Vietnamese photographers win slew of Two Country Circuit awards

Vietnamese photographers won 13 awards at the Two Country Circuit 2022 international contest in the travel, portrait and woman-man-child categories.

The award-winning works mainly depict beautiful moments of Vietnamese nature like “Stork season in Van Long”, “The color of terraced fields” or “Pouring water season-Mu Cang Chai”.

“Procession of dragons to the wharf” won Vu Hai a gold medal in the travel category. The dragon procession took place on Ngo Dong River in the Tam Coc-Bich Dong area, Ninh Binh province.

Tam Coc-Bich Dong, about 90 kilometers south of Hanoi, is known as "Ha Long Bay on land", with limestone mountains and charming rice fields on both banks of the river. Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO-recognized natural heritage site in Quang Ninh province.

“Rice season” taken by Nguyen Dang Hao received an honorary award in the travel category.

“Relax” taken by Tran Anh Thang won an honorary award in the portrait category.

“Dioxin sequelae” won Vu Hai an honorary award in the woman-man-child category.

“After school”, a photo by Nguyen Dang Hao, received an honorary award in the woman-man-child category.

“Double friends” won Tran Anh Thang an honorary award in the woman-man-child category.

“The color of terraced fields” taken by Nguyen Dang Hao received an honorary award in the travel category.

UK newspaper The Telegraph once put northern Vietnam’s terraced rice fields in sixth position on its Top 25 most surreal landscapes in the world.

The terraced rice fields have been created by local ethnic minority people living in mountainous and hilly terrain, where there is a shortage of flat land for rice cultivation. The fields reflect their creativity in adapting to local climate, soil, and irrigation conditions.

“Phong Dien floating market” snapped by Tran Anh Thang was granted an honorary award in the travel category.

Like other floating markets in the Mekong Delta, Phong Dien features the region's culture, scenic landscape, and daily life and is a tourist attraction.

“Regret” taken by Nguyen Dang Hao received an honorary award in the open monochrome category.

“Pouring water season-Mu Cang Chai” won Ngo Thanh Huong an honorary award in the travel category.

Mu Cang Chai district in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai is well known for the beauty of terraced rice fields. Visitors in March can see glittering ponds before locals transplant rice seedlings from April to May. The fields start to turn yellow with ripe rice in early September and look most beautiful during the harvest in October.

“Break through” taken by Tran Anh Thang received an honorary award in the travel category. The photo depicts an ox racing festival in southern Vietnam.

“Trust”, a photo by Tran Anh Thang, won an honorary award in the woman-man-child category.

“Stork season in Van Long” taken by Nguyen Dang Hao won a gold medal in the travel category.

Located in Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province, the 3,500-hecta lagoon is considered the biggest wetland nature reserve site in Vietnam's northern delta and home to thousands of rare fauna and flora species, many of them on the brink of extinction. Tourists will also be allured by the imposing cliffs and mountains and vast lakes.

The Trang An Scenic Landscape complex, Tam Coc-Bich Dong National Park, and the pristine beauty of Van Long Lagoon make Ninh Binh a tourist hotspot.

The contest, organized by Novi Sad, Kotor and Podgorica photography clubs of Serbia and Montenegro and sponsored by the International Federation of Photographic Arts (FIAP), drew entries from 37 countries and territories worldwide.