’s Committee, the event aims to honour cultural values and preserve and promote the cultural traits of the ethnic Khmer people in the South, as well as boost the province’s tourism.
The race will have 40 men and six women teams from Sóc Trăng and neighbouring provinces of Bạc Liêu and Cà Mau, and Cần Thơ City.
The race will be 1,200 metres for men and 1,000 metres for women.
The winning teams will receive cash prizes of VNĐ200 million (US$8,280) for men and VNĐ150 million ($6,210) for women.
The race will take place on the Maspero River in Sóc Trăng City on November 26-27.
The province will also hold a performance of water lantern floating on the night of November 25. The act is one of the rituals of the Ok Om Bok Festival to express gratitude and respect to the gods of earth and water.
Exhibition promotes Hanoi Old Quarter’s heritage values
Hang Gai Ward People’s Committee, in collaboration with curator Nguyen The Son and Young Artists Group “From Tradition to Tradition,” presents the thematic exhibition “The Story of the Street’s Communal House” at Ha Vi and Tu Thi Communal Houses in downtown Hanoi.
The cultural event aims to celebrate the 18th anniversary of Vietnam’s Cultural Heritage Day, which falls on November 23, and the Hanoi People’s Committee’s recognition of the Hoan Kiem Lake area – its surroundings and the Old Quarter of Hanoi – as a city-level tourism zone.
The exhibition features a variety of Hanoi’s traditional handicrafts, such as silk, lacquer, and hand embroidery, as well as sketches and photographs of Hanoi, among others.
In addition, the new collection of brand identities of Ha Vi and Tu Thi Communal Houses will also be launched. By scanning the QR code, visitors can find useful information about these two communal houses, the map with directions to other relics on the website www.hoankiem360.vn.
Nguyen Quoc Hoan, Deputy Chairman of Hoan Kiem District People’s Committee, hoped that the activity would help attract tourists and contribute to the preservation of traditional crafts in Hanoi.
“The exhibition aims to promote Hanoi’s unique traditional handicrafts. It vividly depicts the historical history of Hanoi’s 36 handicraft streets,” he said.
In Hanoi’s Old Quarter, there are many communal houses dedicated to the patron saints of the guilds. Today, there are still 14 communal houses dedicated to guild patron saints. For example, the one on Hang Quat Street worships the founder of the fan craft; the Kim Ngan Temple worships the founder of the goldsmith guild; the Hoa Loc Thi Temple worships the ancestor of the dyeing craft and others.
The Ha Vi communal house at 11 Hang Hom Street is dedicated to Tran Lu, Vietnam’s patron saint of lacquering. The relic itself has an impressive architecture that bears artistic characteristics of the Nguyen dynasty: stone steles, bronze bells, worshipping cranes and thrones, spirit tablets, couplets, and horizontal inscribed boards.
Today, the newly restored Community House is like a mini-museum that vividly demonstrates the development of traditional handicrafts in the 36 streets of the ancient capital – Thang Long.
Meanwhile, the Tu Thi Communal House is located at 2A Yen Thai Street, which venerates Le Cong Hanh, the founder of the embroidery guild (1606 – 1661).
Embroidery has been practiced in Vietnam since the third century, but for a long time, artisans embroidered simple decorative motifs for royal fans or banners. In the 17th century, a high official, Le Cong Hanh, traveled to China as an envoy of King Le Chan Tong and learned more sophisticated embroidery. Upon his return, he taught the craft to the people of Quat Dong Village, Thuong Tin District, Hanoi.