The "Voice of Heritage" finale celebrated Hanoi's cultural soul as 14 student teams passionately brought the city's rich history to life.

Art exhibitions are a great way to hang out during Hanoi's New Year celebrations.

With the New Year just around the corner, let The Hanoi Times take you on a tour of the most exciting celebrations taking place in Hanoi!

A sculpture camp celebrating 40 years of Ho Chi Minh City’s development and integration was rounded off with a ceremony in District 9 on December 21.

In the framework of the Indian film festival in Vietnam last week, the conference held in Hanoi on December 19 between Indian filmmakers and Vietnam Cinema Department discussed opportunities to promote the country`s tourism through the cinema industry.

The Dong Nai Province Radio and Television Station (DNTV) will broadcast a documentary series featuring friendship ties between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Vietnam’s top swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien has been named one of Asia`s five best female swimmers by US based Swimswam magazine.

The Vietnam Tourism Review under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists held a ceremony to launch a photo contest themed “Vietnam today” in Hanoi on December 17.

A wide range of activities will be organised in the central province of Quang Nam’s Hoi An city on the threshold of the New Year 2016 as part of the local authority’s efforts to lure more visitors to the world cultural heritage.

A photo collection featuring a festival in the northern province of Vinh Phuc by veteran photographer Pham Anh received the Special Award for Photo Collection – the highest prize of the Heritage Photo Awards.

Nearly 200 photos, documents and objects on the typical culture of Vietnamese Buddhism were put on display at an exhibition in Hanoi on December 16.

With the photo collection "Cap Sac ceremony of Dao Tien ethnic minority people", Vietnamese photographer Trinh Thong Thien won the first prize of photos and documentary films festival on ASEAN Community.

A photo exhibition entitled Doi Thoai voi Dong Song (Dialogue with Rivers) has been recently held at the Temple of Literature in downtown Hanoi.

Hundreds of Buddhist antiques which have been stored in a temple in Da Nang city for many years will be exhibited to the public on December 24 for the first time.

Vietnamese writer Tran Mai Hanh was awarded the 2015 South East Asian Writers Awards (SEA Writer Awards) for his novel “Bien Ban Chien Tranh 1-2-3-4.75” (War Minutes January-April, 1975) .

A Vietnam Film Week is underway in Berlin, Germanyn from December 12-15 as an activity to mark the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam-Germany diplomatic relations.

Among events to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Vietnam – Cuba diplomatic relationship (December 2) and the 57th anniversary of the Cuban revolutionary (January 1), the Vietnam – Cuba Culture Day was organised in HCM City on December 13.

An exhibition of ancient and modern sculptures is being held at Maison Des Arts in Hanoi.

The National Political Publishing House on November 4 announced a list of books for the fourth quarter of 2015, which feature the development of the Vietnamese Party and revolution cause, life and political career of some incumbent and former Party and State leaders.

Two Vietnamese writers have received the Mekong River Literature Prize together with ten authors from Laos , Cambodia , Thailand , China and Myanmar.Nguyen Ngoc Moc and Cao Xuan Thai were awarded at the 6th Mekong River Literature Conference held in Vientiane, Laos on December 9.

The Vietnam-US Society in collaboration with the US Embassy in Vietnam organised a photo exhibition themed “Vietnam in my eyes” of US`s painter Soraya Runkel at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum (36 Ly Thuong Kiet street, Hanoi) on December 8.

As many as 242 athletes from 10 countries and territories in Asia will compete in the fifth Aerobic Gymnastics Asian Championships, which is scheduled for December 11-13 in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the organising board, about 500 programmes of television (TV) production units will compete in nine categories at the National Television Festival, which will be held in the central province of Quang Binh from December 16-19.