Photo: Ivivu

If you ever have a chance to visit Vietnamese households in the Northern Delta, you probably catch yourself looking at a pigmented colorful mouse wedding or pigs with Yin & Yang circles on their bodies as decoration in their house. They are called Dong Ho folk paintings, one of the most long history and cherished art forms in Vietnamese cultural beauty.

1. What is Dong Ho painting? Where is its origin?

Dong Ho painting's name came from its origin: Dong Ho Village in Song Ho commune, Thuan Thanh district, Bac Ninh province, which is located in the north of Vietnam. 

In more than 400 years of history, Dong Ho art has retained a fine combination of traditional rustic lifestyle, artistic values, and Vietnamese ideology. Unlike other abstract art forms, Dong Ho paintings are quite explicit in delivering their messages, most of them featuring folk tales, historical figures, wishes for prosperity and achievements, and social activities. 

Photo: Eva.vn

When our lives in the past were difficult and lacking, purchasing a piece of vibrant Dong Ho painting to decorate in Tet Holidays was considered a treat, not only making the house look more vivid but also hoping for the better in the upcoming year. As time has passed, Dong Ho painting remains a significant aspect of Vietnamese traditional culture, especially as Vietnam is making strides in submitting Dong Ho folk paintings to UNESCO for consideration as intangible cultural heritage in 2020.

Some famous paintings from Dong Ho Village can be named such as “Yin & Yang Pigs” demonstrating a balanced and prosperous life, “catching coconuts” and “scene of jealousy” representing Vietnamese social commentaries, and “Mouse wedding” satirizing the old backward feudal regime. 

Photo: Collected

2. How to produce Dong Ho paintings?

Artists from Dong Ho Village in the process of making unique and iconic paintings have distinguished themselves with three well-blended elements: painting paper, traditional colors, and woodcut techniques.

First, a method and natural materials to ensure the paper’s quality are interesting. “Dó” tree barks need to be soaked for two to three days and cooked until fragrance, then they will be pounded into a sticky consistency. Next, people in the village use a special tool called “liềm seo” (bamboo frame) to put in water consisting of “dó” result, and such additions as seashells and glutinous rice flour repetitively and wait for them to dry a few days after. Seashells provide a bright white base, while glutinous rice adds flexibility to the paper and helps preserve colors for an extended period.

Therefore, the printing papers in Dong Ho art form are so soft, thin yet durable, and capable of taking in colors without smearing or smudging. 

Photo: Laodongthudo.vn

Second, the base colors in every Dong Ho painting are utterly deprived of natural sources, which are more common in far-flung Northern provinces of Vietnam. For example, red is from gravel or stone, black is from burnt leaves or ashes of firewood, lily flowers for yellow, and cajuput leaves for green. Because these colors are solely sourced from nature without artificial chemicals, the painting's basic pigments possess unique durability and retain the scent of their natural components, contributing to the long-lasting trait of Dong Ho paintings.

Four base colors in Dong Ho Paintings: Red, Black, Green, and Yellow (Photo: Collected)

Last but not least, Dong Ho paintings have another name which is Dong Ho folk woodcut painting by its unique traditional techniques. Even though the process is called “printing”, it is definitely not as easy as you may think. One painting requires at least five different woodblocks with slight changes to be complete, and because each pattern frame will be put in use through generations, craftsmen must outline and crave every little detail by hand meticulously. 

Photo: Collected

Next, with everything ready for the final stage: papers, colors, and woodcuts, experienced artisans in Dong Ho Village apply natural colors neatly to the first woodblock and press it hard onto the paper. They will continue to repeat the step with another color and carvings until the result encapsulates the layout and hues of their satisfaction. Then, the dried painting needs to be protected by a layer of sticky rice paste or “hồ nếp” in Vietnamese to retain its hard-earned colors for a long time.

3. How to get to Dong Ho Village?

Dong Ho Village is only 35 kilometers away from the capital city of Hanoi, travelers can hop in a motorbike or any private transport through the National Highway 5 (head to Hai Phong City) or catch Bus 204 to Thuan Thanh, Bac Ninh with less than $2.

