Vietnam’s street decoration projects have been taking a lot of flak recently from local residents, prompting municipal authorities to take action.
Barely a week into 2017, a dragon-shaped topiary in Hai Phong – now dubbed the Pikachu dragon by netizens – became the butt of online mockery for its sloppy design, so much so that city officials had to immediately order contractors to remove the gaudy embellishment.
The dragon has since gone back to its original state as a topiary, however, its 15 minutes of fame are now forever immortalized in Vietnam’s cybersphere as the hottest new meme.
The most recent target of scrutiny is a series of Tet-related light installations throughout Saigon’s downtown streets, including Le Duan, Pham Ngoc Thach and Dong Khoi. These installations feature stylized versions of bánh chưng, bánh tét and other objects commonly seen during Tet celebrations.
According to Tuoi Tre, the designs are supposed to symbolize Saigon’s youthfulness and dynamism, accentuated by a host of colorful LED lights. However, many residents have complained that the installations are too big and glaring, causing headaches and eyestrain whenever they drive down the decorated streets. Some even liken them to “decorative flowers painted on the walls of kindergartens”.
Others point out the low quality of the decorative arches’ paint job: on a majority of them, the yellow flower petals are smudged by green spray paint from the scaffolding.
In the face of numerous complaints, city officials have announced that they will come up with solutions to tone down the gaudiness of the decorations.
Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Fine Arts Siu Quy told the news source that the design of these light setups was vetted by him and other artists before execution, however the initial models were computer-generated and differed from the final product.
He also added that last Friday, his team of advisors sat down with local authorities to finalize a plan to revamp the Tet installations.
Last Sunday, these arches were once again under fire – literally – as one of the installations on Pham Ngoc Thach Street caught fire due to a short circuit, reports Zing.
Thanks to a sudden bout of evening rain, the fire was extinguished before firefighters even arrived. Still, Saigoneers driving under the arch were in shock when it started raining down sparks and cinders.
The light arch on Pham Ngoc Thach Street after catching fire. Photo via Zing.
[Top photo via Zing]
