Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) 
Vietnam topped the medal table at the Southeast Asian Fencing Championships 2026 with 27 medals, including nine golds, three silvers and 15 bronzes, as the tournament wrapped up in the northern city of Quang Ninh on October 23 after nearly a week of competition.
The sinkhole has an oval-shaped opening measuring about 190 metres wide and 140 metres long. It widens towards the bottom, reaching about 250 metres in length and 200 metres in width, with a depth of around 120 metres.
The programme carries profound political, cultural and social significance, helping promote historical values and the Vietnamese tradition of paying tribute to the past generations, while nurturing love for the homeland and country and strengthening bonds among generations of Vietnamese people.
The festival features more than 100 exhibition booths, bringing together calligraphy clubs from across the country, calligraphers, artisans, culture researchers, businesses and representatives of traditional craft villages. Exhibitions, exchanges, discussions and hands-on activities celebrate calligraphy and promote Vietnam’s cultural values.
Returning for the first time since its inaugural edition in 2018, the festival provides a platform for cultural exchange and showcases the traditional music of participating countries.
In the women's discus throw F54 final, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy achieved a mark of 14.65m to finish third overall.
When innovation deepens understanding of traditional values rather than replacing them, heritage becomes not only something to preserve but also a resource for sustainable tourism, economic development and reinforcement of Hanoi’s position as a UNESCO Creative City.
The minister praised the swimming team, singling out Hai and Le Tien Dat, who took gold and silver, respectively, in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB5. On October 19, weightlifter Le Van Cong won silver in the men’s 49kg category.
Thanh Hai won the final in 1 minute 33.91 seconds, while Tien Dat finished second in 1 minute 36.63 seconds. Iran’s Rashidabadi Ali took bronze in 1 minute 47.78 seconds.
A convoy of 100 motorbikes set off on a journey across Ma Pi Leng Pass on October 21 as part of a roadshow campaign to promote safe motorcycle travel in the northern province of Tuyen Quang, home to the Dong Van Karst Plateau UNESCO Global Geopark.
The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) said the US travel magazine ranked the heritage train journey between Hue and Da Nang at 10th and The Vietage by Anantara at 14th.
The “Dialogue” exhibition in Japan's Kanagawa prefecture from November 8-11 will feature more than 30 works by artists from both countries, including 26 pieces by 13 contemporary Vietnamese sculptors from different generations. These artists have developed distinctive artistic languages and made their own marks on Vietnam’s contemporary art scene.
The event also served as a showcase for Vietnamese culture, customs, cuisine and traditions, in step with Vietnamese Culture Day. It encouraged Vietnamese of all generations to hold onto their cultural identity while spreading the image of Vietnam and its people among Hungarians, adding to people-to-people exchanges and mutual understanding between the two countries.
A celebration marking the seventh founding anniversary of the Vietnamese Migrant Women’s Association (VMWA) in Ansan, Gyeonggi province, the Republic of Korea, took place on October 18, featuring cultural exchanges and activities to mark Vietnamese Women’s Day (October 20).
Under a March 17, 2026 action plan from the municipal Party Committee, which follows the Politburo’s Resolution 80-NQ/TW dated January 7, 2026, on Vietnamese cultural development, the city is moving beyond preservation alone. It is now upholding heritage values while developing cultural products, spaces and markets tied to innovation and global integration.
The athletes are competing in 12 events, comprising six individual and six team categories across sabre, foil and épée. Several exciting matches were held before the opening ceremony.
Thuy’s bronze was a notable achievement for Vietnam’s para athletics team at the Games. Earlier in the day, weightlifter Le Van Cong won a silver medal in the men’s 49kg category, securing the country’s first medal at the event.
Minister Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK Nguyen Thi Thai Binh said culture serves as a bridge connecting people's hearts, while cuisine is one of the most important languages bringing cultures together.
The “Quy Long” (Returning Dragon) global exchange event marked eight centuries since the Vietnamese prince and his family left their homeland in present-day Bac Ninh province to settle on the Korean Peninsula, laying the foundation for a lasting bond between the two peoples.
Vietnam's Le Van Cong took silver in the men’s 49kg powerlifting event on October 19, behind Omar Qarada of Jordan - the reigning Paralympic champion, delivering Vietnam’s first medal at the 2026 Asian Para Games.
