B: We have just gone through a difficult year. Now in the early days of the New Year, we are remembering what we have done over the past year and are making resolutions for the New Year.
A: The COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges in 2020 taught us a lot of things. We learned about love and sharing. We now understand each other better. Spending lots of time together at home brought family members closer. And we learned that by staying united, working together, and helping one another, we can do anything.
 (Screenshot) |
B: “Adversity brings wisdom”. In difficulties, we become more creative. We created things in Vietnam to make our lives more resilient and adaptable to last year’s crises, created rice ATMs, which have since been replicated in India. We created automatic body sanitizing booths, and masks and screens of various designs and produced vaccines in a very short time. We developed apps to trace virus contacts and online platforms to facilitate working and studying.
John Oliver spoke about Vietnam's Ghen Covy song and dance trend on HBO's "Last Week Tonight" (Screenshot)
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A: We’re now awaiting the new year full of health, luck, and happiness that was wished for us in the New Year Greetings we received from our listeners over the past days.
B: Siddhartha Bhattacharjee of India wrote: “Happy New Year to you and your family. Thanks to your entire broadcasting team for providing us valuable information throughout 2020. Wishing you and your dear family a very Happy New Year 2021. May all your wishes and resolutions be fulfilled this year and may God bring good health and peace to all. Hope all of you are safe.”
A: Thank you very much, Mr. Bhattacharjee. We wish you a very Happy New Year and hope to receive more feedback from you.
 Peach flowers blossom in Mu Cang Chai (Photo: Tran Thi Minh Ha) |
B: This week, Ratan Kumar Paul of India sent us a reception report for a program on December 15 from 16:11 to 16:30 UTC on the frequency of 7220 khz. He rated SINPO all 4s.
A: We received multiple emails from Ashik Eqbal Tokon of Bangladesh over the past week commenting on our final programs of 2020 and the first program of 2021. He wrote: “Greetings from Bangladesh. Hope you are enjoying the New Year now. I would like to provide my feedback on the programs of the last day of last year and the first day of the New Year. In the last program of 2020, Current Affairs reviewed the top 10 world events as selected by VOV. You were very in-depth and focused on every corner of world news. Your explanation helped everyone better understand major events of 2020. You must have worked very hard to select these 10 events out of the numerous news stories of 2020. I think that is why you focused on political issues, although there were other issues like financial problems caused by the pandemic. I respect and honor your hard work and analytical skill in selecting the top 10 news events.”
B: “New Year means expectation, prediction, and resolution. On the very first day of 2021, you have started considering all of them. Thanks for the special program that you aired on 1 January 2021. I hope and believe the year will be full of excitement with your programs. “
A: Thank you, Mr. Tokon for your detailed reports. This week many listeners asked about New Year destinations in Vietnam amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A: In Vietnam, we are strengthening disease preventive measures such as wearing masks, avoiding crowds, and using sanitizers in public places.
B: At this time of year, the northern mountain region of Vietnam draws a large number of visitors. Mu Cang Chai in Yen Bai province is among the most popular destinations.
 A rice terrace in Mu Cang Chai during transplantation season in May, 2020. (Photo: VnExpress) |
A: The travel website Big 7 Travel has listed Mu Cang, famed for terraced rice fields, among its 50 most beautiful global destinations.
B: When you imagine magnificent Asian rice fields on the slopes of velvet green hills, you’re picturing Mu Cang Chai, Vietnam," Big 7 Travel wrote. "Centuries of careful cultivation have shaped what is easily some of the most beautiful rice terraces in the world."
 Mu Cang Chai terraced field |
A: Mu Cang Chai is full of hiking trails and vibrant local culture. Black Hmong, a branch of one of Vietnam’s largest ethnicities, are the primary residents. Visiting Mu Cang Chai provides a fascinating look at their way of life.
B: The site ranked Mu Cang Chai 21st on its list. Big 7 Travel compiled the list by looking at ‘most beautiful place in the world’ pins on Pinterest, most liked photos on Instagram and suggestions from 1.5 million readers across social media platforms.
A: Mu Cang Chai, a rural district lined with mesmerizing rice terraces, is about seven hours' drive northwest of Hanoi. The town sits 1,000 m above sea level at the foot of the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range. Its rice terrace fields stretch across 2,200 ha of the mountainside.
 Its imposing beauty makes Mu Cang Chai an attractive destination |
B: In 2017, the terraced fields were named among the 19 most picturesque peaks on earth by US travel website Insider. Mu Cang Chai was also listed among the best places to enjoy autumn in Asia by Singaporean travel website Tripzilla in 2018, and among the world’s most colorful destinations by US magazine Condé Nast Traveler in 2019.
A: Since we increased our posts on the website vovworld.vn, our Facebook fanpage at VOV5 English Service, Twitter and Instagram, we have been getting more feedback from and interactions with our listeners.
B: On our digital platforms, we have made our FM programs available and added more stories, photo reports and video clips which have been enthusiastically welcomed by our audience worldwide.
A: Many of the audience visiting these platforms are Dxers but they have expressed an interest in our online stories.
B: Our livestreamed talkshow with rising Vietnamese rap stars has received more than 74,000 views and more than 200 comments.
A: Amir Jameel, a regular listener to VOV’s shortwave broadcasts is one of fans of our stories on the digital platforms. Listening to our livestreamed talkshow, he wrote: “ I am at my work now at University and my colleagues are also watching your show. We like your studio set up. We are so happy to listen to your interesting talk and the stories of Gonzo and TLinh,. Both are humble and polite. That’s why they are successful in life. Great work VOV5.
B: On our fanpage, we have received comments not only from Vietnamese followers but many other regular listeners including Kalab Abbas of Pakistan who extended this greeting to us: “Dear VOV staff. Happy Christmas 2020. Stay safe and stay blessed with a lot of happiness and best wishes.”
A: We’d like to thank you all for supporting our programs on whatever platform. We always welcome your feedback at: English Service, VOVworld, the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs.
B: Check out our VOV Media App, available on both the IOS and Android platform, to hear our live broadcasts. We look forward to your feedback on the mobile version of vovworld.vn. Once again, thank you all for listening. Goodbye until next time.