When tourists arrive in Dong Ho Village, this place is so Instagram-worthy that you can capture colorful handmade paintings and the unique process behind them everywhere. Dong Ho Painting Center is where you learn how to make legitimate Dong Ho art forms from artisans, their experienced hands keep working while telling you about the traced-back history and the meaning of each distinctive piece. International visitors can also immerse themselves in the authentic and lively atmosphere of the Dong Ho Folk Painting Festival, which takes place in March (based on the lunar calendar) from the 14th to the 16th.

Photo: Collected

Photo: Internet

Located in the southern province of Tay Ninh, Ba Den Mountain is always crowded by Vietnamese people and tourists coming from across the country during the Year-end Thanksgiving season. This event is a sacred moment of each person making pilgrimages to the spiritual legends, returning offerings, and thanks to what they asked for at the beginning of the new year.

The stunning beauty of a complex of famous spiritual works here includes the Ba Pagoda system (Linh Son Tien Thach Tu), where Linh Son Thanh Mau (Linh Son Holy Mother Bodhisattva) is situated and worshiped. In the religious life of Southern people, Linh Son Thanh Mau is the highest spiritual symbol that guides and nurtures them with compassion and mercy for sentient beings. The Ba Pagoda complex also encompasses Hang Pagoda, Trung Pagoda, Quan Am Pagoda, and others, all of which have a history of nearly 300 years, drawing millions of tourists annually for worship and prayers for peace.

On every Saturday night in the last month of the year, thousands of Sun World Ba Den Mountain cable cars carry people to the top of the sacred mountain to attend the most magical spiritual ceremony of flower garlands and lanterns offerings. To fill the night sky with illuminating lights, locals and tourists assemble and inscribe their wishes on the lanterns themselves, contributing to a distinctive and sacred experience on the highest mountain in the South.

Source: Collected

The consecration ritual for the magnificent statue of Maitreya Buddha on Ba Den Mountain will take place on January 28, 2024. In the opening ceremony, an unparalleled event will take place on top of Ba Den mountain, where more than 2024 lanterns will be offered by Buddhists and tourists from different places. It will see the presence of more than 500 Buddhist monks and nuns from the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha.

Photo: Collected

As special interest tourism such as sports tourism or wellness tourism has become a booming market across the globe, NovaWorld Phan Thiet in Vietnam with its international facilities and top-notch services will definitely bring comprehensive rexperience to foreign sports tours.

NovaWorld Phan Thiet is hoped to help boost Vietnam’s sports tourism and luxury tourism segment due to several factors:

First, NovaWorld Phan Thiet has an overall area of 1.000 hectares, with NovaWorld Sport Complex accounting for 38,7 hectares. For sports tours, international customers can get access to more than 20 different sports facilities including Nova Football - an international football academy with a leading professional coaching team, a Olympic-standard swimming pool, basketball courts, tennis fields, 36-hole PGA golf course and and utility infrastructure to meet all needs of accommodation, dining and entertainment after training sections. In addition, the weather in Vietnam is warm and bright, which is perfect for playing sports all around the year.

According to NovaWorld Phan Thiet, they had welcomed a group of 500 young Korean football players coming to Vietnam for 2 months to attend the 2023 Korean Youth Football Congress, together with training and relaxing when South Korea was in a winter season.  

Second, sports tourism is undoubtedly a potential market, especially in correlation with wellness tourism, which are the two main focuses of NovaWorld Phan Thiet. 

This 1.000-hectare area is a hotspot including a variety of accommodations such as separate resort villas and 4 to 5-star hotels. There are also stylish bungalow resort clusters with influences from Korean and European designs. In addition to the Sport Complex, international sportsmen can enjoy other attractions there such as Circus Land Amusement Park, Festival Street which offers over 50 different brands for shopping and dining, Bikini Beach Marine Park, and Wonderland Water Park.

Third, NovaWorld Phan Thiet is also a tourism-friendly hub catering to open the easiest routes to get there. Either traveling by air or by car, visitors can be amazed by the stream-lined connection between major entry ports and NovaWorld Phan Thiet, which is located in Binh Thuan province. 

