Telling Stories of Lotus Fragrance Through Art

Current and former city leaders attending the program

“Thuc Thuy Show” offers visitors a unique immersive journey, blending performance art, lighting, music, and lotus-inspired cuisine to recreate Hue’s cultural and culinary heritage in a creative and contemporary lens.

According to the organizing committee, “Thuc Thuy Show” is envisioned as a gathering of light, music, and cuisine, as well as a dialogue between tradition and innovation. Here, the fragrance of lotus is narrated through music, touched through taste, and perceived through the subtlest stirrings of the soul.

Built around a captivating live-action performance concept, the show invites audiences to immerse themselves in a contemporary artistic experience, complemented by dazzling sound and lighting effects set against the enchanting backdrop of Bong Lai Islet in Tinh Tam Lake.

Speaking at the program, Vice Chairman of the City People’s Committee Tran Huu Thuy Giang affirmed that Hue is a land where distinctive cultural values converge and flourish, a place where nature, people, and heritage blend harmoniously to create a unique identity.

Within this cultural tapestry, the lotus has long stood as a symbol of purity, elegance, and the refined spirit of Hue’s people. Beyond its presence in the city’s landscapes, architecture, poetry, and cuisine, the lotus is deeply woven into local spiritual life, expressing a philosophy of grace, humanity, and harmony with nature that has long defined the people of Hue.

Under the theme “Ngu Lien Thuc Thuy”, “Hue Lotus Festival 2026” fostered a vibrant cultural space that not only promotes the values of Hue’s iconic flower but also paves the way to refresh tourism products, diversify visitor experiences, and enhance economic value for local communities through lotus-based products and services.

According to the organizers, “Thuc Thuy Show” is carefully conceived and staged to tell the story of the lotus. The narrative begins with the gentle breeze sweeping across the lake, the sounds of insects echoing through the night, and the stillness of the water’s surface. From this tranquil setting unfolds the lotus’s journey, from taking root deep in the earth and sprouting its first shoots, to greeting the dawn, reaching upward, blooming and releasing its fragrance, before its petals eventually fall and the flower fades.

Yet the cycle does not end there. A new lotus season is quietly preserved through the emergence of fresh seeds, embodying a meaningful message: Some things never truly come to an end, just as the water continues to flow in silence, the lotus returns in each summer, and enduring values are preserved and passed down through the years.

The artistic performance is complemented by an elegant lotus-themed banquet. Rather than faithfully recreating traditional dishes, the menu was specially crafted for the “Thuc Thuy Show” as part of “Hue Lotus Festival 2026”, in which, every single dish is a chapter of the lotus’s journey, from its emergence as a tender shoot beneath the mud, to its graceful rise toward the sunlight, its fragrant bloom under the sky, and finally its quiet passing, leaving seeds for the next season to come.

After all, “Thuc Thuy Show” leaves visitors with a heartfelt message: “One day, when you have left this place behind, a road, a corner of the ancient citadel, or a misty afternoon along the Perfume River may fade from memory. Yet we believe that the faint fragrance of lotus carried by the breeze, and the remarkable sense of peace you felt on this evening, will last forever. That is the way the scent of lotus lingers in memory, just as Hue lives not only in its landscapes, but also in the deepest emotions it awakens within each person.”

Together with Hue Today Online, Let’s enjoy a series of photos taken at ‘Thuc Thuy Show’ artistic program: