(VOVWORLD) - These days the world seems to revolve around FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Phichet Thongphum of Thailand asked: “Does Vietnam broadcast live World Cup matches?”
B: Wei Wei of China wants to know about Vietnamese football and football fans.
A: Thank you all for your questions! Vietnam Television, VTV, has the right to broadcast live all matches of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup in Vietnamese territory on different platforms such as terrestrial, cable, satellite, and mobile and internet TV.
 VTV broadcasts all matches of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup in Vietnamese territory on different platforms. |
B: VTV also airs live new-format commentary shows before, at interval time, and after each match. The commentary shows feature VTV’s sport commentators and guests, who are sports journalists and female footballers.
A: Football is still seen as a male sport, so the appearance of female footballer commentators is interesting to the audience.
 German and Spanish fans gather in Ta Hien street in Hanoi’s Old Quarter on November 28, supporting their teams at FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. (photo: vietnamnet.vn)
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B: They include Do Thi Ngoc Cham, a former captain of the Vietnamese women's team; Van Thi Thanh, who won the Vietnam Golden Ball in 2003; and striker Minh Nguyet who won the 2015 Vietnam Golden Ball.
A: Football is the king of sports in Vietnam. Both the men’s and women’s football teams are pretty strong in the region. The Vietnam women's national football team ranked 34th and the men’s football team ranked 96th in the FIFA world rankings in October.
B: Timm Breyel of Malaysia told us: “You may be interested to learn that Voice of Vietnam was heard on the frequency of 9840 kHz under good conditions in Kuala Lumpur. I listened to the English language broadcast of news, current event commentary, and Vietnamese pop music on August 10.”
A: S B Sharma of India wrote on our website: “Thanks for broadcasting the informative story about Phno Don pagoda in Tra Vinh province, which is more than 340 years old. It’s nice to know that it was renovated through contributions from the public.”
 The gate to Van Phuc silk village in Hanoi |
B: Bidhan Chandra Sanyal of India was interested in the news about Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day on November 23. The program “All Silk Roads” in Hanoi introducing silk products and silk weaving gave him a better understanding.
A: That piece of news drew the interest of many listeners who want to know more about silk production in Vietnam. Is silk worn every day? Some people asked.
B: Silk weaving is a traditional craft in many regions of Vietnam. Silk craft villages are popular tourist destinations for both Vietnamese and foreigners interested in the manual process of making silk.
A: In the north Van Phuc village is the most famous silk village. It’s only 30 minutes by motorbike from the centre of Hanoi.
B: Shops and weaving workshops sell beautiful shirts, ties, dresses and many other things made of silk. In the past, silk was considered a luxury fabric, worn mainly by the rich. Now manually woven silk is still more expensive than industrial silk, but has become affordable for ordinary people.
A: Silk is currently enjoying a fashion renaissance. Its many varieties can be made into a wide range of designs suitable for all facets of modern life.
B: Van Phuc village has nearly 1,300 households, 90% of which are involved in silk production and sales. The village produces more than 2 million square meters of silk per year.
 Drying silk in Nha Xa village (photo: langngheviet.com.vn) |
A: The Red River delta has good soil for growing mulberries to feed silkworms whose cocoons are turned into silk. Nha Xa silk village sits on the left bank of the Red River. For centuries Nha Xa silk has been VN’s most famous silk.
B: Some households have 4 or 5 textile machines running day and night. Nha Xa’s silk and linen products are sold in Vietnam and exported to Laos and Thailand.
A: Visitors to the ancient town of Hoi An should visit the Hoi An silk village, which preserves valuable genetic sources of mulberry and the old hand silk-weaving method. The village describes to visitors the origin of the Maritime Silk Road in the 17th century, and demonstrates the production of soft silk.
B: The entire process, from growing the mulberries, to raising the silkworms to spinning and weaving the silk, is recreated in a detailed and authentic manner. The silk village is only 1 km from Hoi An ancient town. You can get there by cyclo or bicycle or on foot.
 A silk shop in Hoi An silk village |
A: Tan Chau silk village in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang has a long history of silk weaving. Tan Chau silk is famous for its softness, durability, and absorbency. Clothes made from Tan Chau silk are comfortably cool in summer and warm in winter.
B: In the old days, the locals used an indigenous fruit called “mac nua” to dye the silk black. It requires a lot of labor and time to make this silk, which makes it expensive. Since 1975 the demand for Tan Chau silk has waned because there are polyester and Chinese silks that are cheaper and come in more colors than Tan Chau silk.
A: But in recent years modern fashion and a demand for high quality silk products have revitalized the craft. Local producers have learned new dying techniques to created many other colors besides the traditional black.
 Traditionally Tan Chau silk is dyed black. (photo: langngheviet.com.vn) |
B: There are much more to talk about the silk making craft in Vietnam but time is running out. We would now like to acknowledge letters from Fumito Hokamura and Hayato Furukawa of Japan, Sma Sufian Babu of India, and many other listeners. Thank you so much for writing to us!
A: If you want to get in touch with us please feel free to write to 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. Once again, thank you all for listening. Goodbye.