The Italian embassy in Vietnam and the Genoa Architects Association held a conference in Hanoi on June 3 to introduce Genoa’s experience in preserving its old city after it was recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage site.

The event, one of the activities to mark Italy Independence Day (June 2), said the Italian ambassador, Lorenzo Angeloni.

Architecture is one of the major issues of concern for the Italian embassy in Vietnam. The Genoa Architects Association and the Hanoi Architects Association have signed a cooperation agreement in the field.

Mirco Grassi, Head of the Genoa City Design Office said that Genoa has a population of 600,000 people living in an area of 30km2. The old city covering 3km2 was built in the 11th century with different lines of walls, narrow streets and some habours on the sea.

In the 13-14th centuries, the city was expanded to meet the demand for developing these habours.

Around 200 tall buildings were constructed in Genoa in 1900 to receive important guests to the city.

Today, 80 have been were selected for restoration and preservation and have also been recognised by UNESCO.

After restoration, some of the buildings will be inhabited and others have become cultural exhibition centres which attract a large number of tourists.

Giuliano Peirano, a representative from the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, said that Italian architects are always ready to help Hanoi preserve its old quarter.

He proposed that the Vietnamese capital should decide which constructions in the old quarter need to be preserved. Hanoi should also focus on new technologies and solutions for preservation. The preservation work should be implemented gradually so it will not interfere with the lives of the people living there.

Leica Vietnam Club this week opened an exhibition with the theme of “Sống” (To Live) in Hanoi, which featured photos depicting very real life.

Members of Leica photographer club prefer slower, quieter way of working.

Most members had been established professionals before they moved over to Leica. The main challenge for many of them in doing so was to change from the fast-paced methods of modern digital cameras, taking large numbers of pictures. The group's method is much slower and more selective, not focusing on quantity, but paying great attention to aesthetics and choice.

Some photos of the exhibition:

Boy with photo frame by Nguyen Viet Thanh

Huong River in March 1996 by Duong Minh Long

Mong boy on Ma Pi Peng Mountain by Hoai Linh

Portrait of aesthetics professor Duong Viet A by Hoang Anh Tuan - Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism

“Khu-Lai nhu thi”, known as understanding both the past and the future, by Venerable Thich Minh Hien

Sunset of West Lake by Phan Huu Lap

K Hospital by Tran Viet Dung

Street circus in Hamburg by Nguyen Chi Trung

Billiard by Nguyen Minh Tri

Pump tobacco or thuoc lao by Do Anh Tuan

Musician Trinh Cong Son shared the light with counterpart Van Cao by Duong Minh Long

The Hanoi traffic police’s suggestion to ban cycle rickshaws, or cyclos, from traveling on local streets has created a strong opposition among the capital’s travel firms.

Vietnam's cyclo is on show at a tourism fair in France

Speaking at a recent meeting, Hanoi police voiced their concerns about cyclos, saying they appear to be chaotic in the streets and hold up traffic.

However, according to many local travel firms, almost all foreign tourists take cyclo sightseeing tours around Hanoi.

The tourist companies have proposed that local authorities manage cyclos more effectively or forbid the traditional vehicle from traveling during rush hours instead of issuing a prohibition.

Ung Trong Tu, the deputy president of Hanoi Travel Club, said the cyclo is a traditional cultural tourism product of Hanoi like the auto rickshaws, or tuk tuks, in Thailand and Cambodia although he admitted that some cyclo drivers deliberately drive slowly to avoid losing strength, which causes traffic jams.

Tu also suggested local authorities ask cyclo drivers to travel in accordance with a proposed speed and itinerary.

“Authorities have to impose heavy punishments to make cyclo drivers carry out their business in order,” he said.

Le Hong Thuong, deputy director of Vietsky Travel Company, said many foreign tourists really enjoy cyclos. The traditional vehicle is often listed in sightseeing tour to ancient houses or to watch water puppetry shows.

