| “ Vietnam Travel “ - The coldness of a sudden monsoon couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of tens of thousands of people who elbowed themselves into the crowd along the Han River on March 27 night for the start of a two-day international fireworks competition in the central city of Danang. |
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At
8:35pm the crowd burst into applause after Chairman of municipal
People’s Committee Tran Van Minh declared the contest open to celebrate
the city’s liberation day and the 1,000th anniversary of capital Hanoi.
The
water and sky were lit up by the magnificent fireworks representing
“The Legend of Han River”, in harmony with a variety of music.
Thirty-five
imperial boats representing the number of years since the city’s
liberation sailed around garlands of flowers and coloured lanterns.
Five teams from France, Japan, Portugal, the US and host Danang-Vietnam tool part in the festival.
Competitors
promised to bring something special to this year’s event with
performances based on famous folk tales of dragons and ferries and they
didn’t disappoint.
Audiences on March 27 were treated to a free
and easy Portugal, a Japanese philosophy of peace and hope and a
Vietnam full of vitality. On March 28’s performances also displayed a
merry US soul and a romantic France despite quite heavy rain.
Members
of the audience who didn’t manage to get a seat in the 26,000 capacity
grand stand took up positions wherever they could - on balconies, on
fences and even in trees.
Signs advertising views of the
fireworks were seen in most hostels and restaurants along the river,
but there were no vacancies by the evening.
Photographer Trinh
Thong Thien said it was very hard for him to take pictures from the Han
River swing-bridge because there was not enough room.
Local
people said their hearts quickened as they watched the performance echo
out the nation’s four-thousand year history, especially on such an
important occasion for the country in general and the city in
particular.
From 4 pm, locals and tourists were seen walking
along the streets of Danang heading for the city centre where the
fireworks festival was to take place.
“The city has its own
unique way of holding an event, and fireworks festivals have become
synonymous with Danang and it’s cultural and tourism products that
promote its image to tourists both at home and abroad,” they said.
The
fireworks festival closed on March 28 with the French team winning the
first prize. The second prize went to the US team and the third prize,
to Vietnam, Japan and Portugal. |
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(Source:
VNA) |
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