Resolution No. 10-NQ/TU, dated October 12, 2026, issued by the Standing Board of the Hue City Party Committee on the development of Chan May - Lang Co urban area through 2030, with a vision to 2045, sets out a strategic direction: establishing a southern growth pole, expanding the city’s development space, and strengthening regional connectivity. For Hue, this is a step toward turning its locational advantages, natural resources, and scenic landscapes into development capacity, while fostering complementarity between the heritage city and the coastal urban area.

The train trip connecting Hue and Da Nang has been ranked 10th on Condé Nast Traveler (US edition)’s list of top 20 best train trips in the world for 2026, as voted for by readers. The recognition highlights the appeal of Central Vietnam’s natural landscapes, cultural heritage, and railway tourism experiences.

On the afternoon of 30/9, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of Hue City People's Committee Le Tri Thanh led a survey of several heritage sites and cultural spaces to assess their current conditions and study ways to promote their historical, architectural and landscape values.

As Hue City advances its development as a centrally governed heritage city, the need to fully identify and recognize the city's cultural, historical, landscape, and human values has become increasingly urgent.

Alongside the Hue heritage complex, the French architectural works that remain today are seen as part of the soul of Hue’s urban landscape. Through the lens of sketching, these structures appear to take on a new look and a different kind of “life” in the eyes of artists and architects.

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.

The year 2026 opens the 2026–2030 period, marked by increasingly fierce competition to attract resources, talent, and visitors, while Hue cannot pursue rapid urbanization or heavy industry. Hue’s path must be its own: taking heritage, culture, landscape, and ways of life as deep, distinctive, and sustainable advantages; taking creativity and experience as driving forces; and placing the people of Hue at the center of all development policies.

In the journey to brand itself as “Hue - a heritage city, a green, attractive, and high - end destination” on the global tourism map, Hue is boosting its promotional efforts, particularly by spreading the beauty of its landscapes, culture, and people through international media channels.

Through an interdisciplinary approach involving cultural anthropology, sociology, linguistics, and heritage studies, the project “Core elements that create Hue’s identity, a distinctive land in Vietnamese culture - once the Imperial Capital, a center of culture - religion - arts, and a symbol of deep-rooted traditions” seeks to clarify the role and value of Hue’s identity within the broader national culture. At the same time, it suggests directions for sustainable preservation and promotion in the context of modernization and globalization.

Slow travel is emerging as a popular trend among many tourists. With its rich natural landscape, deep cultural and heritage roots, traditional way of life, and the unique warmth of its people, Hue holds many advantages for developing this form of tourism. However, to truly develop slow travel, Hue still has much work to do.