Hanoi, July 21 -- Amid rapid urbanisation and globalisation, Vietnam's centuries-old tradition of "ket cha" (establishing village twinning relations or alliances) - a ceremonial bond between villages - continues to endure as a symbol of solidarity, mutual support and community cohesion. Today, the custom is increasingly viewed not only as intangible cultural heritage but also as a source of cultural vitality and soft power in the country's new era of development. A millennium of friendship On July 18-19 (the fifth and sixth days of the sixth lunar month), residents of Van Phuc village, now in Nam Phu commune, and Nga My village, now in Thanh Oai commune, Hanoi, commemorated 1,000 years of ceremonial brotherhood through a series of cultura...