B: In his letter dated May 24, Mr. Penney wrote: “I was very fortunate to be able to catch your English broadcast via WRMI this evening. I listen to your broadcast on shortwave multiple times a week and I always enjoy your program. The quality and diversity of your programming is greatly appreciated. Thank you for continuing to find the importance of broadcasting on the shortwave bands.”

A: Thank you, Mr. Penney, for tuning in to VOV. We’ll confirm your reception report with a QSL card and send you some souvenirs from VOV. We hope to hear more from you.

B: This week, we also received the first letter from Jess Moralez of the US. She listened to our program from 11:50 to 12:00 UTC on May 22 on the frequency of 9840 khz and wrote: “I enjoyed your program very much. You were reading the mailbag from shortwave listeners. You were asking listeners to send in more input and more topics about Vietnam. The male and female announcers were very pleasant and have very good English.”

A: Thank you, Ms. Moralez, for your feedback on our program. Our mailbag has been broadcast every Wednesday for many  years now. It is like a forum where we can exchange with our listeners, listen to their feedback on the program to learn how they feel about it and find out about their impression of Vietnam through our stories. With this segment, we feel closer to our listeners when they share stories about themselves, about their hobby of dxing, and about their own cultures and people. We hope our listeners in turn feel closer to us.

A performance of Vovinam, Vienam's martial arts

B: This week, Balamurali N.S of India sent us an email and asked about the national sport of Vietnam.

A: In Vietnam, we don’t name any one sport our national sport but there are many types of sports that we’re very proud of. One of them is Vovinam, a Vietnamese form of martial arts, which has been spreading throughout the world during the last 80 years. 

B: Vovinam was invented by grandmaster Nguyen Loc 80 years ago. Vovinam’s principles include “to live for oneself, to help others live and to live for others”. Practiced with or without weapons, its aim is to train for physical strength and a sound mind, discipline, and moral strength. Vovinam students study human behavior, fellowship, and unity. 

A: After more than eight decades of development, Vovinam has to date attracted over 4 million practitioners in more than 70 countries and territories. The martial art, based on the principle of combining the poles of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’, is practiced with and without weapons. It is not only about the training of the body but also of the mind. Introduced to Algeria in the 1970s, Vovinam has become popular there and is now being practiced by over 20,000 people across the African country. The strong growth of the art form can be seen through the establishment of the world federation, as well as continental federations in Asia, Europe and Africa.

Vovinam has to date attracted over 4 million practitioners in more than 70 countries and territories.

B: Vovinam has developed in many countries with hundreds of schools in Poland, Belgium, Russia, France, and ASEAN members. The first world championship was organised in 2009, marking a turning point in its history.

A: Most recently, the Vietnamese martial arts world cup was held for the first time in Marseille, France, from May 31 to June 2. The tournament gathered nearly 300 athletes representing 18 countries worldwide.

B: President of the Vietnam Traditional Martial Arts Federation Hoang Vinh Giang said that the federation set a target of Vietnamese martial arts being practiced and competed in 100 nations and territories by 2030.

A: This week, we received different reception reports on our broadcasts on the frequency of 7220 khz. Listening to our broadcast at 16 hours UTC on June 2, Shyamal Kumar Banerjee of India reported good reception. But Siddhartha Bhattacharjee of India said the reception the same day was weak.

B: From Pakistan Abid Hussain Sajid reported good reception on the frequency of 7220 khz for a VOV broadcast on May 31.

A: Many listeners in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan commented on our Letter Box last week with a story about Eid-al-Fitr, the main religious festival of Muslims around the world which is held after a month of fasting to pray to Allah for happiness, prosperity, and world peace.

B: Mr. Ashik Eqbal Tokon wrote: “After Eid Greetings to you all from Bangladesh. First of all, congratulations on receiving the National External Information Service Award 2018 in 14 different categories. As one of your old and regular listeners, I have always followed your two important and attractive features,  Colorful Vietnam and Discovery Vietnam along with Letter Box. Your News and Current affairs are always in depth providing updates on Vietnam and the world. I like it very much. Could you give a news brief on  the Imperial City of Hue.”

Hue imperial relic site was listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1993.

B:   Hue city was Vietnam’s capital during the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945. Its imperial relic site was listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1993.

A: The name Hue first appeared at the end of the 15th century during the reign of King Le Thanh Tong. In 1636, the Palace of the Nguyen Lord was located in Hue and later moved to Phu Xuan, now Hue’s inner city. In the early 18^th century, Phu Xuan was the political, economic and cultural center of the region then dominated by the Nguyen lords. From 1788 to 1801, the city was the capital of the Tay Son regime.

B: From 1802 to 1945, Hue was the capital of a reunified Vietnam under the rule of 13 Nguyen kings. During this period, many architectural works of great value were built. The north bank of the Perfume River is home to the citadel, the royal city and the forbidden purple city of Huê. The new capital was designed in harmony with Eastern and Western philosophy and respecting Vietnamese geomancy and the surrounding landscapes like Ngu Binh Mountain, the Perfume River, and the Gia Vien and Boc Thanh islets. The citadel is built on the banks of the Perfume River and is surrounded by wide moats that delimit a square with a perimeter of more than 10 km and walls 6 meters high. The citadel is accessible by ten fortified gates, each with a bridge.

Inside Thai Hoa palace, Hue Imperial City

A: Inside the citadel are the "royal city" and the "forbidden city" separated by seven barriers. West of the citadel on the banks of the Perfume River are the tombs of the Nguyen kings, built in the classical Vietnamese architectural tradition. The Perfume River, Ngu Binh Mountain, Thien Mu Pagoda, Bach Ma Mountain, and Lang Cô and Thuan An beach compose a magnificent landscape.

B: The World Heritage Committee, at its 17th meeting in Colombia in 1993, named the Hue monuments a UNESCO World Heritage. Recently, Hue was included in the new global checklist of best travel journeys for people in their fifties, "with a successful career and enough money in hand." The U.S magazine Travel + Leisure suggests the exploration of the UNESCO heritage sites in central Vietnam, such as the Hoi An ancient town, Hue Imperial Citadel and My Son Sanctuary.

A: We’d like to thank you all for sending feedback on our broadcasts on shortwave and on the internet. We promise to send you our verification cards to confirm your reports. We welcome your feedback at: English Service, VOVworld, the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Check out our VOV Media App available on both the IOS and Android platform to hear our live broadcasts. We look forward to your feedback on the mobile version of vovworld.vn. Once again, thank you all for listening. Goodbye until next time.