Cao Anh Quyen has been studying and living in Wuhan, Hubei province for three years, but the Vietnamese student still hasn't adapted to the city's climate.

"It's too hot in summer and too cold in winter, which makes Wuhan a hard place to live in," she says.

Known as one of China's "three furnaces", Wuhan's temperature often reaches 40 C in summertime, while often dropping to below zero in winter.

Quyen grew up in the subtropical city of Hanoi and saw snow for the first time in Wuhan three years ago. She was excited then but now hates the stuff because it means freezing cold weather.

Despite the harsh weather, Quyen likes Wuhan because "its people are warm, especially to foreigners".

Since, it is not always easy to tell a Vietnamese from a Chinese person and Quyen speaks fluent Chinese, she says she is often mistaken for a local.

It's only when she speaks Vietnamese to her compatriots that people realize. Still, she says, many people then ask: "Where are you from? Guangdong province?"

When she tells people that she's Vietnamese, the response is often, "Are you of mixed blood?" because many people think Vietnamese tend to be darker than Chinese.

Even more dismaying for Quyen is that some people have not even heard of Vietnam.

"I tell them, 'Why don't you know Vietnam? Do you not watch TV or read newspapers?' They say, 'Not very often!'" she says.

In Vietnam, Quyen says, everyone knows about China, though people of her generation do not have much knowledge of the war between the countries 31 years ago.

"Now that China and Vietnam have a friendly relationship and do business with each other, not many people care about the war which happened a long time ago," she says.

The Chinese Department of Hanoi University, which stopped recruiting students for a decade after the war, is now expanding rapidly as studying Chinese has become popular in Vietnam. Many Chinese companies are investing in Vietnam and providing jobs for Vietnamese people who speak Chinese.

Quyen chose Chinese as her major because it would provide job opportunities and she seems to have a talent for it. She studied at the Chinese Department of Hanoi University for two years, and then for another two years at Wuhan University, which has links with Hanoi University.

"Chinese is not very hard for me because its grammar is similar to that of Vietnamese, and some words have similar pronunciation," she says. "Also I have a deep interest in Chinese culture."

However, Quyen admits that Chinese characters are difficult. Vietnamese people used to use Chinese characters before they adopted the current writing system based on Latin letters, but it has been three centuries since the pictographic system was dropped.

After obtaining a bachelor's degree, Quyen got a scholarship from the Confucius Institute to continue with her graduate studies in Chinese at Wuhan University. Besides covering tuition and accommodation fees, the scholarship also provides a living allowance of 1,700 yuan ($250) per month in Wuhan.

Quyen could have opted for a university in Beijing or Shanghai for her graduate studies but opted for Wuhan University because it is cheaper in Wuhan and she likes the campus.

"We have a very nice environment here. I like the water, mountain and cherry blossom. In the morning, I can see the beautiful sunrise on East Lake which is just next to the university," she says.

Quyen says while food is generally cheaper in Hanoi, she finds that many things, especially electronic appliances, are cheaper in Wuhan. She bought her Nokia cell phone and Dell laptop here. She also says Wuhan has a better bus system and less traffic jams than Hanoi. Quyen does not feel lonely, for there are more than 300 Vietnamese students at Wuhan University, and there are still more in other universities in Wuhan.

Next year Quyen will finish her graduate studies and plans to return to Vietnam to get a job promoting Chinese culture.

Before leaving China, she expects her parents, grandma and aunt to go to Wuhan next summer to attend her graduation ceremony, and travel with her around China.

VietNamNet Bridge – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has allowed the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and the Army Telecommunication Group (Viettel) and 13 other corporations and groups to restructure as one-member limited liability companies owned by the state.

PetroVietnam restructures in conformance with Companies Law

Under the Business Law that goes into effect on July 1, state enterprises that have not yet been equitized (i.e., have not issued shares) must become state-owned “one-member limited liability companies.”

After three years of equitisation, Viettel has just finalized the process at some subsidiaries. Viettel is the first that experimentally applied the model of a group operating in the areas of telecom, real estate, banking and finance without a management board.

VNPT will also change its model into a one-member limited liability company, working in the fields of telecom work construction, finance, banking, advertising, office leasing, postal and telecom services. Its chartered capital is more than 72 trillion dong (nearly $3.79 billion).

VNPT and Viettel are the two biggest operators in the telecom markets. VNPT owns the two mobile networks, VinaPhone and MobiFone, while Viettel runs Viettel Telecom. Viettel has also expanded its operations to Cambodia, Laos and Haiti.

