Central resort to assemble giant musical instruments, Halong

Ha Long Co. on Monday began the construction of huge folk musical instruments park in Lang Co town of central Thua Thien-Hue province. The 40-hectare park at Lang Co Beach Resort will feature some 200 giant traditional instruments, whose bodies will be made from composite and strings from buffalo skin, stainless steel, or plastics. Work on the project is expected to last for two years and cost VND150 billion (US$9.42 million), the Vietnam News Agency quoted Tran Son Tuong of Ha Long Co. Tuong said the company would make the first 10 instruments for display at the Lang Co Sea Legend Festival, due to take place on June 10. When completed, the park will also be the venue for organizing local festivities as well as folk instrument performances to serve the tourism industry. Tuong said the company planned to register 160 instruments for the Guinness Record as the world largest folk instruments. The idea of building such a park was initiated by Professor Tran Van Khe, a well-known master of Vietnamese traditional music who made the statement that proper attention has not been paid to a large number of the country's diversified folk musical instruments.