With the Dau Giay - Phan Thiet Expressway came into force in 2023, it only takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes car drive from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet. If you enter Vietnam through Long Thanh International Airport, NovaWorld Phan Thiet is only 55 minutes away from you. Then, let’s relax after a tough training session and hop in a car to Phan Thiet City which is famous for its crystal-clear beaches and endless sand dunes, 15 minutes for a remarkable experience!

Photo: Collected

Food/Cuisine is considered as one of the most distinctive parts of any culture, and Vietnam is no exception. Keep reading this article, as a typical Tet holiday meal with 10 traditional dishes in this Southeast Asia country, which holds Vietnamese lifelong history values in high regard can immediately blow your mind away! 

1. Banh chung, Banh tet

It is safe to say that Tet will never be complete without the appearance of Banh chung, Banh Tet in Vietnamese households’ altars and traditional meals. Legend has it that Banh chung (Savory sticky rice square cake) was created to represent the earth, which plays an important role in Vietnamese culinary culture dated thousand years ago. On the other hand, Banh tet (Savory sticky rice cylinder cake) with the same ingredients and flavor is more prominent in Southern Vietnam.

Source: Collected

Banh chung and Banh tet have the main ingredients which are fatty pork, mung beans, and sticky rice. As for Banh chung, Dong leaves are washed thoroughly and placed into a square mold, then families pour in sticky rice covered around the filling of mung beans and meat. Banh tet is packed in a cylinder shape without any molds, therefore people often find it difficult to make them compared to Banh chung. An experienced wrapper makes sure to tight Banh chung and Banh tet by hand and tie them firmly with resilient wooden cubes.

Thankfully, many generations of Vietnamese people have still preserved this distinct traditional beauty by joining the process, happily looking at the flickering firelight under the iconic boiling pot. 

2. Thit kho tau (Braised pork and eggs)

If you have a chance to visit the Southern part of Vietnam during the Tet holiday, you are likely to see a bowl of Thit kho tau (Braised pork and eggs) appearing in its families’ meals every time. 

In the hope for a year “regular square and round, everything is fine”, pork belly is cut into moderate and square blocks, and duck eggs are round, everything is caramelized in a pot of flavors: the sweetness of sugar, the spiciness of peppers and chilies, the saltiness of fish sauce the bitterness of caramel, and the creaminess of coconut milk. This dish only requires a few ingredients yet brings out a crazy-good flavor, perfect for family gatherings to enjoy when markets and other businesses are still closed. 

Source: Collected

3. Ga luoc (Boiled chicken)

Based on history, Ga luoc or Boiled chicken is a symbol of fullness and prosperity, this traditional dish is not only an indispensable part of the Tet year-round plates but also features in a lot of Vietnamese families’ anniversaries, parties, or weddings. 

Although it sounds incredibly simple, Ga luoc is still a difficulty for many Vietnamese home cooks as you want to control the temperature and the amount of water perfectly so then the meat is not too dry or wrinkled, as well as the inside is cooked and juicy.   

When ga luoc is served, it has to be clear-cut by a sharp knife into moderate blocks, without ragged presentation. In many families, chat ga (cutting boiled chicken) is a fun challenge set by the bride's side for a man who wants to marry their daughter.

Source: Collected

4. Thit dong (Jellied meat)

We have learned about Thit kho tau in Southern Vietnam, and its respective dish in Northern and Northern Central Vietnam is Thit dong (Jellied meat). Thit dong literally means meat and aspic are set into “jelly” due to the cold weather during the Tet holiday in these regions. In the past, when the living standard was relatively low, Thit dong was considered a treat that could only be eaten on Lunar New Year.

Source: Bep Xua

The primary components of this recipe consist of pork or chicken (specifically ham hock, pork rind or ears, as well as dense skin of chicken), wood-ear mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. The presence of collagen in the skin is what enables the aspic to set and maintain its form. The taste of this meal is uncomplicated yet delectable. It pairs perfectly with hot grains, put the aspic on top of a bowl of steaming hot rice until it melts, and you will be tasting an enjoyable mix of consistencies: the smooth broth, tender meat, chewy strips of pork skin, and crispy wood-ear mushrooms.

