Locals look forward to the holiday season, and Hanoi's Old Quarter is a hive of activity as Christmas preparations get underway.

The "Bach Hoa Bo Hanh" or "Parade of Flowers" is a celebration of the Vietnamese national attire, showing young people's love and pride for the nation's cultural heritage.

The goal of the first-ever Vietnam International Piano Competition and Festival is to establish itself as one of the country's most prominent piano contests and cultural events.

For decades, Nhat Tan and Quang Ba wards in Tay Ho District have been known for peach flower gardens. But in recent years, many garden owners have started offering a different product.

The festival will be held in Ha Noi by the Viet Nam Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism`s Department of Cinema with theme Cinema – Integration and Sustainable Development.

A music festival that began in Russia in 1993 will be held in Ha Noi and northern coastal city of Quang Ninh between October 8 and 12.

Vietnam Television Film Centre (VFC) and CJ E&M Pictures (a subsidiary of CJ Group from Korea) co-operate to produce film entitled "Forever Young" on August 10.

A music festival that began in Russia in 1993 will be held in Ha Noi and northern coastal city of Quang Ninh between October 8 and 12.

On August 8, a Russian Film Week kicked off in Danang city with the first film entitled “Five brides”.

The “Asian – Europe” New Music Festival 2014 featuring symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, chamber music and solo repertoire programmes will take place from October 8-12 in Hanoi and Ha Long city.

​Standing outside Saint Joseph`s Cathedral, we suddenly heard a bell ringing, followed by a song. The sound wasn`t coming from the church, but from our headphones.

​Noted young author Do Nhat Nam has recently released a new biography about being a teenager.

​Five young pianists received first prize for their respective age groups at a piano festival on Sunday.

The New York-based publishing firm BOA Editions said that the collection translated by the author and Bruce Weigl would be released as part of its Lannan Translations Selection Series in October 2014.

​Director Nguyen Duy Linh`s documentary Mot Ngay Binh Thuong (An Ordinary Day) has won the Golden Lotus Bud 2014 award.

The beautiful Nguyen Thu Hoai, former Mrs Vietnam Continents for 2012, has been extended an invitation to participate in Mrs Universe pageant scheduled in Malaysia on August 22-30.

The fashion show aims to honour traditional craft villages in Hanoi that have maintained and developed the craft for years.

A Vietnamese-American doctor of traditional medicine has never forgotten what he missed most after his family left Viet Nam to move to the US 22 years ago.

Vu Lan ceremony in the seventh lunar month every year is a good tradition of Vietnamese people. In Japan, people also have the same festival named Obon festival, which takes place in August every lunar year

According to Ass. Prof. Dr Nguyen Khac Su, a senior VIA researche, the group discovering relics of different historical periods such as stone tools, shaped hand axes and knives, which pre-date those from the old stone age of tens of thousands of years ago.

The sequel of the French movie Le Petit Nicolas (The Little Nicholas) will be screened in cinema theatres across the country from tomorrow, August 1.

Participants will take part in five rounds of the contest which will return nationwide next month.

The exhibition will provide an opportunity for the aspiring designers to showcase their inaugural collections and creativity.