February 27, 2019 | 09:31 pm PT

Trump charmed, hopes to visit Trang An Landscape Complex

U.S. President Trump said he would like to visit the Trang An Landscape Complex after being shown a picture by PM Phuc.

On Wednesday afternoon, after his meeting with Trump at the Government Office in Hanoi, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc showed him pictures of many of Vietnam's natural attractions.

Mai Tien Dung, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office, told VnExpress that Trump was so impressed by the Trang An complex in northern Vietnam, a spectacular karst with limestone cliffs and a river running through them, that he expressed a desire to visit it.

"Trump asked whether it is safe to visit Trang An. The Prime Minister smiled and said, ‘It is very safe. We Vietnamese often travel there’."

The picture of Trang An was introduced to the US President by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Photo by Ngoc Thanh.

U.S. President Donald Trump admires a picture of the Trang An Landscape Complex shown to him by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the Government Office on Wednesday. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh.

The picture shows boats being rowed on a branch of the Sao Khe River, whose emerald waters flow between two cliffs, a spectacular scene that draws millions to visit it every year.

The landscape complex in Ninh Binh Province, 95 km south of Hanoi, has been recognized as a UNESCO world heritage.

Phuc also showed Trump pictures of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, another UNESCO world heritage site situated in Quang Binh Province, 550 km south of Hanoi. 

The Prime Minister's office has several artworks featuring Vietnam’s most iconic places, including an oil painting titled "Bamboo", a 1.8-meter painting of the Thay Pagoda on the outskirts of Hanoi by Chu Anh Phuong and "Red bamboo", a four-panel lacquer painting by Bui Huu Hung.

"This is a very effective way to promote the beautiful landscapes of Vietnam," said Dao Thi Lien Huong, head of the Association for Fine Arts and Cultural Diplomacy.

The two leaders and their delegations later lunched on some signature Vietnamese dishes like green mango salad with scallops, mint leaves and cashew in sweet vinegar oil, Hanoi spring rolls and a sweet lotus seed dessert.