5. Kho qua nhoi thit (Stuffed bitter melon soup)

For Southerners, Kho qua nhoi thit (Stuffed bitter melon soup) is a must-have dish in family gatherings during the Tet holiday. Kho qua in Vietnamese means sadness and misfortunes (“kho”) will disappear (“qua”). This dish is deemed to bring them an extraordinary sense of peace of mind as if every misery would pass and positive things would come.

Source: Collected

The recipe is simple and you can easily find ingredients everywhere. First, cut open across a fresh bitter melon and remove the seeds, then stuff it tightly with a combination of minced pork, wooden mushrooms, scallions, and flavorful seasonings including salt, peppers, fish sauce, and a bit of sugar. With a broth, make sure to keep it mild to balance with the marinated meat, slowly add in the stuffed bitter melons, and wait until they are fully cooked. You can enjoy this hearty dish with rice or just by itself!

6. Nem chua (Vietnamese fermented pork roll)

To foreigners traveling to Vietnam, Nem chua is an interesting dish to enjoy with raw garlic and guava leaves, but did you know that Nem chua is also featured in many meals of the Vietnamese year-end occasion? 

As people often visit their relatives and friends on those first days of the lunar calendar, there are always some snacks on the coffee table in each family to welcome their guests. Therefore, Nem chua which is not cooking-required and delicious is perfect for this choice. 

Source: Collected

Nem chua is made by combining fresh pork and a variety of spices, which are then wrapped in banana leaves. True to its name, the pork will be fermented under the leaf covering, resulting in a unique blend of flavors including sweet, tangy, and spicy.

7. Xoi gac (Gac sticky rice)

In Vietnamese culture, the red color is believed to bring luck and wellness, therefore Gac, or spiny bitter cucumber in English, which has a very pigmented red color when it is due, is widely used on the rice tray for ancestral offerings during the beginning of the new year. 

Source: VnExpress

This special type of sticky rice is made from high-quality glutinous rice and combined with spiny bitter cucumber before being steamed. The end result is a visually stunning and enticing bright red color. Consuming chicken and sticky rice with Gac is a desire for a prosperous, harmonious, and fortunate year for Vietnamese households.

8. Cu kieu (Pickled small leeks)

“Fat meat, pickled onions, red parallel sentences.

New Year pole, strings of firecrackers, green banh Chung”

Every Vietnamese people think about this "six-eight" verse form in their hearts when the Lunar New Year rolls around. Vietnamese cuisine values harmony and balance in flavor, so coming with the richness and greasiness of fatty meat, jellied meat, banh chung, etc is always pickled small leeks. Moreover, these fermented vegetables also help to promote food digestion.

The small leeks are pickled in a flavorful sauce for about 2 weeks and are often accompanied by Tom kho (dehydrated shrimp). This side dish provides a crispy texture and a blend of sweet and tangy flavors, making it a perfect accompaniment to other dishes.

Source: Collected

9. Mut and cac loai hat (Candied fruits, seeds, and nuts)

Adults in Vietnam often jokingly say that Tet is an excuse for children to indulge themselves with sweets as every house puts out a charming box full of candied fruits and nuts to serve their guests.

Source: Collected

Foreigners are probably familiar with some kinds of popular fruits to make Mut such as coconuts, gingers, squashes, tamarinds, turmerics, and carrots. The natural sweetness from fruits and floury dried sugar will make you keep eating! As for seeds and nuts such as roasted watermelons, sunflower seeds, cashews, and many others, what’s better to pair with than a wholesome conversation and a cup of tea? Moreover, these treats also benefit your health as a source of protein and organic acids, vitamins and minerals, etc.      

10. Mam ngu qua (Five-fruit tray)

During the Vietnamese New Year, it is traditional to have a five-fruit tray on the ancestral altar. Some believe that the five fruits represent ngũ hành (the five elements of nature) - metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Others view the tray as a representation of the fruits of a family's labor throughout the previous year, which are offered to heaven, earth, and ancestors as a gesture of respect and thankfulness.

Source: Collected

In the Southern region of Vietnam, the tradition of assembling a five-fruit tray is based on “cầu sung vừa đủ xài” (wish for enough prosperity). The pronunciation is interestingly matched with the sounds of five fruits: soursop, fig, coconut, papaya, and mango.