VNA News Bulletin - May 17, 2016

To welcome in the Lunar New Year of 2021 - The Year of the Buffalo - Ho Chi Minh City has decorated the city’s gateways with colourful flowers and different mascots. Images of buffaloes wearing ao dai have given roads leading into the city a touch of colour and brought joy to local people as Tet approaches.

One of the country’s key traffic projects, the Hai Van Tunnel 2 completed after 45 months of construction. The project is considered a highlight for Vietnam’s construction sector as it is the longest road tunnel in Southeast Asia and was built completely by domestic workers and engineers.

The US newspaper New York Times included Vietnam’s Con Dao island among its 52 places to love in 2021.

A festival featuring the traditional New Year celebrations of the H’mong ethnic minority group was held along the Hoan Kiem Lake pedestrian mall in Hanoi on January 10. Organised by the H’mong community living in the capital, the annual festival celebrates their traditional New Year and promotes their cultural characteristics.

Taking advantage of the peak tourist season during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, travel companies have been launching local tours at reasonable prices to encourage people to see Vietnam. Most tours are designed for families or small groups, due to concerns over the transmission of COVID-19.