Central Da Nang city and Hoi An town (Quang Nam province) have recently been chosen for the 2013 Asian Townscape Award by UN-Habitat Regional Office in Asia. The award honors cities, region which are considered outstanding in landscape architecture. The theme of the 2013 Asian Townscape Award this year is “Townscape: a Source of People’s Pride”. Five review criteria include harmonious coexistence with the regional environment; safety, convenience and sustainability; respect for regional culture and history; high artistic quality; contributions to local development, capabilities of becoming models for other cities. The awarding ceremony was held on November 26 in Fukuoka city, Japan. In 1999, the ancient town of Hoi An was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO for being a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port in the 15th to 19th centuries, and containing buildings with a unique blend of local and foreign influences. Since then, it has been voted one of the top tourist destinations by several tourism magazines. In January of this year, it was voted the world’s best tourism city by UK tourism magazine Wanderlust. Last month, it also ranked second in a list of the Top 10 Asian Cities by prestigious American tourism magazine Condé Nast Traveler. Da Nang’s My Khe beach was voted one of the six most attractive beaches on the planet by American business magazine Forbes last year. Source: http://english.vietnamnet.vn