Authorities in the central city of Da Nang have agreed to transform one of its streets into a book street, now open in Ho Chi Minh City, with another due to be inaugurated in Hanoi, officials said last week.

The administration of Da Nang has approved the proposal of Thai Ha Books Joint-stock Company (Thai Ha Books JSC) to operate a book street on Bach Dang Street, a spokesperson for the firm said on January 28.

The company’s proposal, which was submitted for approval on January 4, is to convert Bach Dang Street, which curves along the Han River, into a book street to foster a reading culture among locals.

The People’s Committee has sent staff from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism as well as the Department of Information and Communications to the book street in Ho Chi Minh City to study its operation, said Nguyen Hoai Nam, a top official.  

The two departments have been directed to cooperate with Thai Ha Books JSC to create a conceptual design for the street, he added.

If everything runs smoothly, Da Nang will soon inaugurate the book street, which means there will be three book streets running in Vietnam.

In Ho Chi Minh City, locals were thrilled with the inauguration of the book street on Nguyen Van Binh Street in District 1 on January 9.

On January 27, the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications officially announced that a book street will open on Le Thach Street between February 10 and February 15, coinciding with Tet, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year.

The Lunar New Year celebration, which is deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture, is due on February 8 and includes lots of ceremonial preparations as well as festive exhibitions that usually last one week before and after the date.

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