Under the name of “A Japanese culture in Ha Long”, Ha Long Sakura festival officially opened at 20.00 on Apirl 11, 2013 at Lan Be Central Park, Ha Long city. The event was attended by Head of National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee Tran Van Hang; Director of the National Tourism Administration Nguyen Van Tuan; Secrectary of Quang Ninh’s Provincial Party Committee Pham Minh Chinh, other provincial leaders, and the Former Deputy Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hamada-Kazuki. The festival also attracted thousands of domestic and foreign tourists and the local people.This is one of the cultural activities to celebrate a series of events, namely: the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Viet Nam and Japan September 21(1973-2013), the Viet Nam-Japan Friendship Year, and the 50th anniversary of Quang Ninh, the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Ha Long City,and the 2013 Ha Long Carnival.At the festival, delegates, tourists and the local people had a chance to enjoy the beauty of five “Garyuu” sakura blossom trees grown in Takayama City and more than 100 “Hikan” Sakura branches from Nago city, Japan; art performances by Quang Ninh and Japanese actors, Japanese gastronomy, a tourism exhibition, and especially Japanese traditional tea ceremony...Speaking at the event, Vice-Chairman of QNPPC Dang Huy Hau affirmed that the 2013 Ha Long Sakura festival is one of the activities introducing Ha Long’s image to the world, attracting tourists and investors including Japanese to the province. It is also an opportunity to introduce Japanese culture to Quang Ninh people and the tourists.For his part, Hamada-Kazuki expressed his happiness to attend this festival in Ha Long Bay World Natural Heritage site. He said that Sakura is a National Flower of Japan. He hoped that Sakura will be a symbol of the friendship between Japan and Vietnam in general and between Quang Ninh and other provinces of Japan in particular.