Vietnam's culture
Vietnam's culture has developed over the centuries from indigenous ancient Dong Son culture with wet rice agriculture as its economic base. To some extent, the national culture can be seen as part of the Sinosphere, drawing on elements of Confucianism and Laoism in its traditional political system and philosophy. Vietnamese society is structured around làng (ancestral villages); all Vietnamese mark a common ancestral anniversary on the tenth day of the third lunar month. The influences of immigrant cultures – such as the Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien and Hainan cultures – can also be seen, while the national religion of Buddism is strongly entwined with popular culture. In recent centuries, the influences of Western cultures, most notably French and American culture, have become evident in Vietnam.
Vietnam reveres a number of key cultural symbols, such as the Vietnamese dragon, which is derived from crocodile and snake imagery; Vietnam's National Father, Lạc Long Quân, is depicted as a holy dragon. The lạc – a holy bird representing Vietnam's National Mother, Âu Cơ – is another prominent symbol, while turtle and nghê (dog) images are also revered.
The characteristics of Vietnamese culture can be viewed as humanity (Vietnamese language: nhân nghĩa) and harmony (Vietnamese language: hòa). Vietnamese highly regard family value and community value.
The official spoken and written language of Vietnam is Vietnamese, currently written in the Latin alphabet. However, Vietnam is believed by historians to have had established a distinctive culture before the invasion of Chinese dynasties, including a syllabic writing system named Khoa Đẩu.
In the modern era, the cultural life of Vietnam has been deeply influenced by government-controlled media and cultural programs. For many decades, foreign cultural influences were shunned, and emphasis was placed on appreciating and sharing the culture of communist nations such as the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba. However, since the 1990s, Vietnam has seen a greater exposure to Southeast Asian, European and American culture and media.
Clothing
A key part of Vietnam's culture is the "áo dài", worn for special occasions such as weddings and religious festivals. White áo dài is the required uniform for girls in many high schools across Vietnam. Áo dài was once worn by both genders, but today it is mostly the preserve of women, although men do wear it to some occasions, such as traditional weddings.
Cuisine
Main article: Vietnamese cuisine
Vietnamese cuisine uses very little oil and many vegetables. The main dishes are often based on rice and soy sauce. Sugar, serrano peppers, lime and nuoc mam (fish sauce) are among the most common flavorings, as are mint and basil.
Music
Traditional Vietnamese music varies between the country's three regions: Bắc or North, Trung or Central, and Nam or South. Northern classical music is Vietnam's oldest musical form, and is traditionally more formal. The origins of Vietnamese classical music can be traced to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, when the Vietnamese captured a Chinese opera troupe. Central classical music shows the influences of the Champa culture with its melancholic melodies.
Literature
Vietnamese literature has a centuries-deep history. The country has a rich tradition of folk literature, based around the typical 6–to-8-verse poetic form named ca dao, which usually focuses on village ancestors and heroes. Written literature has been found dating back to the 10th-century Ngô Dynasty, with notable ancient authors including Nguyễn Trãi, Trần Hưng Đạo, Nguyễn Du and Nguyễn Đình Chiểu. Some literary genres play an important role in theatrical performance, like "hát nói" in ca trù. Some poetic unions have also been formed in Vietnam, such as the Tao Đàn. Vietnamese literature has in recent times been influenced by Western styles, with the first literary transformation movement – Thơ Mới – emerging in 1932.
Sport
The Vovinam and Bình Ðịnh martial arts are widespread in Vietnam, while soccer is the country's most popular team sport. Other Western sports, such as badminton, tennis, volleyball, ping-pong and chess, are also widely popular.Festivals
See also: List of festivals in Vietnam
Vietnam has a plethora of festivals based on the lunar calendar, the most important being the Tết New Year celebration. Traditional Vietnamese weddings remain widely popular, and are often celebrated by expatriate Vietnamese in Western countries.
Tourism
Vietnam has become a major tourist destination since the 1990s, assisted by significant state and private investment, particularly in coastal regions. About 3.77 million international tourists visited Vietnam in 2009 alone.
Popular destinations include Hanoi, Saigon, the former imperial capital of Hué, the World Heritage Sites of Hoi An and Mỹ Sơn, coastal regions such as Nha Trang, the caves of Ha Long Bay and the Marble Mountains. Numerous tourist projects are under construction, such as the Binh Duong tourist complex, which possesses the largest artificial sea in Southeast Asia.
On Valentine's Day 2011, Joe Jackson, the father of American pop star Michael Jackson, attended a ground breaking ceremony for what will be Southeast Asia's largest entertainment complex, a five-star hotel and amusement park called Happyland. The US$2 billion project, which has been designed to accommodate 14 million tourists annually, is located in southern Long An province, near Ho Chi Minh City. It is expected that the complex will be completed in 2014.
Transport
Vietnam's modern transport system was originally developed under French rule to facilitate the transportation of raw materials, and was reconstructed and extensively modernized following the Vietnam War.
Air
Main article: Air transport in Vietnam
Vietnam operates 17 major civil airports, including three international gateways: Noi Bai serving Hanoi, Da Nang International Airport serving Da Nang, and Tan Son Nhat serving Ho Chi Minh City. Tan Son Nhat is the nation's largest airport, handling 75 percent of international passenger traffic. According to a state-approved plan, Vietnam will have 10 international airports by 2015 – besides the aforementioned three, these include Lien Khuong International Airport, Phu Bai International Airport, Cam Ranh International Airport, Phu Quoc International Airport, Cat Bi International Airport, Cần Thơ International Airport and Long Thanh International Airport. The planned Long Thanh International Airport will be built on an area of 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi), and will have full capacity of 100 million passengers.
Vietnam Airlines, the state-owned national airline, maintains a fleet of 69 passenger aircraft, and aims to operate 150 by 2020. Several private airlines are also in operation in Vietnam, including Air Mekong, Jetstar Pacific Airlines and VASCO.
Road
Vietnam's road system includes national roads administered at the central level; provincial roads managed at the provincial level; district roads managed at the district level; urban roads managed by cities and towns; and commune roads managed at the commune level. Bicycles, motor scooters and motorcycles remain the most popular forms of road transport in Vietnam's urban areas, although the number of privately-owned automobiles is also on the rise, especially in the larger cities. Public buses operated by private companies are the main mode of long-distance travel for much of the population.
Road safety is a serious issue in Vietnam – on average, 30 people are killed in traffic accidents every day. Traffic congestion is a growing problem in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, as the cities' roads struggle to cope with the boom in automobile use.
Rail
Main article: Rail transport in Vietnam
Vietnam's primary cross-country rail service is the Reunification Express, which runs from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, covering a distance of nearly 2,000 kilometres. From Hanoi, railway lines branch out to the northeast, north and west; the eastbound line runs from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, the northbound line from Hanoi to Thai Nguyen, and the northeast line from Hanoi to Lao Cai.
In 2009, Vietnam and Japan signed a deal to build a high-speed railway using Japanese technology; numerous Vietnamese engineers have since been sent to Japan to receive training in the operation and maintenance of high-speed trains. The railway will be a 1,630-km-long express route, serving a total of 26 stations, including Hanoi and the Thu Thiem terminus in Ho Chi Minh City. Using Japan's well-established Shinkansen technology, the line will support trains travelling at a maximum speed of 360 kilometres (220 mi) per hour. The high-speed lines linking Hanoi to central Vinh and central Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam will be laid during the 2010–2015 period. From 2015 to 2020, construction will begin on the routes between Vinh and Nha Trang and between Hanoi and the northern provinces of Lao Cai and Lang Son.
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