Other big state-owned economic groups and corporations are Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), Vietnam Cement Corporation (Vicem), Vietnam Railways Corporation, Vietnam Textile-garment Corporation (Vinatex), Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industry Group (Vinacomin) and Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin).

Previously, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and MobiFone were allowed to become one-member limited liability companies.

Source:http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/201007/Many-stateowned-groups-become-limited-liability-companies-919413/

VietNamNet Bridge - The People’s Court of Ca Mau province on June 29 sentenced a couple to jail for 23 years each for torturing a 14-year-old boy.

Thousands of people stood outside the court to follow the trial on June 29.

Huynh Thanh Giang, 30, and his wife, Ma Ngoc Thom, 33, the owners of a shrimp breeding farm in Ca Mau province, got 20 years for intentionally causing physical injury to Nguyen Hao Anh and another three years for torturing him.

Hao Anh worked for Giang and Thom for some 20 months and was abused since early last year. However, residents did not learn of the couple’s abusive acts until late April 2010 and reported it to police. The boy was immediately hospitalized.

Area residents claimed that Giang and Thom took turns torturing Hao Anh 3-4 times a day, but they didn’t dare alarm authorities until they found Hao Anh beaten more severely than usual.

Giang was taken into custody when the case was exposed, while his wife Ma Ngoc Thom was left temporarily free since her child is under two years old.

The victim, Hao Anh, and his mother at the court.

The couple confessed to regularly abusing the boy, who had worked as a housekeeper and caretaker of the couple’s shrimp farm until he was rescued by police in late April 2010.

They hit the boy with hammers and oars, poured hot water on him, burned him with a hot iron, strangled him with rope, and pulled his teeth out with pliers.

Anh was found with broken teeth, burns, a broken nose, and a swollen face as a result of constant beatings and torture by Giang and Thom.

Luu Van Khanh, 17, and Lam Ly Quynh, 18, who worked with Anh at the farm and also joined the couple in beating the boy, were sentenced to 18 months in jail.

The four defendants: Huynh Thanh Giang (first from the left) and his wife, Ma Ngoc Thom (yellow).

When the case was exposed, the details of torture shocked and angered the public and raised questions about authorities under whom the abuse remained undetected for such a long time.

Provincial authorities issued a warning to Pham Duc Ly, Ngoc Chanh Commune Chair, which manages Phu Hiep Hamlet, and Nguyen Thanh Binh, head of the commune police, for failing to detect the abuse. Truong Anh Ut, head of the hamlet, and Ly Thai Trieu, head of the hamlet’s police, also received similar warnings.

VietNamNet Bridge – If VinaPhone and MobiFone overcome the ongoing test of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) for 3G service quality, they can withdraw 1.5 trillion dong ($789.5 million)  in deposit money.

Pham Hong Hai, chief of the MoIC’s Telecommunications Department, said that the ministry’s inspectors have finalized their inspection of 3G service quality offered by VinaPhone and MobiFone, two subsidiaries of the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT). The result will be announced very soon.

If the two mobile operators meet MoIC’s standards, they will be allowed to withdraw 50 percent of their deposits for the 3G networks, totaling 1.5 trillion dong.

After VinaPhone and MobiFone, the MoIC will test the 3G network of Viettel and then EVN Telecom-Hanoi Telecom.

In case mobile operators don’t meet their 3G license commitments, they will be fined.

According to their commitments, in the next three years, MobiFone, VinaPhone, Viettel and EVN Telecom-Hanoi Telecom will invest more than 33 trillion dong ($1.73 billion) in their 3G networks, which have a total of 30,000 base transceiver stations (BTS). They have deposited 8.1 trillion dong ($426.3 million) to the MoIC. They can withdraw the deposit after three years if they don’t break their commitment.

The current revenue from 3G service is said to be low, but experts believe that mobile operators can regain their investment after eight years. With 15-year 3G licenses, they can earn a lot of profit, experts said.

Source:http://www.lookatvietnam.com/2010/06/vinaphone-mobifone-may-withdraw-vnd-15tril-of-3g-deposit.html 

VietNamNet Bridge – More than 20 Vietnamese children are killed in accidents every day and many of them suffer serious disabilities or permanent psychological wounds.

VietNamNet Bridge – An eight-year campaign to promote child safety had not reduced the number who died or were crippled through injury, Deputy Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Minister Dam Huu Dac said in Ha Noi yesterday, June 29.

