Beyond a mode of transportation, the heritage train has evolved into a space where travelers can not only admire the scenery but also experience the region’s historical and cultural richness. Through the Hue - Danang journey, rail tourism is carving out a new path, where each trip does more than connect destinations; it creates experiences that leave lasting emotional impressions.

Hue is a land that bears the imprint of the southward migration and territorial expansion undertaken more than 700 years ago by the people of ancient Thuan Hoa. Very few documents reveal the timing of these migration waves or the organization and formation of Vietnamese villages in the region. Yet during fieldwork, I gained access to several ancient Han-Nom documents recording the migration, land reclamation, and establishment of villages and communes. Most notably is a cadastral record dating to the 9th year of the Dai Hoa reign (1451) under King Le Nhan Tong, compiled exactly 575 years ago.

On May 14th in Hue, the Journalism Professional Training Center under the Vietnam Journalists Association, in coordination with the city’s Journalists Association, organized a specialized training course titled “Applying Artificial Intelligence and Automation in Multimedia Content Production” for more than 40 reporters, editors, and communications officers. Attending the event was Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Nam, journalist, Chairwoman of the city’s Journalists Association and Deputy Director of Hue Newspaper and Radio-Television Station.

More than 3 years after the passing of folk artisan Cong Ton Nu Tri Hue, the one who kept the secret techniques of making royal armrest pillows of the Nguyen Dynasty, also known as the “trai dua” (armrest pillow-blocks), an exhibition dedicated to her titled “Wholeheartedly, with devotion” has been organized by young people.

While Hue Festival was previously held biennially, creating impressive “peak” moments yet remaining largely seasonal, with the model of a four-season Festival, Hue has now chosen a more sustainable direction: Turning culture and heritage into an ever-present rhythm within the city’s daily life.

Nearly 200 high school students took part in an “outdoor lesson” right within a heritage space, where historical knowledge was accessed through games, challenges, and hands-on experience, making it more vivid and easier to remember.

“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.

More than half a century since the homeland’s liberation (March 26, 1975 – March 26, 2026), Hue’s urban landscape has undergone significant transformation, marked by newly widened roads, bridges spanning rivers and lagoons, modern urban zones, and an increasingly synchronized technical infrastructure system.

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.

More than 16,000 martyrs’ graves in cemeteries across the city remain largely unidentified. The journey of surveying, collecting biological samples, and conducting DNA testing is not only a political mission, but also an effort to restore names to those who sacrificed their lives for the Fatherland, so that their families no longer have to wait in vain.