These are 6 of 121 Vietnamese culinary dishes that have just been honored by the Vietnam Cuisine Culture Association (VCCA) as typical national dishes in phase I of a project titled "Building and Developing Vietnamese Culinary Culture into a National Brand Name”. All of these 6 dishes, including: Hue beef noodle soup, glutinous rice dumplings stuffed with roasted pork in sweet soup, mussel rice, banh loc (glutinous rice dumplings), vegetarian fig salad, and lotus-leaf-wrapped steamed rice; all are close to the gardens and paddy fields of the land.

Visitors to Hue in the summer season are greeted with the sight of fragrant lotus blossoms adorning Tinh Tam Lake, their white petals fluttering like delicate butterflies in the breeze. The gentle and refreshing fragrance of lotus permeates the surroundings, and a passing encounter with this scene instantly uplifts one's spirits.

In a late summer afternoon, I climbed up the slope in the western hilly area of Hue to visit an artist.

On the evening of June 23, the Hue Lotus Festival 2023, themed "Lotus Beautifies Hue," was officially opened at Tinh Tam Lake in Hue City. The event is directed by the Provincial People's Committee and organized by the Department of Tourism in collaboration with LAATA Vietnam Limited Liability Company, with the participation of Hue Vietnam Organic Company Limited, Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company, and several other businesses from both within and outside the province.

After two previous festivals in 2018 (themed "The Legend of a Flower") and 2022 (themed "Lotus - Essence of Heaven and Earth"), the Hue Lotus Festival 2023 with the theme "Lotus Beautifies Hue" will be held at Tinh Tam Lake for three days, from June 23rd to June 25th.

I happened to come across a Facebook post of a friend currently living in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It read, “seeing seven blooming pink lotus flowers celebrating Vesak on Nhan Co Lake reminds me so much of my hometown - Hue, where Ngu Mountain and the Perfume River reside.”

On the morning of June 12, the Tourism Department informed that Hue Lotus Festival 2023 with the theme “Lotus colorizes Hue” will be held from June 23 to 26 at Tinh Tam Lake.

Of more than 350 artisans from the 69 well-known craft villages across the country participating in Hue Traditional Craft Festival 2023, artisan Phan Thi Thuan and her booth of the Phung Xa weaving village attracts many visitors because of her unique product: silk from lotus fibers.

On the morning of May 23 (5th of the 4th lunar month, of the year of the Cat), the Board of Administration - The Organizing Committee of the Vesak 2567 in Thua Thien Hue Province performed the rite of launching of seven lotus lanterns onto the middle of the Huong River to celebrate the major occasion.

The procession of Uncle’s Ho portrait photo and lotus flowers was held solemnly on the morning of May 17 at Duong No Village (Phu Duong Commune, Hue City) – the place associated with his childhood.