In 2020, when male officials and civil servants of the Department of Culture and Sports wore ao dai during working days and the weekly flag-raising ceremony, it immediately sparked controversy online. Then, it was not just the cultural sector, at important events, the provincial leaders (now Hue City) and intellectuals also began wearing ao dai. The appearance of the traditional ao dai for both men and women at cultural and educational events made the ceremonies more solemn, elegant, and impressive.

A friend of mine just came from the Southeastern region to visit Hue. After a day visiting various destinations, from the Imperial Citadel to the tombs of Emperors Gia Long and Minh Mang, then heading to the Van Thanh - Vo Thanh temples and Thien Mu Pagoda, my friend warmly remarked: “In Hue, wherever you go, you can see the Huong River. Now I understand why people here are so gentle and friendly. In this scene, by this river, it’s hard even to get upset!”.

When I was still very young, candies weren’t as diverse as they are now. We only had traditional local sweets, like areca-nut candy, ginger candy, glass candy, peanut candy, bird’s egg candy, and pulled sugar candy… Back then, my grandmother would often come back from the market with a small packet of areca-nut candy, which had a simple label with a picture of Hue landscape.