There are people who work their entire lives quietly, yet their footprints remain deeply imprinted on the lands they have passed through, like an underground stream that silently nourishes an entire forest. Associate Professor Dr. Le Van Thang, Vice President of Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment, former Director of the Institute of Resources and Environment at Hue University, and former Dean of the Faculty of Environment at the University of Sciences, Hue University, is one such person.

No one has captured the Vietnamese sense of living away from one’s homeland better than poet Nguyen Khoa Diem when he wrote: “They carry the names of their communes and villages on every migration journey.” In the highland city on the Lang Biang Plateau, this sentiment holds true as well. Many people from Hue left their ancestral land to settle here nearly a century ago. Though four or five generations have now been born on this new land, the “Hue spirit” in these distant Hue communities has never faded.

Once being the Imperial Capital under the Nguyen Dynasty, Hue has undergone many historical phases, and today the city is regarded as one of Vietnam’s few cities where multiple architectural traditions coexist. It brings together folk, royal, colonial, and modern styles, developing in a way that balances the architecture, landscape, and culture, forming a distinctive urban identity.

Hue culture with its typical characteristics of the land is portrayed through many unique cultural values such as cuisine, clothing, garden house architecture, education, music, theater, language, and poetry. These values have become great potential for Hue to become an important tourist center of Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19, 1945 - August 19, 2025) and the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2025), as well as the celebration of the 17th Party Congress of Hue City, term 2025 – 2030, on the morning of August 19, Hue City People’s Committee held a groundbreaking ceremony for 4 technical infrastructure projects for relocation areas and cemeteries to support land clearance for the high-speed rail project along the North-South route passing through Hue City.

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.

Hue Ancient Capital is a paradise for vegetarian cuisine. On the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, even restaurants that usually serve meat often switch entirely to vegetarian dishes. This is hardly surprising, given that Hue is one of Vietnam’s major Buddhist centers, a land steeped in spiritual traditions, where eating vegetarian food has become a beautiful cultural feature.

Dozens of displaying booths promoting the culture and tourism of provinces and cities across the country gathered in Hue to participate in the exhibition themed “Space for Tourism, Cultural Heritage, Landmarks, and Traditional Handicraft Products of Vietnam”.

The collection of essays and notes, “A Yellow Apricot tree in front of the house: Notes on Hue - The elegant land of moss” (Vietnam Women’s Publishing House), was introduced by its author, Minh Tu, journalist, to book lovers at Hanoi’s Book Street (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi).

During the days of changing seasons to autumn, students from the land of cherry blossoms had the opportunity to set foot in Hue. Here, they had interesting cultural experiences in the ancient capital with Vietnamese friends.