“There are not many tourist attractions in Hanoi. So, if we cut the cyclo programme in our tours, they wouldn’t be attractive to visitors,” he said.

Nguyen Thi Hien, deputy director of Vietran Tour, said many tourist parties have asked to include a cyclo tour in their itineraries so they can see and take pictures of Hanoi’s Old Quarter.

“If the government eliminates cyclos, it means we will lose a traditional cultural feature. And it would be very difficult to restore it,” Hien said.

However, Luu Duc Ke, director of Hanoi Tourist Company, said cyclos on the streets cause more chaos than ever. Tourists say they don’t feel safe or comfortable anymore when they sit on them in blocked streets.

“We had to cut cyclo tours in Hanoi after receiving many complaints from foreign tourists,” Ke said. “I think we could ban cyclos if the service doesn’t have a good quality or it’s difficult for local authorities to manage the three-wheeled vehicle.”

Located in the coastal district of Vinh Linh in the central province of Quang Tri , Cua Tung Beach is the nation's "Queen of Beaches", awaking the curiosity of many visitors to come and experience its beauty.

Cua Tung Beach

The kilometre-long beach is neither long nor wide, but the water is gentle and clear. Two underground rock formation, Mui Si and Mui Lai, encroach on the sea, creating a small bay sheltering the beach from stronger waves and tides.

The beach is surrounded by a belt of basalt and stone mountains that look like a huge comb passing through the hair of the waves. On the hill, orchards of jackfruit, pineapple, banana and custard-apple grow green.

While the central region is known for its harsh weather, with dry winds from the southwest and major storms from the sea, Cua Tung Beach is protected by Mother Nature, out of wind on most days, with the bay offering safe harbour for fishing boats.

Since the time of French colonialism, the very first French to set foot here saw the land's potential for developing resorts. At that time, Vietnam was divided into three regions, with the central region known as Annam. The governor of Annam from 1891-97, Ernest Albert Briere was one of those who fell in love with the place, and he built a palace here in 1896 to spend his holidays on the beautiful beach.

The palace was transferred to King Duy Tan (1900-45), the 11th king of the Nguyen Dynasty, who ascended the throne at age 7 and bridled at living in confinement in palaces under the control of the French. He travelled extensively around the country, with Cua Tung one of his stops.

King Bao Dai (1913-97), the 13th and final king of Vietnamese feudalism, often went from his capital in Hue to Cua Tung to enjoy the amazing beach.

The Frenchman Andre de Laborde, who had a deep understanding about this land, described Cua Tung as a gentle sloping beach which is part of a green highland 20m above sea level. From the slope, people can see the changes in the colour of sea and sky. Shades of blue change hourly under the sunshine, surprising anyone who has chance to witness it.

The sea here is so shallow, that people can run about half-a-kilometre from the shore, and the water level only reaches their chest.

Nearby Cat Son village is a short stroll away along the beach. The village has been famous for hundreds of years for its traditional work of fishing, drum-making, carpentry and mother-of-pearl inlay. There, you can dine of cuttlefish, prawns, lobster, butterfish, mackerel, Chinese herring, and other kinds of seafood, cooked in the local manner.

To the south of the beach is the estuary of Ben Hai River. Hien Luong Brigde crosses the river just 10 kimometres from Cua Tung Beach. The bridge on the 17th parallel formed the border between North and South Vietnam between 1954 and 1975.

The symbol of separation and loss in wartime is now one of the connection between the two districts of Vinh Linh and Vinh Gio in the province. Boarding a boat at the base of the bridge, travellers can see prosperous rice paddy and bamboo and casuarinas trees along the river banks. The slow rhythm of life, the whisper of wind and rippling water, all bring a feeling of peace.

