Ham Nghi street in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 on February 16well turned out to be a flower street on the theme “VietnameseIdentity-Vietnamese Spirit” to greet the traditional Lunar New Year(Tet) which is around the corner.

Present at theinauguration ceremony were President Truong Tan Sang, Vice NationalAssembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, and Secretary of the Ho ChiMinh City’s Party Committee Le Thanh Hai, among others.

The street, which stays open to visitors from February 16-22, sendsout a message of Vietnamese people’s resilience and their efforts topreserve cultural identity and integrate actively into the global life,said Hua Ngoc Thuan, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committeeat the opening ceremony.

On the same day, a bookfestival also opened to the public on Ham Nghi street, introducing15,000 book titles depicting Ho Chi Minh City’s history, people andits integration process as well as the nation’s sea and islands.

According to the organising board, more than 10 publishing houses,libraries and distributors have participated in the event.

The trading and exchange of used books will be conducted for the firsttime, hopefully making the event more attractive to youngsters.

The book street, organised for the fifth year in the city during Tet,is expected to create a playground for bookworms and promote the readingculture among the visitors.

It will run until February 22, or the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.-VNA