In Vietnam, gastric and colorectal cancers are among the most common cancers. Alarmingly, most patients are diagnosed at a late stage, which leads to poor prognosis and a much lower five-year survival rate compared with cases detected early.

That is the vast green casuarina forest that the people of Thai Duong Thuong village (formerly Hai Duong Commune, now part of Thuan An Ward, Hue City) planted decades ago to shield them from the winds, stop the sand, and protect the village. Amidst the vast sky and land, the casuarina trees grow lush and strong, becoming a sturdy shield, guarding the village from waves and winds, and the harshness of the sea.

On the afternoon of September 24, the University of Arts, Hue University, held the opening ceremony of the 2025 International Fine Arts Exhibition themed “Cultural heritage in contemporary art practice”. The event is part of the 2025 International Workshop and Exhibition program, bringing together artists from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.

In 2005, I was fortunate to meet Dang Van Viet, a revered elder, in Hue, where he had come from Hanoi to join the 60th anniversary of the Frontline Youth School. There, I learned that he was the one who, together with a comrade, raised the red flag with the yellow star over the Phu Van Lau (Phu Van Pavilion) flagpole on August 21, 1945-when the August Revolution had yet to break out, Japanese forces were still armed, and the Nguyen dynasty still stood in the imperial capital of Hue.

“Noi vong tay lon” (The Great Circle of Vietnam), one of the signature songs in the vast musical legacy of the late musician Trinh Cong Son, has been engraved on a stone stele and installed at the park named after him on Trinh Cong Son Street, along the romantic Perfume River. ​

Unique artworks with six-layer cut specimens - a visual metaphor for the heritage reconstruction process - are on display at an exhibition themed “HER-ITAGE - Reconstructing traditional embroidery”, offering viewers a new and interesting experience.

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 a summer day at the end of July 2025, a modest living room in an apartment in a building in Vy Da Ward was filled with laughter and chatter from a group of visitors. That very room is also where Distinguished Artisan Nguyen Dang Hoang - known by the stage name “Hoang Dieu” (Hoang Kite), has, for many years, both crafted his famous kites and welcomed visitors eager to visit, learn, and experience kite-making.

On September 14th, Vietnam Buddhist Academy in Hue inaugurated and opened the Digital Archive and Exhibition Room at its Campus 1 (Hong Duc Pagoda, 109 Minh Mang Street, Thuy Xuan Ward).

On the occasion of the Great Vu Lan (Ullambana) Festival of Filial Piety, the Social Charity Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Hue City recently organized activities to present loving gifts to lonely elderly people and disadvantaged children.