HOZO 2019 will become the first international music festival to be held by HCMC on the Nguyen Hue walking street from December 13-15. "The festival will be an opportunity to promote Vietnamese traditional music and culture to the world and to bring international music to Vietnamese audiences," said Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, deputy director of the city's Department of Culture and Sport. It will be organized every year from this year onwards. A music festival on Nguyen Hue street. Photo by VnExpress/Dang Khoa. "HOZO 2019" will feature artists from 10 countries – France, Belgium, Spain, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Greece, Cuba and Vietnam, covering several genres. The city will also organize many other activities and events during the three-day music festival, including exhibitions and conferences about the Vietnamese music industry and world music trends. Winners of a contest for young performers will get the chance to perform at the festival. Ho Chi … [Read more...] about HCMC to host international music fest
Ho chi minh city
HCMC seeks to conserve pre-1975 villas
By Le Nam  October 6, 2019 | 05:15 pm GMT+7 A villa built from colonial time in the center of HCMC's District 3. Photo by VnExpress/Son Hoa. HCMC is set to announce policies for the conservation of old villas to safeguard its architectural heritage and stop unauthorized demolitions. The People’s Committee instructed the Department of Construction Management to keep an eye on the city’s nearly 900 villas built before reunification in 1975, and ensure they are not demolished or altered. The Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies has categorized 65 villas into two categories for conservation. The first tier consists of 16 buildings with defining architectural values, which are to be preserved exactly as their original forms. One of the most prominent villas in this category is at 110-112 Vo Van Tan Street. The century-old French-style building was sold to a private date company at $35 million in 2015. The beauty and architectural … [Read more...] about HCMC seeks to conserve pre-1975 villas
Saigon braces for more record tides this year
On Monday the Southern Hydrometeorological Center reported that the tide rose to 1.77 meters at the Phu An Station on the Saigon River and 1.8 meters at the Nha Be Station on the Dong Dien River. This surpassed the previous high of 1.72 m set in 2017. Former deputy head of the center’s forecasting department, Le Thi Xuan Lan, attributed the very high tides to strong winds last week that caused the water level to rise in estuaries. She also pointed a finger at climate change. Since 1999 tide levels have been rising consistently. Lan said: "But this may not be the highest yet, because there are five more major tides to come this year. Of which at least one or two tidal peaks can come close to or break the recently established record." Prof Nguyen An Nien of the Ho Chi Minh City Water Resources Research Association said the rising tides in HCMC and the Mekong Delta are due to climate change and rising sea levels. Many provinces and cities in low-lying areas in the delta have seen … [Read more...] about Saigon braces for more record tides this year
Vietwater 2019 set for Nov. in HCM City
Nguyen Hong Tien, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Water Supply Association, noted that Vietwater 2019 will be taking place simultaneously alongside the Waste Environment Technology Vietnam 2019 expo. With the aim of transforming urban areas and industrial parks into green spaces, the event is expected to introduce visitors to the cutting-edge technologies and equipment used in the waste and wastewater treatment industry. Most notably, a seminar themed “Urban Flooding - Current Status & Solutions” will run during the course of the event with the aim of discussing the real situations relating to drainage and flooding that often occurs in major cities nationwide, such as Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, the Institute of Urban and Industrial Environment of Vietnam, along with the Vietnam Urban Environment & Industrial Zone Association, are due to co-host a workshop on urban municipal and industrial solid water … [Read more...] about Vietwater 2019 set for Nov. in HCM City
PM Phuc wants Hanoi, HCMC to do more to tackle air pollution
At a regular government meeting on Wednesday, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told authorities in the two cities and at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment: "[We] must not let the public complain without proposing an effective solution." Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh said the two cities plan to install more air quality monitoring stations so that they could issue timely pollution warnings. A comprehensive national plan of action for improving air quality is being implemented, including building polilies and adopting specific measures to reduce the sources of superfine particles. "The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and localities will substantially implement this plan to improve the air quality in Hanoi and HCMC." He dismissed popular foreign air quality monitoring websites such as AirVisual, saying since they collect data from stations that might not be standardized their data should only be used for reference. He … [Read more...] about PM Phuc wants Hanoi, HCMC to do more to tackle air pollution