Friendship singing contest helps promote China-Vietnam ties

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

Outperforming other contestants from China and Vietnam at the annual singing contest held in Vietnam's captial Hanoi, Ha, a student from the Vocal Music Department under the Hanoi-based Vietnam National Academy of Music, bagged home the first prize together with Chinese singer Cao Yang.

In the final contest, all the singers from both countries need to sing two songs, one 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 hope to have more exchanges and cooperation with Vietnamese singers in the future," Cao told Xinhua after receiving the first prize.

"Traditional friendship between the two countries will be further promoted through activities like this," added Cao, who won applause by singing famous Vietnamese song Dau Mua (Traces of Rain).

His feelings were shared by Vietnamese singers like Ha. "This contest is of significance to young people like me. It gives us chances to make friends with young artists from both countries, and to learn singing and performing techniques from each other," Ha in a dark orange evening gown told Xinhua after securing the first prize, blossoming into a shining smile.

The Vietnamese student, who conquered the judges and audiences with her powerful vocals, dramatic stage performances and good Chinese speaking skills, revealed her secrets of singing vibrantly and fluently in Chinese although she specializes in chamber music, not foreign language.