A gala night was held at the Opera House Square in the northern port city of Hai Phong on May 12 as the first out of more than 50 activities within the Hoa Phuong Do (Red Flamboyant Flower) Festival.
An art performance at the gala night
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, along with around 3,000 domestic and foreign delegates, attended the event.
Addressing the gala night, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tung said thanks to drastic actions, Hai Phong completed many set targets.
In the first four months of 2018, the city’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew over 15 percent, the highest-ever level and doubling the national average, the official said.
Of note, Hai Phong ranked ninth among 63 cities and provinces nationwide in the provincial competitiveness index in 2017, up 19 places as compared with 2015. Therefore, the city continued to be listed in the top ten attractive destinations for investors in the country.
Many major projects have been completed in the city such as Ha Noi-Hai Phong Expressway, Cat Bi International Airport, Tan Vu-Lach Huyen-the longest bridge in Viet Nam, and Hai Phong International Gateway Port.
The city will invest in many other important projects like Aeon mall, Tan Vu-Lach Huyen Bridge 2, terminal 2 of Cat Bi International Airport and other wharfs of Hai Phong International Gateway Port.
The gala night themed Hai Phong Vuon Ra Bien Lon (Hai Phong reaching out to the sea) demonstrated the city’s determination to carry forward traditions and utilise its potential to develop and integrate into the world.
Apart from the gala, the festival will feature a boat race in Gia River in Thuy Nguyen District, women’s beach volleyball tournament, a culinary exchange, painting and photo exhibitions, an ancient motorbike festival and a groundbreaking ceremony of Hai Phong-Le Chan Aeon mall, among others.
The annual cultural and tourism event was initiated in 2011, through the idea of showcasing the city’s abundant and beautiful flower blossoms, and to promote and boost tourism and enhance the image of Hai Phong.
Over the last seasons, the Flamboyant Flower Festival has become a recognised festival of the port city, symbolising and praising its people and land.
Renowned as the city of flamboyant flower, Hai Phong is a peaceful city of wide boulevards dovetailed with organised tree rows. As one of the important commercial and industrial hub in northern Viet Nam, the city is striving to make tourism a spearhead economic sector and turn itself into one of the nation’s key tourism destinations.
According to the municipal People’s Committee’s action programme on tourism development from 2017–2020 with a vision through 2030, the city hopes to receive 8 million tourists and earn 3.5 trillion VND (154 million USD) with expected annual average growth rates of between 8.2 percent and 8.9 percent.