The Red River flowing through Lao Cai Province in February 2021 is clear and not murky. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Ngoc Trien. For a week now, the Red River section that flows through Lao Cai Province has become so clear that there are some shallow areas towards the banks where the river bed can be seen at a depth of one meter. The Red River, over 1,100 km long, originates in China and flows through Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc and Hanoi. The river section that flows through Vietnam is about 510 km long. Nguyen Thi Lan, a resident of Lao Cai, said the water of the Red River in her town was normally a thick brown color, and if seen from afar, it looked like a pinkish strip. "It is really strange now that the river has such a clear green shade," she said. Locals people swim in the Red River in 2017. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh. Vu Dinh Thuy, deputy director of Lao Cai’s Natural Resources and Environment Department, said this is not the first time the … [Read more...] about Red River’s clear colors blamed on dams, pollution
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Fairylike bamboo forest offers new livelihoods to mountainous residents in Vietnam
During the early days of the Year of the Buffalo, residents of Na Hang Tua Chu, a mountainous village of Mu Cang Chai District in Vietnam's Yen Bai Province, were excited to welcome the very first tourists coming to their hometown. On a concrete road leading to the village, a group of youngsters stood with their motorbikes, waiting to offer guests a ride to visit the villagers’ pride – a fairylike bamboo forest. “Parts of our identity have been nurtured by forests," 27-year-old Lu A Tru, a Hmong ethnic, said about the motivation behind the village’s effort to plant the forest. "By protecting them, we reserve what makes us ourselves." The bamboo forest in Mu Cang Chai District of Yen Bai Province, Vietnam was first planted some six decades ago. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre The evergreen forest, planted some 60 years ago, stretched over an area of one hectare. “Deforestation has to be ended," Tru affirmed. "Elsewhere, bamboo forests are promoted to be tourism … [Read more...] about Fairylike bamboo forest offers new livelihoods to mountainous residents in Vietnam
Hanoi invests over US$300 million per year to improve transport infrastructure
The Hanoitimes - Hanoi is facing challenges in the mobilization and use of investment capital for transport infrastructure. Over the past years, Hanoi city has spent about VND7 trillion (US$302.02 million) per year to build new roads and upgrade the existing routes to meeting rising dwelling demand, Deputy Director of the municipal Transport Department Vu Ha told Kinh Te & Do Thi. The Hanoi city government has implemented a spate of solutions to alleviate traffic congestion, including speeding up the construction of urban railways and improving roads, the deputy director said. Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Transport Vu Ha. Photo: Vo Hai He added that many key traffic works in the city have been completed, contributing to improving and upgrading the infrastructure system, effectively reducing traffic congestion, including Ring Road No.2, Vinh Tuy bridge, Ring Road No.3, National highway 1A (Van Dien - Ngoc Hoi section), the viaduct over the … [Read more...] about Hanoi invests over US$300 million per year to improve transport infrastructure
HCMC to pilot bus priority lane
The HCMC Department of Transport shared that the city aims at possessing a multi-means public transport system, including 8 metro lines, 3 tram lines, 6 bus rapid transit lines (BRT), and 200 regular bus lines, in order to meet the traveling demands of the community. Due to the dense population in HCMC, leading to the large number of private vehicles, urban traffic at the moment has to shoulder a heavy burden, and the average velocity of vehicles in the downtown is just 20-25km per hour. To tackle this problem, the municipal authorities have adjusted the planning of the urban transport system to implement the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) model. This model maximizes the link between residential, business, manufacturing areas and the existing public transport system. HCMC is going to apply this model along Metro Line No.1 (from Ben Thanh in the downtown to Suoi Tien in Thu Duc City), Metro Line No.2 (the first phase: Ben Thanh – Tham Luong in District 12; the second phase: … [Read more...] about HCMC to pilot bus priority lane
AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine batch lands in HCMC
At around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, the flight carrying Covid-19 vaccine doses arrived at HCMC's Tan Son Nhat Airport. They're the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines produced by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca in collaboration with Oxford University and imported by Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC). After landing, the plane carrying the vaccine is guided to its berth. Employees at Tan Son Nhat Airport prepare to receive the vaccines while wearing protective suits. The first vaccine batch leaves the plane. A VNVC representative said the batch is part of an agreement last November with AstraZeneca. Truong Quoc Cuong, Deputy Health Minister, at Tan Son Nhat Airport on Wednesday said Vietnam and Thailand are the first two ASEAN countries to receive Covid-19 vaccines produced by AstraZeneca. Vaccine containers are loaded onto special vehicles at the airport. They would be transported to VNVC cold storage units kept at between two to … [Read more...] about AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine batch lands in HCMC