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Top Stories of 2010
Category: General Published on Monday, 20 December 2010 16:39 Written by John Thornton Hits: 338
Hanoi Turns 1,000
Celebrating 1,000 years since the foundation of the capital formerly known as Thang Long (Soaring Dragon) by emperor Ly Thai To, an incredible 30,000 people marched through Ba Dinh Square in the Old Quarter in Vietnam’s biggest ever parade.
With the wide tree-lined streets glittered by a multicoloured explosion of flowers, flags, balloons and dragon dancers, the parade included members of the armed forces, civil servants, police, war veterans, intellectuals, officials, farmers, labourers, ethnic minority groups and young people proudly demonstrating the solidarity, strengths and achievements of the nation’s capital.
The 10-day celebration also saw a number of commemorative projects constructed and inaugurated including the Hanoi Museum, Hoa Binh Park, Workers Theatre, Thanh Tri Bridge, Vinh Tuy Bridge and the Lang-Hoa Lac Highway.
In one of the more unique acts anticipating the anniversary, a project was announced in February in which 1,000 objects would be buried with a message for future generations in 1,000 years. 63 representative items from the 63 provinces of Vietnam and another 937 items from various facets of contemporary life suggested by people of Hanoi were put in a 1,000 litre container symbolising 1,000 years of Thang Long-Hanoi and buried in the site of the Hanoi Museum.
The Bitexco Financial Tower
Dominating Saigon’s skyline, you couldn’t miss it, even if you wanted to. 2010 was the year that finally saw the completion of the iconic Bitexco Financial Tower. Standing at a whopping 262.5 metres high, this sleekly designed lotus petal-inspired high-rise office and retail building has come to symbolise Vietnam’s aspirations and Saigon’s limitless potential.
Yes, there are some financial issues involved in the building — by all accounts, even if it rents out all the office, retail and residential space, it will never make a penny. But surely, if it’s possible to safely land a helicopter on the side of the 50th floor of a 68-storey building in downtown Saigon then anything is possible here?
Indeed, its prominent location in the heart of the central business district means it’s unmissable to the naked eye, no matter what part of the city you find yourself in. But if by some chance it eludes you during the day, the tower’s batman-style spotlights and multicoloured illuminations will most likely have you staring in wide-eyed wonderment come nightfall.
Movies Go 3D
Much like the rest of the world, 2010 was the year when Vietnam not only embraced 3D movies but also went crazy for them. James Cameron’s 3D blockbuster Avatar earned a staggering US$1.5 million in Vietnam during its three-month screening to become the highest grossing foreign movie of all time at the Vietnamese box office.
Lured by the eye-popping visual effects, cinemas couldn’t cope with the initial demand as swathes of Vietnamese were seen waiting in line for half a day just to purchase a ticket for a showing one week later. During one particular weekend in February over 85,000 filmgoers went to cinemas nationwide. Capitalising on this success, Megastar Media, Galaxy, Saigon Movies Media and BHD Star Cinema all opened further 3D screens. Megastar Media has brought 11 3D movies to its eight 3D screens so far in 2010, including Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story 3 and Step Up, with Tron Legacy and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader still to come before Christmas.
English Football Commentary
Nobody saw it coming, not even local sports bar pundit and website guru Malcolm Green. The sudden demise of ESPN’s, Star Sports’ and the South African SuperSports channels’ coverage of the English Premier League took everyone by surprise.
In retrospect, we should have known better, what with the World Cup broadcast exclusively on SCTV soundtracked by a mixture of Vietnamese language commentary and those ubiquitous vuvuzelas.
Still, by August, the loss of all English language football commentary was met by mass shock, confusion, and in some cases, anger. For the opening few weeks of the 2010/2011 EPL season none of the city’s sports bars could guarantee punters that they’d ever hear the dulcet tones of Martin Tyler, Geoff Sheaves and Andy Gray again.
Several months on and English language football commentary is available once again, albeit at a literal and metaphorical price. Bars have had to shell out several million dong on a cable or satellite box for the ‘privilege’ of showing live EPL football complete with English commentary at the weekend, whilst scores of devoted supporters no longer have the luxury of sitting in front of the TV at home on a Sunday night to watch the season’s biggest games.
While we begrudgingly accept this new world order, many will be hoping that ESPN, Star Sports and SuperSports reacquire the rights to broadcast the EPL sooner rather than later. come nightfall.
The Ho Chi Minh City Metro Breaks Ground
The first two lines of the proposed six-line metro system commenced construction this year. Hoping to alleviate Saigon’s increasingly soul-destroying traffic congestion problems, this rapid transit network of the future could revolutionise commuting in the city.
However, quite a wait remains before this public transport dream becomes a reality. Line 1, connecting Ben Thanh Market with Suoi Tien Park in District 9 via 14 stations over 19.7 km, is scheduled for completion in 2016 while Line 2, which will connect Ben Thanh Market with District 12 via 11 stations over 11.3 km, should apparently be finished not too soon after. And with the trains reportedly able to hit top speeds of 80 km per hour and low cost fares of VND2,500, up to 160,000 people are anticipated to use Line 1 in its first year of operation alone. That equates to a few less angry road users at least.
Vincom Center Opens it Doors
Touted unashamedly on its website as “Vietnam’s shopping paradise”, the towering behemoth that is the Vincom Center opened its doors to dong-fisted shoppers back in April.
Looking to bridge the gap between Vietnam and the super mall culture already established in Singapore and Thailand, the Vincom Center boasts over 250 fashion stores and restaurants located over six huge storeys.
Including instantly recognizable high-end brands like Versace and Jimmy Choo, mid-range outlets such as FCUK, Mango and Levis, and the brash and bling of Emporio Armani Café, Vincom is apparently helping to propel Saigon into the new Asia, a continent aspiring to prosperity via consumerism.
The Run On The Dong
Unlike other countries in the region where the value of the US dollar depreciated against the local currency, Vietnam remains the only South-East Asian country in 2010 to see the US dollar actually gain in value.
By November when the dong received its third devaluation in the space of 12 months, the US dollar was worth a depressing VND19,507.50 against the dong. On the black market, rates were even worse, sometimes hitting over VND21,000 to the US dollar. Even the relatively weak Euro, pound sterling and the Australian dollar gained in value.
A loss in public confidence in the dong, caused by a shift in focus from macro economic stability to growth, which led to low interest rates, a surge in imports and huge public debts, saw inflation return and increase the trade deficit, resulting in an unstable exchange rate.
The National Financial Supervisory Commission has already admitted that the dong’s exchange rate against the US dollar is unlikely to be adjusted until at least the next Tet holiday, even though the US dollar continues to surge in the black market.
3G Goes National
3D technology wasn’t the only ‘3’ to be introduced to Vietnam this year, as 3G mobile networks became more widespread.
Following the launch of the first third generation network in 2009 by VinaPhone, 2010 saw a proliferation of high-speed wireless technology services with MobiFone and Viettel both offering 3G on a range of mobile phones such as the iPhone, Blackberry, HTC and Android.
By May, VinaPhone, MobiFone and Viettel already had 7 million registered 3G users. Admittedly, this figure was half of the amount that was initially expected by the telecommunications industry, signalling that Vietnam isn’t yet a nation of ‘early adopters’ like the US and UK. However, the sight of white collared Vietnamese checking their emails, making video calls and watching TV on their phones on buses, and in taxis, bars and restaurants became commonplace and a small but sure sign that the times are most certainly a’changin’.