Students from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture have made an effort to beautify a city in the Mekong Delta and raise environmental awareness by decorating over 20 manhole covers.

Over 30 students from different faculties at the university have drawn on 24 manhole lids on a 1km-long road in Can Tho City.

The students began drawing early on Sunday morning on Hung Vuong Street in Can Tho, and finished work by the early evening of the same day.

This was the first project by the Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture in cooperation with the city.

Tran Le Ngoc Tram, majoring in furniture design, explained that the pictures drawn on the manhole lids told the story of a turtle’s journey from the sea to the mountains and then to the urban environment of the city.

The pictures are not only meant to decorate the street, but also to tell a meaningful story as a reminder of the importance of keeping the city clean and protecting the environment.

“This is the message we want to convey to other people, so that they will all take part in protecting the environment, and the beautiful scenery of the city,” Tram said.

The leader of a social work club at the university – Nguyen Hoang Anh Vi – revealed that the group had wanted to decorate the street for a long time, but had not been able to do it until now.

“Many people passing by were curious and asked us what we were doing. A lot of people seemed excited but others believed we had nothing better to do,” Vi said about the process of drawing the pictures.

The club has also taken part in decorating and drawing on toilets at primary schools.

However, they had not had a chance to draw on the streets before.

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