Happy Vietnam

The Buon Don Elephant Festival kicked off in the Central Highlands’ province of Dak Lak on March 12, as part of the ongoing 9th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival. The elephant festival features numerous activities such as a ceremony praying for health, a make-up contest, a buffet, and a bathing ceremony for the elephants. VNA Photo: Tuấn Anh

Ha Tinh province has established more than 210 youth teams to help local people with basic knowledge and skills of information technology as part of activities during the Youth Month 2025. Photo by courtesy/VNA

Tương Bần (Ban soya sauce) has been a delicacy of northern Vietnam since the end of the 19th century. It is a delicacy found in Ban Yen Nhan Ward in My Hao Town, Hung Yen province. VNA Photo

Che Cu Nha commune is known for its traditional craft ofweaving brocade. The majority of the locals here dress in traditional costumesmade from fabric woven from fibers of the flax plant, with decorative patternscreated using the beeswax drawing technique. The Mong employ melted beeswax todraw on the fabric's surface, covering the desired parts. After the drawing,the fabric is dyed and boiled in water. During the boiling process, the beeswaxmelts into the boiling water, revealing the intricate patterns. VNA Photo: ĐinhThùy

Located 10km south of Phan Rang-Thap Cham city, a beautiful seaweed field stretching more than 2km along a beach in Tu Thien village, Ninh Thuan province has become a magnet for tourists. VNA Photo: Nguyễn Thành

International Women’s Day (March 8) marks a significant milestone in the history of the struggle for gender equality and women’s happiness in society. It is also a day when half of the world honours the contributions and efforts by mothers, sisters, and girls. In Vietnam, March 8 has become a driving force for generations of Vietnamese women to continuously bring into play their intellect, contribute to society, and help build a nation of sustainable development. VNA Photo

Thai ethnic, one of three largest ethnic groups in the northwestern province of Dien Bien, is striving to preserve their traditional brocade weaving. Visitors to Thai people’s homes will discover the remarkable craftsmanship of Thai women, who skilfully weave a variety of brocade products, such as pillowcases, bedsheets, blankets, bags, and clothing. Thai brocade fabric stands out among similar offerings from other ethnic groups for its colours, including red, black, purple, white, and green. The weaving skill of Thai people is passed from generations to generations, between mothers and daughters, to uphold not only the ways to make their own clothes, but also their rich tradition. VNA Photo: Xuân Tư

The Can Gio mangrove forest has been miraculously revivedafter nearly half a century of restoration and development. It is considered a“green carbon sink, green lung”, creating a solid green wall to protect theenvironment for Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring localities. VNA Photo: Hồng Đạt

A gong and xoang festival celebrating the rich cultural heritage of ethnic groups recently took place in Kon Tum, a province in Vietnam's Central Highlands. Featuring captivating performances by artisan groups, the event immersed audiences in the vibrant traditions, rituals, and festive spirit of Kon Tum’s ethnic communities. VNA Photo: Khoa Chương

V-ORGANIC Organic Agricultural Cooperative in Quyet Chien commune, Tan Lac district, Hoa Binh province develops vegetables production following an organic, safe, and environmentally friendly chain. The cooperative's production area covers ​​nearly 8 hectares with net houses, helping to minimize harmful pests. VNA Photo: Trọng Đạt

Lung Cung, the most remote village in Nam Co commune, Mu Cang Chai district, Yen Bai province, is bursting with color as peach blossoms and other flowers bloom. VNA Photo: Tuấn Anh

About 6km from Tam Duong town in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau, Si Thau Chai community-based tourism village has become beloved destination by many domestic and foreign tourists. Located at an altitude of more than 1,400m above sea level, with natural scenery and a cool climate all year round, the village gives visitors feelings of comfort and peace, keeping them away from the fatigue and noise of the urban life. Home to more than 60 households of the Dao ethnic minority group, the village offers tourists great experiences of unique customs and traditional culture of the Dao group. It also serves as a venue for domestic and international paragliding tournaments. VNA Photo: Quý Trung

A Huynh, a member of the Ja Rai ethnic group, resides in Chot Village, Sa Thay Town, Sa Thay District, Kon Tum Province. Apart from his expertise in playing gongs and skillfully handling the T'rung, A Huynh is also known as the only person in Kon Tum who can make and play stone instruments, the most peculiar musical instrument of the Central Highlands people and also the oldest musical instrument. A Huynh has created many different sets of stone musical instruments. His stone musical instruments not only participate in competitions and performances nationwide but also attract the attention of music experts from the Vietnamese Institute for Musicology and the Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies. VNA Photo: Khoa Chương

In 2024, three people in the final stages of chronic lung diseases were revived thanks to lung transplants. One of them was Pham Anh Thu (21 years old, from Bac Kan province). After one year, the "new life" of the student from the University of Information Technology and Communications (Thai Nguyen University) has returned to normal. The surgery was an important milestone in the field of organ transplantation, testifying to the local medical team’s global-level expertise. VNA Photo: Minh Quyết

Over the years, Vietnamese medical scientists have conducted numerous valuable studies, yielding significant economic and social benefits. With a spirit of innovation, Vietnamese doctors have mastered modern techniques on par with advanced countries, bringing Vietnam’s medical science closer to the world. VNA Photo

Doctor Nguyen Hong Long (born in 1977), Head of the Department of Urology, Vietnam-Russia Friendship Hospital, is a person who is always dedicated to his patients. Graduated from Hanoi Medical University in 2001, Dr. Nguyen Hong Long worked at the Department of General Surgery (now the Department of Urology). Dr. Long spends time on scientific research, training and coaching in specialized fields to improve his qualifications, contributing more to the field of kidney and urology surgery. VNA Photo: Minh Quyết

A ceremony was held recently at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel to honour the recognition of Hanoi’s two traditional craft villages, Bat Trang ceramic village in Gia Lam district and Van Phuc silk village in Ha Dong district as members of the World Crafts Cities Network. The recognition, granted in late 2024, marks a significant milestone as these villages become Vietnam's first traditional craft communities to join the prestigious global network. They represent the 67th and 68th craft villages recognised worldwide, establishing Vietnam as the 28th country to receive this acknowledgement. The two craft villages are among the most famous ones in Vietnam as they still retain the traditions and preserves significant cultural and historical values. VNA Photo

Recently, a ceremony was held in Hanoi to launch the book series “Co kim truyen luc” in celebration of the 923rd birth anniversary of renowned figure To Hien Thanh. The four-volume series was composed in 1907, and its original woodblock prints in Chinese characters are still preserved. VNA Photo: Hoàng Hiếu

As a cradle for training ethnic minority cadres for disadvantaged areas of Ha Giang, Ha Giang province’s Boarding High School for Ethnic Minority Students constantly innovates and improves teaching and learning quality. The school has synchronously solutions to take care of students' lives and improve the quality of comprehensive education. VNA Photo: Minh Tâm

Digital banking services have achieved remarkable progress in recent years to betters serve citizens and businesses, according to insiders. Recent data revealed that more than 87% of Vietnam’s adult population now hold payment accounts at banks while many credit institutions are processing more than 95% of transactions through digital channels. The transformation has been backed by continuous upgrades of banking technology infrastructure. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) reported extraordinary growth in both mobile and QR code payment transactions, with average growth of over 100% over the past five years. The interbank electronic payment system now processes 830 trillion VND (32.83 billion USD) a day while the financial switching and electronic clearing system handles 20-25 million transactions daily. VNA Photo: Trần Việt