 Every April, Hanoi's street corners are beautified by green and pure white lilies. People call lilies "April flowers" because it blooms when April comes. |
B: Most of the listeners expressed an interest in the reopening of tourism in Vietnam for both domestic and foreign tourists and asked about Vietnam’s summer destinations.
A: Since Vietnam reopened to tourism in mid-March, visits to localities across Vietnam have been surging, especially over the past few days during the National Reunification and May Day holidays.
B: Going to the beach and hiking in the mountains are two popular choices among holiday travellers. The cool climate, stunning scenery, rich eco-system, and exotic ethnic minority culture of Vietnam’s northern mountains attract many tourists. The local lifestyle, customs, farming methods, festivals, foods, and music are all magnets for visitors.
A: The northwestern region encompasses six provinces: Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, and Yen Bai. The top destinations include Fanxipan, the highest peak in Indochina; Sapa, a cloudy paradise of a town; O Quy Ho, a daunting mountain pass; Mu Cang Chai, where terraced fields stretch like stairs to the sky; beautiful giant Pa Khoang lake, endowed with profuse flora and a mild climate; Muong Phang forest; and the peaceful, picturesque Mai Chau valley and Moc Chau plateau. These gems provide a delightful getaway.
 Bach Long glass walking bridge to be recognized by the Guinness Record as "The longest walking glass bridge in the world". Photo: Moc Chau Island Tourist Area |
B: The northwestern region is populated by many ethnic minority groups: Tay, Nung, Thai, Muong, Mong, Dao, and others. They adhere to their traditional culture and festivals, which include Long Tong, a farming festival; the Khau Vai love market; dances with bamboo tubes; “then” singing, and panpipes.
A: When it comes to food, the region has a lot to offer: grilled chicken and stream fish, buffalo skin salad, smoked meat, and “thang co” made of horse meat and internal organs.
B: Community-based tourism is a trademark of the northwestern region. Tourists can cook, eat, sleep, work in the fields, and make cloth with local people. Plan your trip to this region during the peach and plum blossom season, the buckwheat flower season, or the harvest season for rice, tangerines, and persimmons to see the scenery at its best.
A: In the scorching summer, there’s nothing better than a visit to the seaside. Beaches like Co To, Cat Ba, and Do Son in the north, Sam Son, Cua Lo, Thien Cam, Danang, and Nha Trang in the central region, and Mui Ne, Phu Quoc, and Vung Tau in the south are packed in summer months with Vietnamese and foreign tourists.
 Tourism activities are recovered in Quang Ninh province . |
A: The upcoming SEA Games 31 is expected to attract a huge number of foreign tourists. Vietnam will welcome over 7,000 athletes from 11 countries to compete in 526 events.
B: SEA Games 31 will be held in Hanoi and 11 nearby localities between May 12 and May 23. Between competitions, visitors can visit sightseeing spots in each locality. Hanoi’s famous walking streets, Tam Chuc pagoda, and Ha Long Bay are among the spots highlighted on the fanpage of the 31st Southeast Asian Games.
A: Hanoi’s Old Quarter is the top spot to sample Vietnamese cuisine and explore the capital at night.
A; Ha Nam province will host both the men’s and women’s futsal matches. The province’s Tam Chuc pagoda in Kim Bang district has attracted a lot of visitors in recent years.
 Tam Chuc pagoda in Ha Nam province |
B: The Trang An eco-tourism site, often called “Ha Long Bay on land”, is 96 km south of Hanoi and 7 km west of the centre of Ninh Binh province. It will host the karate competitions at SEA Games 31Bai Dinh pagoda in Ninh Binh province is a cluster of Buddhist architectural structures, built in 2003. The site has become a top destination for Buddhistd.
A: Tourists who visit the Hai Duong Sporting Hall to watch the table tennis competitions should not miss the Con Son-Kiep Bac relic site, one of 62 important national relics associated with historical heroes like Nguyen Trai, Tran Hung Dao, and Tran Nguyen Dan.
B: Quang Ninh province will host the beach volleyball competitions. Quang Ninh’s Ha Long Bay was recognised as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1994 and 2000. In 2011 Ha Long Bay was voted by New7wonders as one of the new seven natural wonders of the world.
 Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh province |
A: Men’s football matches in the group stage will take place in Nam Dinh province, where visitors should visit Tran Temple which honors the kings of the Tran Dynasty and their mandarins.
A: Abdul Mannan of Bangladesh listened to several VOV broadcasts in recent weeks on the frequency of 7220 khz and sent several reports to us. He wrote: “I’m a regular listener of your English program. I listened to your programs on the frequency of 7220 khz with very excellent reception. I would like to know which countries share a border with Vietnam?”
 The westernmost point of Vietnam's mainland, Milestone No Zero A Pa Chai is located at the T-junction of Vietnam-Laos-China border in Sin Thau Commune, Muong Nhe District, Dien Bien province. There's a joke that A Pa Chai is the place where a rooster crows, people in all three countries of Vietnam, Laos, and China can hear. |
B: Vietnam is located on the Indochinese Peninsula and has an area of 331,690 square kilometers. It shares land borders with three countries: Cambodia in the southwest, Laos in the northwest, and China in the north. Vietnam’s total land border has a length of nearly 5,000 km. Its coastline of 3,260 km running through 28 cities and provinces.
A: The northern region is mostly highlands, while the south is mostly lowlands. Vietnam’s climate varies from region to region due to the diversity of terrain.
B: Vietnam’s border with Cambodia is 1,137 km long. Its border with China is 1,297 km long and its border with Laos stretches 2,161 km.
A: This week, we’d like to welcome Anand Mohan of India to VOV. In an email to VOV this week, he reported reception of our broadcast on April 20 on the frequency of 7220 khz. He was interested in a story about Vietnam’s economic challenges, Letter Box’s story about fish dishes. He said Indian people also like fish dishes a lot. He asked us about Vietnam’s banking system.
 The State Bank of Vietnam |
B: The State Bank of Vietnam is at the top of the Vietnamese banking system. It is a Government agency responsible for issuing currency, managing the money supply and advising the government of Vietnam on monetary policy preparing draft laws on banking and credit institutions, and managing state-owned commercial banks.
A: The Vietnamese commercial banking system includes 5 state-owned commercial banks, 34 joint-stock commercial banks, 4 joint-venture banks, 35 branch offices of foreign banks, and 6 financial companies.
B: Some of the biggest banks in Vietnam are the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV), the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietin Bank), the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the Vietnam Technological And Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank).
A: Three of the most popular foreign banks in Vietnam are HSBC, ANZ and Citibank. Each bank has certain advantages and achievements to boast about. The commercial banks in Vietnam are competing to adopt modern banking technology developed to improve services, which will benefit both Vietnamese and foreign customers.
B: We received several letters from Igor Belevich of Belarus this week who listened to VOV broadcasts on 11885 khz at around 11:45 Belarus time.
A: We’d like to acknowledge emails and letters from Ratan Kumar Paul of India, Siddhartha Bhattacharjee of India, Vincentiu Daniel, Rasheed Naz, Riaz Ahamad Khan, and other listeners who posted comments on our Facebook fanpage VOV5 English Service.
A: That concludes today’s program. 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.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs.
B: Check out our VOV Media App, available on both the IOS and Android platforms, 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.