A sculpture of the Japanese Bridge is created from driftwood. (Photo courtesy of Le Ngoc Thuan) Director of the city’s Information and Sports Centre Truong Thi Ngoc Cam saidthe festival will be an annual cultural exchange programme of the two cities,and it aims to introduce the traditional culture, crafts, art performances,eco-tourism and heritage of Hoi An in Germany.
This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the friendship of the two cities(2013-2023) and promote ‘green’ growth cooperation by decorating lanterns inthe streets of Wernigerode, art performances, a lantern-making skillsdemonstration, calligraphy and other hand-made trades of Hoi An.
The Hoi An Garden is built at the Miniaturen Park ‘Kleiner Harz’ inWernigerode, while an eco-road or ‘green canopy’ street will be developed inHai Bà Trưng Street in Hoi An for the occasion.
Le Ngoc Thuan, the founder of driftwood village studio in Hoi An, said the20-piece firewood sculpture collection, which was chosen from more than 100sculptures, had been transformed from firewood and debris into stunningsculptures and interior decorations by carpenters of Kim Bong carpentry villagein Hoi An.
He said the sculpture collection features the traditional craft skills of HoiAn, while boosting innovation and recycling to protect the environment forsustainable development.
Thuan said the studio, the first firewood recycling space in Hoi An, in Cam Hacommune, has been a rendezvous for tourists and sculpture lovers.
Most of the sculpture pieces were created from wood that had drifted onto CuaDai Beach during the annual flood, and include sculptures of cats, buffalo, andthe Japanese bridge – an iconic symbol of Hoi An – or Co Tu ethnic groupdesigns, he added.
Cultural exchange events have been organised in both cities as part of annualcooperation programmes. In 2019, Hoi An artisans also joined the ‘lanternnight’ festival in the old streets of Wernigerode, while the German Beerfestival was held in Hoi An.
The German city helped develop a solar-powered system for public lighting,loudspeakers and lanterns in Hoi An in 2018, before sending a donation of23,600 EUR (more than 23,000 USD) to support flood and storm victims in Hoi An.
Hoi An – the UNESCO-recognised World Heritage Site – has been building adossier for recognition from the UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
The tourism hub in central Vietnam had been using straws, containers andsouvenirs from bamboo and reeds, and promoting the use of reusable bags and the'Say No to Single-Use Plastics' campaign.
Hoi An and Wernigerode were recognised with a German Sustainability Award 2019by the German Federal Government.
The ancient town, which had launched the ‘Establishing Comprehensive BicyclePlan and Free/Low-cost Bicycle Sharing Programme project' proposed byHeathBridge Vietnam with funding from the German development agency (GIZ),received the Global Urban Mobility Challenge Award of the Transformative UrbanMobility Initiative in Leipzig, Germany.
It also plans to provide 100,000 bicycles for residents in order to become thefirst eco-city in Vietnam.
Hoi An was chosen for the 2013 Townscape Award by the UN-Habitat Regional Officein Asia, while the city’s Hoai River and its canals featured in the list of the10 most-famous canals in the world by the US-based travel websitewww.touropia.com in 2014.
Covering an area of 60sq.km, the tourist hub now has 22.5sq.km covered withfarms and forests and 11sq.km filled with lakes and canals./.
VNA
