On the Lantern Festival (the Full Moon of the First Lunar Month) more than 15 years ago, the most “pure Hue native” friend I know, architect Nguyen Trong Huan, and I put on thin raincoats and walked together through the light, drifting drizzle to search for Hue’s culinary specialties. Having lived in this city for many years, Huan still longed for the flavors he once tasted.

After more than 10 days of activities, Hue Spring Festival of the year of the Horse 2026, themed “Identity and Integration” organized by the People’s Committee of Hue City, officially concluded on the afternoon of February 21 (the 5th day of the Lunar January) at Ly Tu Trong Park (Le Loi Street, Thuan Hoa Ward).

According to the information released by the Department of Tourism on February 22, during the 9-day Binh Ngo Lunar New Year holiday, the number of visitors to Hue increased sharply year-on-year. Especially, tourism revenue witnessed an increase of 350% compared to the previous year.

Since 2017, Ms. Nguyen Thi Dieu Hanh, Head of the Biology Department at Quoc Hoc - Hue High School for the Gifted, has been tirelessly seeking “seeds”, nurturing and guiding generations of students onto the International Biology Olympiad arena, contributing to the prestige of the century-old school.

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.

From pristine tea leaves rich in aroma at the foot of Bach Ma Mountain, combined with modern technology and advanced techniques, HUESTEA fresh tea extract has carefully distilled the essence of local tea to create a distinctive product that preserves the rustic flavor of Hue.

Loving heritage culture and having traveled through many regions rich in history, Dang Duy Khoa (born 2002) from the distant Mekong Delta has truly been captivated by Hue. He then decided he had to do something for Hue through his own passion and the architectural knowledge he is pursuing.

On the afternoon of February 19, at Keiser University (28 Nguyen Tri Phuong), a non-profit community event themed “Spring Awakening of Dreams: The Journey of Hue people to the World's Top 1% Universities” took place in a warm and inspiring atmosphere. The program gathered notable figures from Hue, who conquered the world's top prestigious universities, returning to engage in direct dialogue with the younger generation in their hometown.

Associate Professor Hoang Anh Tien, PhD., MD., (46 years old), Director of the Cardiovascular Center and Head of the Department of Internal Cardiology at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, has officially been awarded the title of the youngest professor in the medical field in 2025. For Professor Tien, being recognized as one of the youngest professors in medicine this year is a great honor; at the same time, this carries an even greater responsibility, as this milestone reminds him to continually maintain passion and dedication across all aspects of his work.

From a modest family yard to a Hue yellow apricot garden spanning thousands of square meters, the journey of Mr. Nguyen Phi Truong (Quang Dien), a 9X businessman, is not only a successful youth startup story but also a testament to the momentum of modern agricultural thinking in the digital era.