Students of Vinh Hoa Secondary School in An Giang Province’s Tan Chau District go to school by boat during the flood season. Child safety remains an urgent issue in Viet Nam. (Photo: VNS)

VietNamNet Bridge – Baby girl Bui Thi Gai, born in the northern city of Hai Duong, came into the world at the 25^th week of her mother’s pregnancy, when she weighed just 500g, making her the smallest newborn baby still alive in Vietnam.

Doctor Nguyen Thanh Ha, chief of the Hanoi-based Central Obstetrics Hospital’s Newborn Children Ward, said the baby was born March 31, when she was just 25 week old. The baby has been placed on a special programme to ensure her health.

The 500g baby has been nurtured through an IV because her stomach and bowels don’t function adequately yet.

Doctor Ha said this is the smallest baby who has been kept alive at the hospital and in Vietnam in general. Last year the hospital cared for a newborn baby who weighed only 600g, he said.

“Babies who are born prematurely often suffer from bleeding meninges, necrosis enteritis, bleeding lung, [and other maladies] because internal organs don’t develop completely. It is lucky that Gai doesn’t face these problems,” said Ha.

As of April 6, the baby no longer needed to use a respiratory machine to breathe, according to Ha.

As of April 8, she began eating normally, with 2ml of milk per meal. Today, the girl weighs 1.7kg and can breathe on her home. Doctors say she will return home very soon.

The baby’s mother, Bui Bich Ngoc, said she thought her baby would not survive given her premature birth.

“Every time we visit my daughter, seeing her growing up I and my husband are very happy,” Ngoc said.

Gai is Ngoc’s second child. Her first son is 10-years-old. She said she and her husband visit the baby every weekend. During the week, her relatives in Hanoi visit the baby daily.

Source:http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/201006/Smallest-newborn-baby-in-Vietnam-917614/ 

VietNamNet Bridge – Two students passed 350 contestants from 35 universities and colleges in Vietnam to win the tickets to the "Microsoft Office World Champion 2010" in the USA this August.

 

Vietnam, RoK sign IT cooperation document

HCM City forges ahead in IT

Program offers IT support to youth

 

 

 

 

Nguyen Tran Duy Phuong from HCM City University for Foreign Language and Informatics obtained the maximum points of 1000 for using Word 2003, taking the first prize.

 

Nguyen Quang Thien from the Aviation Institute and Nguyen Thanh Tuan Anh from the Maritime University both had 971 points but Thien was presented the second prize for fulfilling the exam in a shorter time while Tuan Anh took third prize.

 

For Excel 2003, Le Nguyen Anh Duong from HCM City Banking University won the first prize with 964 points, followed by Nguyen Hoang Duy from HCM City University of Technology and Huynh Phuoc Tho from HCM City Foreign Trade University.

 

Most of the 20 top contestants came from HCM City’s universities. Only two northern universities – Hanoi Trade University and Maritime University – had students in the top 20.

 

The first, second and third prizes winners received Microsoft MOS certificate and certificates of merit from the Ministry of Education and Training.

 

The two first prize winners – Le Nguyen Anh Duong and Nguyen Tran Duy Phuong – will represent more than 1 million Vietnamese students to compete with rivals from 60 countries at the finale of "Microsoft Office World Champion 2010" in Park City, Utah, USA.

 

This is the first time this competition has been organized in Vietnam, but it attracted thousands of students from colleges and universities throughout the country. The event aims to promote the study and applications of Microsoft office software at work.

 

Source:

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/201006/Vietnamese-students-will-attend-Microsoft-Office-World-Champs-2010-919271/

Tea drinking - an indispensable habit.

Vietnamese people have a nice habit of drinking tea. They drink it everywhere and at any time: at home, at workplaces, even in tea shops on their way to work, or at formal meetings, weddings or funerals. They also place it on altars as an offering to their ancestors on worshipping occasions. Whenever the locals feel thirsty, they are likely to look for this drink, in both summer and winter. A cup of iced tea in a hot day in summer not only refreshes your mind but also detoxicate your body. On the contrary, in winter, a sip of hot tea makes you feel warm inside and better able to cope with the outside cold temperatures.

Yet, tea drinking is not a recent trend in Viet Nam but attached to an ancient history as follows;

Tea drinking - from history to daily life...

