On the occasion of the 51st anniversary of the liberation of Hue (March 26th, 2026), along with Hue Railway Station being officially recognized as a “Tourist Destination” and the “Connecting Heritage Journey” train launching a new look connecting layers of memory and culture, the Hoa Xa coffee shop and claypot rice restaurant was officially introduced to take part and accompany this development.

Today’s travelers are no longer content with “travel for seeing”. Instead, they seek deeper experiences, more authentic connections with the places they visit. Furthermore, they also look for the unique, distinctive identity of each destination. In this context, developing tourism that “touches the authentic essence” is not merely a trend, but an inevitable requirement for enhancing competitiveness.

On April 18, at Secret Affairs Institute - Tam Toa Complex (No. 33, Tong Duy Tan Street, Phu Xuan Ward), Hue Monuments Conservation Center opened the exhibition “Stories from Ancient Manuscripts.” The event responds to Hue Festival 2026 - the Summer Festival themed “The Shining Citadel” and looks ahead to Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day (April 21).

On the morning of March 26, Vietnam Railways (VNR), in coordination with the City People’s Committee, unveiled the new design of the “Connecting Central Heritage Journey” train and announced Hue Railway Station’s recognition as a tourist destination.

Hue is a land once at the heart of the nation’s political power, culture, and scholarship; yet, today’s Hue is not merely looking back to the past. The city is quietly preparing for a major transformation, aiming to become Asia’s leading smart coastal heritage city by 2045.

Hue’s elevation to a centrally-governed municipality from early 2025 has taken place in a special context: the country is undergoing a major administrative restructuring, reducing the number of provinces and cities from 63 to 34. While 52 other localities are expanding through mergers, Hue has chosen a different path - no consolidation, no expansion by aggregation, but an upgrade built on its existing identity and structural foundation.

On the evening of March 3rd (15th day of the first lunar month), at Ngo Mon Square - Hue Imperial Citadel, as part of Hue Festival 2026 and Hue Poetry Day, the Festival Organizing Committee will coordinate with Hue Monuments Conservation Centre to present the “Thi di ngon chi” (poetry is used to express aspiration/ideals) art show to the public.

In Hue, the traditional Lunar New Year “Tet” does not arrive with fanfare. It begins quietly in the kitchen, from a pot of banh tet (a cylindrical sticky rice cake with mung beans and pork) glowing over the fire, from the warm scent of ginger, from a jar of mixed pickled vegetables. Just by looking at these dishes, people in Hue know that Tet is very near.

The city has undergone a process of accumulation and infrastructure investment, transforming its urban landscape. Completed urban infrastructure projects have largely met the requirements for connecting the central urban area with satellite towns, creating momentum for the city’s socio-economic development.

Although hundreds of thousands of pages of Han - Nom documents have been saved, many others in the community are still deteriorating, damaged, or lost for various reasons. Faced with this challenge, Hue City Library is racing against time each day in the hope of collecting and restoring them for digitization, preservation, and value promotion. A piece of good news is that the long-term plan for this work, extending through 2030, has just been approved by Hue City People’s Committee.

Taking place from August 16 to 24 at 15 Le Loi, Hue City, the 28th Northern Central region fine arts exhibition organized by the Vietnam Fine Arts Association in collaboration with the Union of Arts and Culture Associations of Thua Thien Hue is a great and meaningful activity of regional fine arts.