Ham Nghi street in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 on February 16 well turned out to be a flower street on the theme “Vietnamese Identity-Vietnamese Spirit” to greet the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) which is around the corner.

Present at the inauguration ceremony were President Truong Tan Sang, Vice National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City’s Party Committee Le Thanh Hai, among others.

The street, which stays open to visitors from February 16-22, sends out a message of Vietnamese people’s resilience and their efforts to preserve cultural identity and integrate actively into the global life, said Hua Ngoc Thuan, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee at the opening ceremony.

On the same day, a book festival also opened to the public on Ham Nghi street, introducing 15,000 book titles depicting Ho Chi Minh City’s history, people and its integration process as well as the nation’s sea and islands.

According to the organising board, more than 10 publishing houses, libraries and distributors have participated in the event.

The trading and exchange of used books will be conducted for the first time, hopefully making the event more attractive to youngsters.

The book street, organised for the fifth year in the city during Tet, is expected to create a playground for bookworms and promote the reading culture among the visitors.

It will run until February 22, or the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.-VNA