Fourteenth-century physician Tue Tinh, and Chinese doctor Hua Tuo from the Eastern Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280 AD) made black sesame famous as a medicine used to treat broken bones and bone diseases.

To this day, traditional eastern doctors still use methods devised by Tinh and Tuo.

One of the late greats’ remedies for broken bones that can be made at home:

Dry and pound some black sesame into powder. Mix the powder with honey or ginger quintessence. Cover the injured with a thick layer of around 10-15g of the mixture. This can help heal injured bones or tendons.

Black sesame is also a proven beauty product.

Researchers have discovered that the Vitamin E in black sesame can protect your skin and keep it fresh while intensifying the immune system and skin cell antibacterian.

You can chew and swallow 25- 40g of black sesame before having breakfast and going to sleep, then drink 50-100ml of sugar cane juice, which is made from dwarf sugarcane. Do it from five to ten days consecutively for more beautiful skin.

Or husk and roast 300g of black sesame for a succulent snack that acts as a skin beauty enhancer. Or wash 500g of young lá dâu tằm (mulberry leaves) and dry it under the sunlight twice until the leaves wither. Remove their stems and dry them in a pan. Pound the roasted sesame and mulberry leaves separately. Mix them together with 50g of honey and roll them into one-gram balls. Eat 15 balls three times a day to look more beautiful.

- Pregnant women should cook 50g of black sesame and three spoons of honey with 100ml of water until the concoction is just 50ml. Then drink twice a day. Do it for three days for smooth and rich white skin. This will help the complexion of the mother’s face and help her give birth more easily.

If women are having trouble breast feeding, suffer from wrinkles or abdominal pains, or suffer from bad circulation, then they should dry 30g of black sesame and mix it with a half of spoon of salt. Grind the ingredients and eat with brown (unmilled) rice for seven days.

- Middle-aged women should mix 200g of black sesame with 250g of nha đam (aloe vera) and 20g of grape juice in a blender and drink the beverage twice a day to beautify their skin.

- Men and women suffering from dry cough or constipation, or those who want to keep their skin beautiful and hair colorful, should dry 500g of black sesame in the sunlight. Then crush them into powder and keep them in a jar. Whenever you want to eat, take two spoons of black sesame in a bowl, and add sugar to taste. Pour hot boiling water in the bowl and stir the mixture until it becomes sweet soup.

- If you have indigestion, grind some black sesame to use in rice porridge, and add one dry mandarin peel. Season with salt and serve. The indigestion will stop after enjoying the remedy a few times.

Vietnam is not a country short of spectacular landscapes and history. But, while the country and its people strive to become more modern and developed, many have started to forget Vietnam’s true beauty and past.

The Hai Van Pass is one site drenched in history and beauty that remains. Even with the introduction of the Hai Van Tunnel in 2005 that makes the journey from Da Nang to Hue much shorter, many bus drivers and motorists choose to travel along the picturesque mountain road steeped in history and with panoramic views of Da Nang.

Hai Van (sea clouds) Pass is located on National Highway 1A at the border of Thua Thien-Hue Province and Da Nang City and is part of the Truong Son Range. Its history begins in 1306, before which, it belonged to the Champa Kingdom.

In the summer of that year, the beautiful Princess Huyen Tran, daughter of King Tran Nhan Tong, agreed to marry King Che Man of Champa, at the request of her father. In return, King Che Man, also known as Jaya Sinhavarman III, gave Vietnam the Ulik area (the current provinces of Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue), including the pass, as a betrothal gift.

Hai Van Pass stands 500 meters above sea level and is the highest pass in Vietnam. It stands with its feet in the sea and its summit is covered with clouds. The drive over the pass sees visitors tearing through the clouds along a winding road.

At the summit, you feel on top of the world as the wind swirls around you. On a clear day, you can see Da Nang, Tien Sa Port, Son Tra Peninsula, Cu Lao Cham Island and a stretch of palm-shaded sand, known as Lang Co, with a crystal-clear lagoon.

Also at the top of the pass is a vestige from long ago that takes the form of a brick gate covered with moss. It was built in 1826 under the rule of King Minh Mang, the second emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty.

The gate itself is 10 meters high with walls that are five meters thick. It faces Thua Thien-Hue Province, and is inscribed with three words “Hai Van Gate” in Han script. On the other side, the gate is engraved with: “The most grandiose gateway in the world”, also in Han script. These words were said by King Le Thanh Ton (1442-1497) when he visited the site.

During the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), Hai Van Pass was an important military site and a shield that protected the Hue Royal Citadel. People had to submit the necessary papers to be allowed to pass through the guarded gate.

In 1826, French troops also built a blockhouse, named Don Nhat, to protect the Hai Van Pass.

For years, Hai Van Pass, with its ancient gate covered in moss set against a backdrop of greenery, has evoked old memories and feelings from the past. It is one of the places in Vietnam where you can gasp at breathtaking scenery as well as take in the history of the site.

National Oil and Gas Group PetroVietnam has signed several deals with Japanese partners, one of which will help the group list shares of its affiliates abroad.

Daiwa Capital Markets was to sign with the group during its promotional visit to Tokyo June 22 to 25, said PetroVietnam in a statement.

The group said the Japanese partner would be calling for energy funds from Japan to support oil and gas projects developed by PetroVietnam. Daiwa also agreed to help the firm list abroad.

PetroVietnam said Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, had signed a memorandum of understanding on helping to build the coal-fired Long Phu 1 and Song Hau 1 power plants in Vietnam.

PetroVietnam also signed deals with Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan External Trade Organization, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance.

The Vietnamese firm said partners would help provide the group capital, insurance and financial services.

Concerns over dollar supplies are mounting as local businesses begin to purchase the currency to repay their loans.

Le Xuan Bach, director of Vinh Hoang Xuan Trading Company, said access to dollar loans had eased since the end of last year.

Because interest rates were low compared with the rates on dong loans, many companies have taken out dollar loans to do business, Bach said in a report on VietnamNet news website on Wednesday.

“My company borrowed nearly US$2 million and the loan is due soon. As the exchange rate is now stable, we are buying dollars for repayment,” Bach said, noting that the dollar often gets stronger toward the end of the year.

Several lenders, including Asia Commercial Bank and VIB Bank, said many businesses will have to repay their dollar loans from now until October. As a result, demand for the greenback has started rising recently.

Analysts warned that the higher demand will put pressure on the dollar supply. While exporters do not have to worry much about finding dollars, other companies will have more difficulties with repayment, they said.

Economist Chu Viet Anh from the State Bank of Vietnam said the dong/dollar exchange rate was often tense at the end of the second quarter. When combined with widening trade deficit and increasing inflation, dollar loan repayment will create more pressure on the currency supply this year, he said.

The State Bank of Vietnam last week asked commercial banks to restrict dollar loans, requiring them to report on the amount of foreign money they sell and lend to importers on a weekly basis.

Loans rose 1.86 percent in May alone, during which period dollar loans rose 3.16 percent, according to the central bank. Dollar loans had already expanded 14.07 percent in the first quarter.

The dollar rose 0.41 percent from December in the first six months, up 7.67 compared to the same period last year, the General Statistics Office said.