The Do Son Tourism Festival 2014 themed “Do Son – Sea Calling” opened in the northern port city of Haiphong on April 30 with many specific culture, sports and tourism activities.

Nine key events are being held from April 26 to May 3, such as a golf tournament, recognition of a Vietnam heritage tree, a dragon boat race, a football tournament, a fishing contest and a bike race.

To prepare for the festival and provide better services for visitors during the tourism season, Do Son town has implemented a wide range of measures to improve the quality of services, and ensure social security and order, traffic safety, environment sanitation and food hygiene and safety.

*** Themed “Quang Ninh – Convergence and Pervasion”, Ha Long Carnival 2014 began at Hoang Quoc Viet Street on April 30 with a parade, art performances, and fireworks displays.

The opening ceremony which featured an elaborately well-choreographed special art and dance performance attracted nearly 300 dancers, models, singers and artists from Vietnam, China, Laos and Thailand.

More than 3,800 amateur and professional artists participated in the parade, showing off the special cultural identities of each region and promoting tourism sites, such as Ha Long Bay, Yen Tu Pagoda, Van Don Border Gate and Mong Cai.

Thousands of local people and visitors attended the festival which is part of Ha Long-Quang Ninh Tourism Week.

*** The Cua Lo Tourism Festival themed “Cua Lo At Dawn” is being held in Cua Lo Town, Nghe An province, from April 30 to May 1.

This is a key culture tourism event of Cua Lo Town in 2014, aiming promote tourism potential of Cua Lo as well as Nghe An to domestic and international visitors.

Cua Lo was founded more than 500 years ago when Nguyen Su Hoi set up Van Loc village, starting to form a developed area imbued with revolutionary tradition and special cultural identities.

French people chose the place to develop a beach for relaxation in 1907. From an impoverished and neglected area, Cua Lo has now become a crowded town. It is the first town in the country that has implemented a Prime Minister-approved pilot project to develop a sea tourism city model.