The beauty of Vietnam and its people is the focus of veteran photojournalist Minh Truong's latest exhibition which opened in HCM City on Monday to mark Vietnamese Journalists Day (June 21).

Organised by the HCM City bureau of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Truong's collection of more than 100 black-and-white photos on culture and lifestyle, Nhung Neo Duong Dat Nuoc (Criss-crossing the Country), is a body of work created over more than 60 years.

Truong said he has travelled around the country to "capture the pure and imposing manner of Vietnamese people, particularly women."

Among them are images from the mountainous provinces of Cao Bang and Lai Chau.

Duong Len Bien Gioi (The Way to the northern Border), Cau Vao Ban (Bridge to the Mountain Village ), and Co Gai Mong (The Mong Girl) depict the beautiful images of people living in a peaceful and remote environment.

Co Gai Mong shows a mountain girl in traditional clothes sitting on the edge of a spring with wet hair. Despite being in back and white, the work offers a dazzling look at nature and people.

Truong, one of VNA's leading photojournalists and a war reporter, said he hoped his collection would offer viewers a new experience.

"I hope people will learn more about Vietnam and its people through my photos," the 82-year-old, a member of the International Federation of Photographic Art and the Vietnam Artistic Photographers Association, said.

There is a series of photos showing the most famous landscapes in Hue , Hoi An, and Ha Long.

"In Truong's photos, real life becomes more glamorous," Nguyen Thanh Tam, veteran photographer and chairman of the HCM City Photographers Association, said.

"His works make people love and believe in life."

The exhibition will run through this month at VNA's Representative Office, 116-118 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street , District 3, HCM City./.