Vietnamplus

The northern province of Quang Ninh received 1.6 million visitors in January, a 12.3-fold increase compared to the same period last year.

Nha Ba Nu (The House of No Man) has been the highest-grossing Vietnamese film during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

Vietnam has been named one of the top 20 places to visit at the beginning of the new year by UK travel magazine Wanderlust for its beautiful natural sights, festive atmosphere, and favorable weather.

During seven days of the Lunar New Year Festival (Tet), the transport capacity and quality of road transport services improved drastically, said an official at a January 31 meeting of the Ministry of Transport.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on January 31 chaired a meeting of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat to review the organisation of Tet (Lunar New Year) celebrations and look into major tasks in the time ahead.

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) began its first trading session following the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday with a gong-beating ceremony on January 31.

Around 18,000 Vietnamese tourists chose outbound tours through travel agencies in Ho Chi Minh City during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday this year, spending a total of 430 billion VND (18.3 million USD), according to a report from the city's Department of Tourism.

Tradition has it that during the first days of the Lunar New Year, Vietnamese families go to pagodas to pray for a year of good luck, health, happiness, and prosperity.

The Hanoi-based Noi Bai International Airport served 5,619 flights from January 19-29, up 49% annually, including 1,789 international and 3,829 domestic flights.

The majority of workers of businesses and factories in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, three major industrial hubs in the south, have returned to work after a long Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, local authorities said.

The Ministry of National Defence launched the New Year tree planting festival at the Hanoi-based Vietnam Military History Museum on January 30.

Despite decreases in both imports and exports, the country still enjoyed a trade surplus of 3.6 billion USD in the first month of 2023, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Vietnam’s total retail sales of goods and services in January was estimated at 544.8 trillion VND (23.22 billion USD), up 5.2% from the previous month and 20% as compared with the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Overseas Vietnamese (OVs) in Thailand gathered at a programme hosted by the Vietnamese Consulate General in Khon Kaen province on January 29 to celebrate the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) festival – the longest and biggest traditional holiday of Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 29 attended a ceremony to give the order to handle the first cargo in the Year of the Cat at Tan Cang-Cat Lai port in Ho Chi Minh City.

The 2023 Khai ha (going down to the field) festival, the biggest traditional folk event of the Muong ethnic group in the northwestern province of Hoa Binh, took place at the provincial level for the first time from January 27 – 29 (the sixth to eighth day of the lunar new year).

A grand concert to welcome the Year of the Cat was held at Hanoi Opera House on January 29 with the performance of the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO) and the People’s Public Security Theatre.

According to Vietnamese custom, each year corresponds to an animal (also known as a mascot). For the 2023 Lunar New Year of the Cat, many unique products bearing images of cats have been introduced to the market.

A ceremony was held at the Hue Imperial Relic Site in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue’s Hue City on January 28 (the seventh day of the first lunar month) to take down the Neu pole (a tall bamboo pole with red garment strips used to ward off evil spirits during the lunar New Year) and open the New Year seal.

Hospitals across Vietnam conducted 19,435 surgeries during the seven-day Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, up 11.4% from the same period last year, reported the Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Service Administration.