Hoi An Spring Fair opens today

Different activities in celebration for Tet will be held in the ancient town of Hoi An and Da Nang.

The city's cultural and sports centre said the fair would display bonsai and other items for the local people and expats living in Hoi An in preparation for Tet (Lunar New Year).

The centre said youth associations would launch a charity programme to make banh chung, square sticky rice cake, for poor people in the city and suburban areas from February 5 to 7.

An art performance and fireworks will be organised at the city's An Hoi Sculpture Park and Cham Island's port.

A lantern festival will also light up the city, beginning from today till February 22, while folk games and crafts will take place from February 6 to 14 for tourists and the local people.

Tourists can also participate in a traditional boat race in the Hoai River on February 13.

Various activities will be held in Da Nang for tourists during Tet as more than 76,000 tourists, including 40,000 foreigners, will celebrate the festival in the city.

At Melia Da Nang Hotel, the Tet night traditional set menu will allow tourists to make square cakes and banh tet (cylindrical glutinous cake) from 6-10pm on Thursday.

The Viet Nam food festival, a journey through authentic tastes, will take place at Citron restaurant at the Inter-Continental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort in Son Tra Mountain from February 7 to 13.

Tourists and their families can enjoy a savoury dinner buffet and also create or buy their own Vietnamese keepsakes at the children's paradise.

A Lion Dance to hope for luck in the New Year will provide unforgettable memories on February 8, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The central city will also host the first tourists to arrive at the city airport, and the first tourist to arrive on a cruise ship at Tien Sa Port on February 8.

It's expected that 19,000 tourists will fly to Da Nang on Tet.

National carrier Vietnam Airlines has launched chartered flights between Da Nang and Xian in Shaanxi Province and Changsha in Hunan Province of China.

An Indian troupe will perform the Manipuri dance, one of the major Indian classical dance forms, at the newly opened Asia Park from February 11 to 13.

The city's street music band and clarinet and trumpet club will perform at night on an outdoor stage in Bach Dang Street and in a park near Rong Bridge on February 21 and 22, respectively.