About 30 kilometres offshore from the beach is Con Co Island. The 4-square-metre island, with a coastline of about 8-kilometres, averages an elevation of 5-30 metres above sea level. At the centre of the island is a 63-metres high mountain. The island held a strategic position during the time of the country's division. The island was isolated from the mainland by heavy winds, but soldiers challenged strong waves and enemy attacks to carry food and weapon to the island.

Lush forests and fruits trees cover the island. The trees on Con Co Island include hardwoods with resin as red as blood. In autumn, the bang (Malabar almond) trees also turn red, making the island even more picturesque.

Since 1989, 4,000 coconut trees, symbolising the 4,000-year history of Vietnam , have been cultivated on the island. It is also the home of a small rattlesnake that is soaked in rice wine to make a medicine for treating backache and other ailments. Black and white sea cucumbers as big as a toe are also found in the surrounding waters and make a good dish that also has medicinal properties.

Tours commemorating the battlefields of the province and the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) lets visitors experience Vinh Moc Tunnel – a 2-kilometres network of tunnels up to 23m underground used to shelter residents during wartime – as well as the Old Citadel of Quang Tri, the Ta Con airstrip, the Khe Sanh – Road 9 Battlefield, and the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Once a year, with his wife's blessing, Lau Minh Pao gets to have a guilt-free tryst with his ex.

Ethnic San Chi girls giggle while attending the "love market" in Khau Vai village in Vietnam's northern Ha Giang province, 500 km (310 miles) north of Hanoi May 9, 2010. Credit: REUTERS/Kham

The love market village of Khau Vai is seen from the top of a mountain in Vietnam's northern Ha Giang province. Credit: REUTERS/Kham

Their rendezvous' have played out more like strolls down memory lane than salacious flings, but they are part of a treasured tradition in this mountainous corner of northern Vietnam that may challenge some more linear concepts of love.

"In the past, we were lovers, but we couldn't get married because we were far apart," Pao said simply as he waited for his date on a dark night in the village of Khau Vai in Ha Giang province.

Now when they meet, he said, "we pour our hearts out about the time when we were in love."

They are not alone.

For two days each year, on the 26th and 27th of the third month of the lunar calendar, the tiny village of Khau Vai, strung along a saddle in the lush hills near China, is transformed into a "love market."

Hundreds of members of Giay, Nung, Tay, Dzao, San Chi, Lo Lo and Hmong hill tribes, among others, trek in from across the mountainous districts nearby to attend.

Pao's wife was there, too, meeting her old flame.

Some travel for days, even from neighboring provinces.

This year, local artists in colorful clothing performed the local myth telling the story of the origin of the Khau Vai love market.

Legend has it an ethnic Giay girl from Ha Giang province fell in love with an ethnic Nung boy from the neighboring province of Cao Bang.

The girl was so beautiful that her tribe did not want to let her marry a man from another tribe and a bloody conflict ensued between the two tribes.

Watching tragedy unfold before them, the two lovers sorrowfully decided to part ways to avoid further bloodshed and to restore peace.

But to keep their love alive they made a secret pact to meet once a year on the 27th day of the third lunar month in Khau Vai. Thereafter, the hill village became known as a meeting place for all of those in love.

These days, the tradition is carried on, albeit with a modern edge.

Giggling girls in native headdresses make dates by text message on their cell phones, and hold them up to snap digital photos of performances.

New roads have made the village that lies some 500 km (310 miles) north of Hanoi more accessible. In the Nung language, Khau Vai means 'clouds among the mountains'.

"The young generation now go out together, and find each other, and it is more modern, freer and clearer. Back in the old days, our grandparents had to pursue love in secret, not like today," 23-year-old Hua Thi Nghi an ethnic Giay.

Under the dark sky, as other couples cavorted nearby, Pao was looking forward to seeing his old girlfriend.

"We've arranged to meet and she'll be here a little bit, around 10 pm. We meet together to re-tell the tale of how it was when we were in love back then," he said.

The next day, however, he said their meeting had been cut short by a downpour.

But there's always next year.