“Afternoon in My Homeland” was not only an artistic program commemorating the late musician Trinh Cong Son, but also a gathering of kindred spirits who share a deep affinity for his music.

No one has captured the Vietnamese sense of living away from one’s homeland better than poet Nguyen Khoa Diem when he wrote: “They carry the names of their communes and villages on every migration journey.” In the highland city on the Lang Biang Plateau, this sentiment holds true as well. Many people from Hue left their ancestral land to settle here nearly a century ago. Though four or five generations have now been born on this new land, the “Hue spirit” in these distant Hue communities has never faded.

Ask the people of Hue what flower they love most, and most will likely answer: the apricot blossom. To put it more formally, “hoang mai” - yellow apricot, without a doubt. Don’t believe it? Come to Hue and see for yourself! There’s a whole movement called “Yellow apricot blossom in front of the entrance”; a completed research project on “Conservation and development of Hue’s yellow apricot variety (Hue’s Hoang mai)”; a scientific conference on developing Hue’s Hoang mai into a key local product, aimed at successfully realizing the project to build Thua Thien Hue province (now Hue City) into Vietnam’s yellow apricot homeland. My friend, journalist Minh Tu, even published a book called “In front of the house stands a yellow apricot tree”, which sold out instantly, was reprinted, and translated into foreign languages to great acclaim.

Through an introduction from Ms. Samantha Colón of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (Nevada, USA), I was scheduled to meet Jamie Tran, the owner of “The Black Sheep” restaurant, to talk about cuisine and our shared homeland of Hue...

On the morning of January 30, the Coast Guard Region 2 Command, in coordination with the City Party’s Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilization and the city Department of Education and Training, organized the city-level “I Love Homeland’s Seas and Islands” contest for the 2025-2026 academic year.

On the afternoon of January 29th, Hue University of Sciences High School for Gifted Students organized an experiential activity titled “Hue Tuong masks - When art becomes heritage” for students. The program is part of the Local Education curriculum, aiming to help students gain a deeper understanding of local history and culture, thereby fostering love for their homeland and an awareness of the importance of respecting and preserving traditional cultural heritage values.

On the afternoon of January 29, as part of the contest “I Love My Homeland’s Seas and Islands” for the 2025-2026 academic year, the City Party Committee’s Commission for Information and Education and Mass Mobilization, in coordination with the Coast Guard Region 2 Command, organized a working delegation to visit and present Tet gifts to Vietnamese Heroic Mothers in My Thuong, Phu Ho, and Thanh Thuy wards and communes.

The life and patriotic activities of Mr. Phan Boi Chau are a symbol of a shining patriotic spirit, embodying loyalty and steadfast devotion to the country and the homeland.

The melancholic sound of the khen flute drifts through the mist along the mountain slopes, whispering in harmony with the babbling streams and the rhythmic clatter of looms, creating a mystical melody that captivates travelers. The village of A Luoi today bustles with visitors from afar, as the local people have learned to leverage their cultural identity for tourism. Behind these transformations are the tireless footsteps of a Pa Co woman who loves her homeland - That is Ms. Le Thi Them, the former Head of the Culture and Information Department of the former A Luoi District, now the Head of the Party Building Committee of A Luoi 1 Commune.

In the middle of the rice fields of Dien Hoa (now Dien Chau Commune, Nghe An Province) stands a small memorial site. There, the final wish of a father - the poet and musician Nguyen Trong Tao, who spent many years with Hue - has been fulfilled.

After more than a century, 21 paintings by Emperor Ham Nghi have returned to their homeland for the first time in the exhibition "Sky, Mountains, Water - Allusive Panorama", held at Kien Trung Palace, Imperial Citadel, Hue.