Yen Bai: 'Crystal cloud' exhibition, paragliding festival open

The northern mountainous province of Yen Bai opened two special events in the stunning Mu Cang Chai terraced rice fields on May 19, featuring an exhibition with crystal clouds and a paragliding festival.
Yen Bai: 'Crystal cloud' exhibition, paragliding festival open ảnh 1The crystal cloud display will take place from May 19 to October 5 (Photo provided by Architect Pham Thanh Duong)
Yen Bai (VNA) - The northern mountainousprovince of Yen Bai opened two special events in the stunning Mu Cang Chaiterraced rice fields on May 19, featuring an exhibition with crystal clouds anda paragliding festival.

Taking place from May 19 to October 5 in LaPan Tan commune, Mu Cang Chai district, the exhibition is jointly organised bythe Vietnam Association of Architects, the Yen Bai Association of Architectsand the Mu Cang Chai People’s Committee.

The display is the first of its kind in Vietnam and the second in the world,following the Crystal Cloud garden created by artists Andy Cao and XavierPerrot at Swarovski Crystal World in Australia.

Together with local landscapes and light effects, 59,000 crystals, which aremounted atop bamboo and steel poles on wire netting in the shape of clouds, areexpected to create a romantic atmosphere for tourists.

The colourful crystal clouds create agarden of 400m2 in the middle of the magnificent terraces, providing anattractive experience for tourists visiting Mu Cang Chai.

Yen Bai: 'Crystal cloud' exhibition, paragliding festival open ảnh 2 A paragliding festival opened in Mu Cang Chai terraced fields on May 19 (Photo: VNA)

The same day, the paragliding festival openedon Khau Pha pass in Mu Cang Chai district, offering visitors a chance toparaglide over the terraced rice fields to enjoy the panoramic views of Mu CangChai’s well-known landscapes.

Located at 1,200m above sea level, Khau Phais one of the most beautiful destinations for paragliding, not just in Vietnam,but in the whole world. It is also one of the longest mountain passes inVietnam.

The festival is held twice a year, in Mayduring pouring water season, when farmers make the water run into their fieldsto start a new rice crop, and in September when the terraced fields are full ofripe rice.

The event is held by the Vietwings HanoiParagliding Club and Mu Cang Chai authorities from May 19 to 20.

Mu Cang Chai has 500 hectares of rice terraces in La Pan Tan, Che Cu Nha and DeXu Phinh communes, cultivated by the Mong people for centuries. The localterraces are among the 2,500 hectares recognised as national heritage sites in2007 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The locality is about 1,000 metres above sea level, making it impossible toadopt rice farming method from the deltas. Local residents grow rice interraced fields to prevent water flowing downhill.

Terraced fields in Mu Cang Chai are beautiful all year round. Visitors in Marchcan see glittering ponds before locals transplant rice seedlings from April toMay. After May, the hills are covered in green until the fields start to turnyellow with ripe rice in early September. During the harvest in October, thegolden rice fields stand out amidst green forests.-VNA
VNA

See more

An Ao Dai performance at the event. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese cultural spirit shines through Ao Dai festival in Europe

Themed “the essence of Vietnamese Ao Dai", the event featured 19 performances and cultural activities, including ao dai showcases, musical performances, art exhibitions and interactive cultural spaces, offering audiences a vivid glimpse into Vietnamese culture in the heart of Europe.

A performance at the show (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese water puppetry draws crowds in Laos

Following two sold-out shows in Vientiane, Vietnam’s traditional water puppetry continued to pull in strong audiences. The 700-seat auditorium of the Savannakhet provincial cultural house was filled to capacity on both floors well before the show began.

Meritorious Artisan Nguyen Thi Oanh (Photo: VNA)

Couple saves 500-year-old Dong Ho painting art from extinction

Born in Bac Ninh province’s Dong Khe residential area half a millennium ago, Dong Ho painting hit its roaring peak in the 1940s, when 17 family clans churned out vividly coloured, all-natural works for spiritual, festive and daily rituals, especially the Lunar New Year

Soldier Tran Thanh, a member of the Hoang Dieu Citadel National Salvation Youth Union, carries a lunge mine to destroy enemy tank on the streets of Hanoi on December 23, 1946, during the early days of the nationwide resistance war. (File photo: VNA)

Nghe An to host exhibition featuring President Ho Chi Minh’s call for national resistance

This is an important political and cultural event that celebrates the lasting historical significance of President Ho Chi Minh's call for national resistance, while highlighting the vision, determination, and intellectual strength of the Party and the Vietnamese people during a pivotal moment in history. The exhibition also aims to celebrate the late President’s 136th birth anniversary (May 19, 1890 - 2026).

Tthe DIFF 2026 stage has been designed around the concept of convergence, inspired by the image of converging horizons where cultures, time, and emotions meet (Source: DIFF)

DIFF 2026 set to mark breakthrough in stage scale, performance technology

The DIFF 2026 stage has been designed around the concept of convergence, inspired by the image of converging horizons where cultures, time, and emotions meet. With a width of up to 100 metres and a total area of nearly 1,200sq.m, the stage is considered the largest in the history of DIFF.

Vietnam's national U17 football team defeat United Arab Emirates national U17 football team 3-2 in the final Group C match of the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2026 in Saudi Arabia on early May 14. (Photo: VFF)

Vietnam secure berth at FIFA U17 World Cup 2026 for first time

Vietnam national U17 football team secured a place at the FIFA U17 World Cup 2026 for the first time after defeating United Arab Emirates national U17 football team 3-2 on in the final Group C match of the AFC U17 Asian Cup 2026 in Saudi Arabia on early May 14 (Vietnam time).

Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh and Lao Minister of Culture and Tourism Suonsavan Vignaket exchange the signed culture and tourism cooperation scheme for 2026–2030. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Laos ink 2026–2030 culture-tourism cooperation plan

Both sides pointed to substantive, positive outcomes in cultural and tourism cooperation from 2021-2025, citing successful cultural weeks in each country, cultural and art activities marking important occasions of the two Parties and countries, and the effective delivery of agreements reached by leaders that further fostered the special Vietnam–Laos relationship.

Students visit the photo exhibition. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, RoK photo exhibition highlights cultural connections

Among the displayed works, 60 photographs introduce the modern RoK with its rich cultural depth and spectacular natural landscapes, while 40 others vividly portray the beauty, cultural identity and ongoing development of Dak Lak and Vietnam’s Central Highlands region.