From electric boat rides along the Ngu Ha River to ideas for night streets, culinary routes, and community cultural spaces, Phu Xuan Ward is gradually unlocking the potential of a “heritage ward”.

In the depth of Hue culture, gardens are not merely green zones, acting as supporting elements for architecture, but a constituent factor shaping the urban identity. Hue is famous for the Perfume River, Mount Ngu, the Citadel, royal tombs, pagodas, and noble residences, but Hue is also well known for its gardens. In Hue, gardens soften architecture, calm the everyday life, deepen poetry, and create a unique urban style: a garden city, a city of poetry, the harmony between man and nature, or “an urban poem” as said by M’Bow, former Director-General of UNESCO.

“Half of the Vietnamese are in Hue” - a playful remark that has become a vivid expression of the strong appeal of tourism in the land of Huong River and Mount Ngu these days. Crowds are flocking to relic sites, pagodas, royal mausoleums, and eateries during the holidays, making the Ancient Capital more vibrant and lively.

For many years, the development of waterway tourism has been a consistent goal, as the potential of Hue's rivers remained largely untapped. Following the City People's Committee's announcement of the inland waterway route on the Ngu Ha River, along with the pilot launch of heritage-linked tourism routes using electric boats on the Huong River and its tributaries, the local waterway tourism is expected to be unlocked.

Unlike the potted orchid lilies often seen in gardens, the pink trumpet tree is a tall, woody species typically planted along streets. Originating from the Americas, this flower - also known as the pink bell flower - has been widely grown in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. It usually blooms from February to June. When in full blossom, most of its leaves fall away, leaving behind clusters of soft pink and light purple flowers that create a gentle, romantic scene under the sun.

Hue City People’s Committee has officially announced the opening of an inland waterway route on the Ngu Ha river, spanning 3,5 km, set to begin operations on April 10th, 2026. This marks the initial step in a project to introduce electric tourist boats, expected to be launched around April 30th, opening up new prospects for river-based tourism and enabling the exploration of heritage spaces by water.

In 2000, in the short piece entitled “Hue Diary,” written when he returned for the first Hue Festival, musician Trinh Cong Son wrote, “When you have a place to return, or to visit from time to time, you are very fortunate. There, you have a river, a mountain, and you can find again your old friends whose hair used to be black has now turned grey. You might suddenly meet a Hue girl on the street and ask her, ‘Is there anything new in Hue now?’ And immediately, or perhaps by chance, she will recite the two lines from a poem by Bui Giang: “Da thua xu Hue bay gio/ Van con nui Ngu ben bo song Huong” (“Yes, sir, Hue now/ Still has Ngu Mount by the Huong river…”)

On March 3rd, coinciding with the Nguyen Tieu (first Full Moon) Festival of the Year of the Horse 2026, the Department of Agriculture and Environment released nearly 100.000 fish into the Huong River to help restore local aquatic resources. Species included crucian carp, yellow catfish, climbing perch and common carp.

Based on the orientation to develop cultural and tourism spaces along the Nhu Y River, Thuan Hoa Ward is drafting a plan to establish a night street running along the river, with the expectation of creating a new, distinctive night-time tourism product that can effectively connect with the central pedestrian street axis of Pham Ngu Lao - Chu Van An - Vo Thi Sau.

From a pupil who taught himself the bamboo flute, Nguyen Cong Minh, now a fourth-year student at Hue Academy of Music, won a Gold Medal for his solo flute performance of “Remembering the River” at the extended National Music Festival 2025.