China and Vietnam hold joint contest

"Just like nightingales, we want to bring our songs to" Vietnam, China and other countries, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha, the Vietnamese winner of the China-Vietnam Friendship Singing Contest 2019, said on Saturday.

Outperforming other contestants from China and Vietnam at the annual singing contest in Hanoi, Ha, a student of the vocal music department at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, bagged the first prize along with Chinese singer Cao Yang. In the final contest, singers from both countries needed to sing one song in Chinese and the other in Vietnamese.

"Learning to sing in Vietnamese is both challenging and enjoyable. I want to thank my Vietnamese tutors, who made great efforts correcting my pronunciation, and I hope to have more exchanges and cooperation with Vietnamese singers," says Cao, who won applause by singing the popular Vietnamese song, Dau Mua (Traces of Rain).

Ha says the contest is significant as it gives young people a chance to make friends with young artists from both countries, and to learn singing and performing techniques from each other.

Ha, who won over the judges and audience with her powerful vocals, dramatic stage performances and Chinese-speaking skills, reveals her secret of singing fluently in Chinese.

"I have been using a popular Chinese-music app to listen to Chinese songs online and sing along," she explains.

Calling the contest a people's diplomatic activity, Nguyen Quang Vinh, acting director of the Department of Performing Arts at the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, says that, "many young singers, both Vietnamese and Chinese, have reaped successes", through the event.

The annual singing contest, initiated by the Chinese side in 2005, has been held alternately in China and Vietnam since.