As a rule, pho Ong do (or street of calligraphers) opens in Ho Chi Minh City just a couple of weeks before the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival. The street of calligraphers appears around the HCMC Youth Cultural House on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Pham Ngoc Thach streets. Calligraphers are on hands to write words or phrases carrying the meaning of luck, peace, good health or prosperity upon request. Customers will have the opportunity to watch artists making paintings, portrait drawings or wooden carvings. Vuong Thi Kim Dung, a ​​resident​ in Vo Gap district said: "At a time when foreign culture has made impacts on the local one, the programme is expected to help preserve traditional cultural identities".  The calligraphy street has become one of the annual traditional events in the lead up to Tet in the city as the Vietnamese often seek luck, peace, good health or prosperity through calligraphy. Expressing his joy when being at the venue, calligrapher Nhuan Hoa said: "I am happy to be here and give lucky words and wishes for peace, prosperity, good health and a happy family to people on the occasion of the new year". Ngoc Tho​, a resident in Ho Chi Minh City’s district 10 told reporters that she ask​ed for the word “prosperity”​ as she wished for a successful and luckier year for herself and family members". The street of calligraphers will be open for public viewing from now until February 15, one day before the Lunar New Year kicks off, with a range of cultural and entertainment activities such as dragon and lion dances and martial art performances.-VNA