Viet Nam is one of the largest and oldest tea-producing countries in the world. The Vietnamese have been growing tea for over 2,000 years. As early as in the 11th century, tea was used as a symbol to convey the essence of Buddhism. During the period of the Tran Dynasty from the 13th to early 15th century, tea assumed a philosophical value for the Vietnamese. In the 15th century, the Vietnamese polymath Nguyen Trai (1380-1442) lived as a hermit, renouncing the outside world for a life of "tea, poetry and the moon".

While tea has a special philosophical value for scholars and a long tradition in Vietnamese history, it has its own place today in the life of ordinary people living both in the cities and in the countryside. In the past, peasants could not afford expensive tea, so they grew tea on their own. Nowadays, tea is used to bind people together, for example, the peasant often invites his neighbor around for a chat over a cup of tea. They drink tea initially to thank the host for his hospitality, then throughout several tea sips, they open  heart more, to share their feelings, to speak about the family, the company and finally to feel the nature savor of the cup of tea.

Besides a normal thirst-quenching beverage, tea is also considered a delicate and meaningful one. In the past, it used to be the leverage for poets’ inspiration. Up to now, the habit of leisure tea-drinking has helped refresh and polish the drinkers’ minds. Moreover, a person's character can be assessed by his or her tea drinking ways. Vietnamese people consider those who drink concentrated tea to be finely-mannered; and those who can pour tea into bowls arranged in a circle using a coconut scoop without spilling a drop will certainly enjoy the admiration of their tea-drinking peers.

Kinds of tea

Viet Nam has grown many and various types of tea such as che Tuyet, che Moc cau, che man, che chi … Each one is combined with a particular kind of flower: che man with chrysanthemum; che bup with hoa soi flowers; high quality che man and che bup with lotus, narcissus or jasmine. Some connoisseurs go so far as to row out to the middle of a pond to place small amounts of tea inside lotus buds in order to perfume it. An example is cum tea, grown by the Tay ethnic minority. Cum tea plants are allowed to grow until the buds are mature, then they are picked, and roasted in a pan until they are dry and the buds begin to curl up. The tea is then wrapped up in palm leaves to keep it fragrant.

The Vietnamese like to mix tea with flowers to make it more aromatic. Tea with lotus is very precious for Vietnamese people. This kind of tea was formerly reserved to the Kings. According to the predecessors, when the lotus blossoms in the afternoon, they put a sachet of tea in the pistil and then, they tighten it with the sheets of lotus. In the next morning, they take dew remained on the sheets and in mixture with the sachet of tea in the pistil. After having poured into the cup, the soft and fresh odor of lotus dominates the whole room.

The tea culture has sticked to the life and the heart of Vietnamese people for generations. And when they drink tea at a small mouthful, the tea savor makes them more off-hand and closer to one another. This has formed the culture of the vicinity and the affection between neighbors.

Coffee and the Hanoians

The Hanoians drink a lot of the dark, caffeinated beverage and prefer sipping their stronger blends outside in front of a small shop with some sweet milk and a spoonful of sugar. Every morning, on hot days of summer and cold and dull days of winter, you can easily see some here with a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other.

Street Coffee…

Soaking up the rhythms of the street and embracing Hanoi from all of its sides, from old to new ones, and from traditional to modern & quirky ones, you will tenderly recognize that, nothing can be better refresh us after hardworking hours than a cup of coffee on a street near Sword Lake (Hoan Kiem Lake).

Basking with sunshine in the afternoon when there’s less noise from automobiles, Hanoi ends a day and opens a new paradise for culture experiences. Taking over a legacy from bygone years with the involvement of an irresistible French factor, the Vietnamese have embraced café culture in a great way. There are so many famous coffee shops in Hanoi, like Nang café (6 Hang Bac), Nhan (39D1 Hang Hanh), Quat (Quan Thanh), Quynh (Bat Dan) to Giang (Hang Gai and Lam (60, 91 Nguyen Huu Huan)… Chairs are small, literally child-sized, and are sometimes made of blue plastic or painted wood. The tables are covered with glasses of ca phe den (black coffee) or ca phe sua da (iced coffee), which come with their own picturesque drip top. Not only just for connoisseurs,  these places are idea for having gossip, meeting old friends, talking to pass  time of day, stealing precious moments for romantics …

Now, let’s follow a coffee connoisseur…

A good example of the authentic Hanoi cafés is Hang Hanh, an atmospheric slender street veering off the city’s central Hoan Kiem Lake. In the afternoon, one may find himself inexplicably drawn to its’ wall-to-wall cafés which unfold below the shady boughs of leafy trees. Here, the annoying young and cool Vietnamese often sit and watch the world in front of their eyes. In late afternoon, with the last rays of sunshine, the place starts to buzz. At weekends, it is positively heaving with dating couples or gangs of youths desiring to be couples.

