On September 16th, Hue City Transportation Construction Investment Project Management Board reported that it had submitted a proposal to Hue City People’s Committee for approval of the investment policy for building the new Vinh Tu bridge across Tam Giang lagoon, connecting Quang Dien commune with Phong Quang ward. The project’s total investment is estimated at over 1.500 billion VND.

On the late afternoon of August 28, at Ly Tu Trong Park (Thuan Hoa Ward), Hue City People's Committee, in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), held the inauguration ceremony for the Smart street component of the “Developing Hue into a smart cultural and tourism city” project.

Under the majestic roof of the Guol, amidst the resonant gongs of the festive season, the Co Tu people of Doi Village are steadily awakening the potential of community-based tourism. They are creating livelihoods right on their homeland while preserving and sharing the traditional cultural values of their village.

To Co Tu people, the new rice welcoming festival plays a very important role in their cultural and religious life, highlighting their ethnic cultural characteristics, their knowledge and their outlook of life and the world. That is the conclusion by experts in the process of preparing the dossier for recognition of the new rice welcoming festival of the Co Tu people in Nam Dong, Phu Loc, Hue as national intangible cultural heritage.

In the festive atmosphere of the “Colors of Spring in the Highlands” celebration in A Luoi, amidst the “tung tung da da” dances and echoing gong sounds, I was fortunate to witness a special ritual of the Co Tu people - the An Ninh Pa Nua festival. This is one of their ancient traditional ceremonies, expressing the sacred feelings of the bride’s family toward the groom’s family after many years of being in-laws.

Culinary culture not simply is about food but also contains stories about the vibrant life of indigenous people. In the vast Truong Son mountains, the dishes of Ta Oi, Pa Co, Co Tu ethnic groups are rich with the flavors of the forest from available natural ingredients, combined with age-old secrets, creating unique values found nowhere else.

"I want each of my works not only to be beautiful but also to tell a story about Co Tu people, their life, their beliefs and their traditional values left behind by their ancestors,” said Pham Van Ve, a 26-year-old man with a passion for portraying his ethnic identity through wood carving.

Amid Truong Son mountains and forests, sounds of gongs have long been blending into Co Tu people’s life, becoming an indispensable cultural feature and a sacred symbol in the spiritual life of the people.

Every year, after the harvest and when people's lives are stable, the Co Tu ethnic group in A Luoi district joyfully prepares for the Tac Ka Coong festival, a sacred and special traditional festival. This is not only an occasion for the Co Tu people to express gratitude to nature and the gods but also an opportunity for the community to unite and affirm their cultural identity.

On holidays, weekends, or whenever they have free time, young people have a habit of searching for new “locations” to enrich their “virtual living” photo collections. Instead of spending time looking for far away places, recently, many young people have turned to check in at dining, entertainment, and shopping destinations right in the city.