Manneken-Pis showing off in Vietnamese ao dai

VGP – The Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium hosted a solemn ceremony on September 29 at the Town Hall of Brussels, to present the Vietnamese traditional long dress (ao dai) to the city’s icon Manneken-Pis.

September 30, 2012 5:40 PM GMT+7

Manneken-Pis in Vietnamese traditional long dress - Photo: Thai Van/VNA

Mr. Hamza Fassi-Fihri, Deputy Mayor of the City of Brussels, emphasized at the ceremony that this is an important cultural event for Viet Nam and Brussels, marking a new development in the bilateral relationship and bringing the two cultures closer together.

The event also opens the Vietnamese Culture Week in Belgium, which will last until October 5, with many cultural activities to welcome the 40^th anniversary of diplomatic ties establishment between Viet Nam and Belgium in 2013.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Pham Sanh Chau, Manneken-Pis, in traditional Vietnamese ao dai, will become an envoy for Vietnamese culture.

The City of Brussels maintains the reception of traditional costumes for Manneken-Pis presented by countries and organizations throughout the world. So far, Manneken-Pis has possessed nearly 900 sets of costumes which are all displayed at the Museum of Manneken-Pis. The Vietnamese ao dai is the 892^nd set.