If this sounds too frenetic, a more subdued place like Giang Café can be chosen! Though situated in a busy tourist shopping street, the tiny confined Giang Café attracts the serious permanent coffee lovers and soccer addicts.  

Cyclo cafe in Hanoi

Yet, if you ask me about my favorite one, I will not hesitate to answer that it is Quynh Café. Down in a quiet side street, this unassuming cafes’ entrance is marked by a simple red lantern and ornate ironwork doors. Stepping inside, you not only see the bamboo furniture on tiled floor but also the tiny plants adorn wooden shuttered windows. Looking on damp-streaked walls, you may surprise with wooden arrows and trumpets, farming implements and ancient hunting pistols. Breathing the cool air from the antiquated table-fan, wallowing in soft French background music, you will desire to stay longer...

Coffee drinking from another approach

The resurgence of tourism to these fragrant shores has led to the resurrection of the wonderful old ambience of former colonial times in many Hanoi cafés. Delightful cafés are now housed in elegant French-style villas with exquisite silk prints, meticulously polished wooden floors and pot-planted courtyards or serve delicious food all day and evening. Street cafés like the La Terrasse du Metropole on Ngo Quyen and Le Phung Hieu or Highlands Café, 84 Nguyen Du are the typical examples!

Hanoi’s coffee culture calls on coffee addicts from every corner of the globe!

The bouillon.

Boil 10 cups water. Burn the whole fresh onions over high heat until golden brown. Add beef spareribs or ox tail into the boiling water. Skim while cooking to make a clear broth. Add browned onion and carrots after 1 hour of boiling. Cook another hour. Then remove meat and vegetable. Strain the bouillon, season it with spices, salt, fish sause as indicated and keep boiling to server very hot soup. Add boiled water, if necessary, to have 6-8 cups of bouillon. This broth is very spicy and a little salty.

Slice tender beef finely and cooked beef coarsely. Soak dry rice noodles in hot water 10 minutes before cooking. Coolk rice noodles sparately until done (about 10-15 minutes), drain in hot water to remove the starch.

Server at once into bowl.

Beef soup, rare: cooked rice noodles 1/3 bowl, raw beef minced on top. Pour over them one cup boiling bouillon. Add bib lettuce, green onion and onion rings.

Beef soup, done: cooked rice noodles, cooked beef, bib lettuce, onion rings, green onion in top. Pour over all ingredients 1 cup boiling bouillon.

Provide the guests with spoons and chopstichs to take the soup.

Banh Chung

Chung cake was invented by the 18th Prince of Hung Emperor in the contest of looking for new Emperor. According to the legend, 3,000-4,000 years ago, Prince Lang Lieu, made round and square cakes, the round Day cake symbolizing the sky and the square Chung cake symbolizing the Earth (under the ancient Vietnamese perception), to be offered on the occasion of Spring.

In the ancient conception, the Earth is square, hence Chung cake's shape is square, too, to reflect the Earth shape. Since the cakes he offered were of special meaning and delicious taste, Lang Lieu was selected to be the next Emperor. Since then, in honor of this 18th Prince, Vietnamese people always make and have Chung cake in the Lunar New Year. Up to now, Chung cake has become the most famous and irreplaceable traditional Vietnamese food in Tet Holiday. This legend aims to remind the next generations of the ancient tradition as well as the primary of Chung cake. Besides, it emphasizes the important role of rice and nature in water rice culture.

How to make a "Banh Chung"?

In contrast to the fast food in modern life, the process of making Chung cake is time-consuming and requires the contribution of several people. Main ingredients are glutinous rice, pork meat, and green beans wrapped in a square of bamboo leaves that will give the rice a green color after boiling. The

In the traditional conception of Vietnamese people, the process of making Chung cake is the opportunity for family to come together. Sitting around the warm fire, all members in the family tell one another the past stories and are ready for a New Year with wishes of best things. Nowadays, in some big cities, the business lifestyle of modern society prevent people from preparing the cake, however, the habit of worship ancestors with Chung cake never changes. It is the evidence of the Vietnamese loyalty and deep gratitude to ancestors.