In the days leading up to the Tet holiday, as the breath of spring gently weaves through every street, Dong Ba market becomes bustling and radiant. Beyond its role as the city’s largest commercial hub, this century-old market has become a familiar destination for residents and visitors to pose for commemorative photos, capturing spring moments imbued with the distinctive character of Hue.

While the morning mist still lingers over the streets, Hue’s flower market is already awake before dawn. At the market along Ngo Kha Street in Phu Xuan Ward, near the wholesale market, warm yellow lights spill over bundles of flowers still in bud. The sharp revving of motorbikes, vendors calling out to one another, and brisk bargaining create a unique rhythm of the final days of the lunar year.

On the afternoon of February 10, Hue Spring Festival in the Year of the Horse 2026, themed “Identity and Integration”, officially opened at Ly Tu Trong Park along the bank of the Huong River on Le Loi Street, Thuan Hoa Ward. The event is organized by Hue City People's Committee.

In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year of the Horse, when streets are awash in the golden hues of apricot blossoms, young people once again eagerly enter the season of photo hunting. From the Imperial Citadel, ancient pagodas, and Dong Ba Market to cafes decorated in spring colors, every street corner and every space become a backdrop for capturing beautiful moments. Tet photos not only mark the transition between the old year and the new, but also reflect the vibrant, youthful rhythm of life in the heart of the Ancient Capital.

At a small workshop on Chi Lang Street, artisan Do Huu Triet is experimenting with new applications of Phap lam. A brass violin stands out as his boldest creation, reflecting his aspiration to bring traditional materials into innovative and unconventional forms.

On the evening of February 6, at the area in front of the Imperial Academy, Ham Nghi Square, and along 23 Thang 8 (August 23) Street in Phu Xuan Ward, Phu Xuan Ward People’s Committee held the opening ceremony of the “Phu Xuan Tet - Colors and Flavors of the Ancient Capital” program, attracting a large number of residents and visitors.

As “blackened teeth” have faded from daily life, the craft of making tooth-blackening powder, once closely tied to that custom, has also gradually faded away… In Hue, Mr. Dinh Bao An (63 years old, residing on Chi Lang Street) and his wife are the last keepers of the family formula for this powder, a fragment of the memories of Hue smiles in the past.

According to Hue City Department of Culture and Sports, Huyen Tran Temple Festival for the Spring of Binh Ngo 2026, themed “Honoring the Ancestors - Sacred Imprints of Territorial Expansion”, will be held on the 8th and 9th days of the first lunar month of the Year of the Horse (corresponding to February 24-25, 2026) at Huyen Tran Cultural Center (151 Thien Thai Street, An Cuu Ward, Hue City).

On the morning of February 5, at the Secret Affairs Institute - Tam Toa Complex (No. 33 Tong Duy Tan Street, Phu Xuan Ward), Hue Monuments Conservation Center officially opened a thematic exhibition titled “Horses and the Long Ma in Nguyen Dynasty Royal Culture” (Long Ma: dragon-horse), offering the public a culturally rich and profound exhibition space in the early days of Lunar New Year.

On the morning of February 1, at the space located at 23-25 Le Loi Street, Thuan Hoa Ward, Thuan Hoa Ward Public Service Center, in coordination with Hue Book and Culture Club, organized the “Thuan Hoa - Binh Ngo 2026” Festival under the theme “Dung dang dung de - Welcoming Spring in Joy and Good Health”.