Hello and welcome to VOV’s Letter Box, our weekly feature dedicated to listeners around the world. We are Mai Phuong and Ngoc Huyen.

A: First of all, we would like to welcome Vincent Kaufmann from Tuscon, UK to our program. Vincent said he wanted to learn more about VOV and Vietnam.

B: Dear Vincent, the Overseas Service (VOV5) of Radio the Voice of Vietnam is Vietnam’s foreign language broadcaster serving overseas Vietnamese and foreigners all over the world. VOV5 now broadcasts on short wave and medium wave in 12 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Lao, Thai, Cambodian, Indonesian and Vietnamese for Vietnamese who are living abroad.

VOV headquarter in 58 Quan Su, Hanoi

A: VOV5’s 12 language programs are now available on www.vovworld.vn the Overseas Service website or at http//vov.vn (Radio the Voice of Vietnam’s online newspaper). The website www.vovworld.vn posts transcripts of our programming, live radio programs and 7 days worth of recorded programs. There are also pictures, video-clips, music, and features about Vietnam’s land, people, customs and traditions.

B: Through our broadcasts and website, we want to make Vietnam better known to people throughout the globe. We will send you our brochures and program schedule so you can learn more about VOV and Vietnam.

A: Neelakandan of India sent us greetings and a reception report for our program on July 9. He listened to the program from 13:30- to 13:58 UTC on the frequency of 12020 KHz with SINPO rated at 34333 and from 16:00 to 16:28 UTC on the frequency of 7220 with SINPO rated all 4s. Neelakandan wrote: “I enjoyed your programs very much, especially I like the information about organic food and vegetables in Vietnam, because I am also doing agriculture as a profession on my farm. I would like to know whether the price of organic food and vegetables is different from the normally produced vegetables in Vietnam. Is there any certification body for organically grown food and vegetables in Vietnam? How many people prefer organically grown food and vegetables in Vietnam? Is it available and affordable for all in Vietnam? I am very interested in this topic”.

B: Thank you very much for listening. As we have reported, organic food and vegetables have become more popular in Vietnam and the demand for safe vegetables is increasing. Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development in major cities and provinces have set up organic fruits and vegetables transaction floors whose suppliers are cooperatives growing organic vegetables.  These cooperative suppliers will deliver the products door to door.

A: The prices of these products are a little bit higher that normally produced fruits and vegetables. All the products are labeled to show their origins and other information. Cooperatives and other producers who want to join the transaction floor are checked by Plant Protection Departments for legal land and water and production processes. The floor connects suppliers directly with consumers.

B: The transaction floors plan to open 1,000 distribution points in residential areas, and will connect with more growers to offer a greater variety of quality produce to customers.

A: That’s a short take on organic food and vegetables in Vietnam. We hope Neelakandan and our other listeners found it interesting. Another Indian listener, Kanchan Chatterjee, a member of the NATUN Radio Listeners Club, sent us an email saying that he happened to tune in to our broadcast and really enjoyed listening.  He wants to know about tours of historic sites as he will visit Vietnam in the near future. Kanchan is also interested in hearing about Vietnam’s national animal and national flower.

A: Vietnam has more than 40,000 historic and cultural relic sites, of which 3,000 have been officially designated as national relics and 5,000 as provincial relics. Hundreds of these relics are located in the Red River Delta and have become popular tourist destinations.

B: In Hanoi, there are many cultural and historic relics from different development periods in the city’s 1000 year history. The Temple of Literature, Ba Dinh Square, the Hanoi Flag Tower, Hoan Kiem Lake and the Tortoise Tower are some of the most popular destinations.

A: The Hue ancient citadel in the central region is another popular attraction. The central region has other historic relics like Vinh Moc Tunnel, the Quang Tri ancient citadel, and Truong Son cemetery. In the south you can visit Cu Chi tunnel, Independence Palace and the Nha Rong wharf in Ho Chi Minh City to learn about the Vietnamese people’s struggle for national liberation.

B: Within the time frame of one Letter Box edition, we can’t list all of Vietnam’s historic sites so please tune in to our program regularly to learn more about our country.

A: With regard to your question about Vietnam’s national animal- and flower, we don’t have an official national animal, but the lotus flower is likely to become Viet Nam's national flower, following a referendum to select a flower to represent the country. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung approved a request from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in last March to choose a national flower for Vietnam. The ministry asked people across the nation to vote for a national flower. Most people have voted for the lotus flower.

Lotus flower

A: Before we go, we would like to say hello to James Fell of England, Peter Erich Boeck of Germany, Peter Ng of Malaysia, Tjang Pak Ning and Tony Ashar of Indonesia, Toshiya Nishimura of Japan, Usha Hazarika of India, Sharma of India , Jayanta Chakrabarty of India, Joshep Pecenka of the USA,  and David Ansell of England.

B: All these listeners sent reports about the English programs they heard and commented on technical issues and program content. We greatly appreciate this feedback. Dear listeners, your reception reports were all complete enough for us to send you letters of confirmation. If your name wasn’t mentioned this week, don’t feel left out. We’ll try to mention you next time.

A: Once again, we’d like to remind you of our address:

The English Section,

Overseas Service, Radio the Voice of Vietnam,

45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam

B: Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. If you miss any of our programs, you can always catch up by logging onto our website at: www.vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live broadcasts and previously recorded programs.