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.

Giving up a stable job in Da Nang City, Tran Huu Tri (born in 1995), from Ka Tu village, Huong Phu commune, Phuc Loc district (now part of Khe Tre commune), decided to return to his hometown to start a business with a farmstay model that combines organic farming and experiential tourism.

In Da Lay commune (Da Teh district, Lam Dong province), the new homeland of the people from Hue today, it is hard to recognize the traces of the hardships from nearly half a century ago. The most recognizable feature in this rural area that carries "Hue far away" is the distinctive Hue accent, the conical hats of the elderly women glistening as they shield their kind smiles, and the lively mornings with loc and nam cakes. We arrived at the Da Lay market in the Central Highlands and felt as if we were back in Hue, enjoying street food and chatting at a corner of Dong Ba or An Cuu markets…

After the country was reunified, the Pioneering Youth force transitioned to a new mission: overcoming the consequences of war and contributing to economic development. In response to the revolutionary call at that time, Binh Tri Thien Province and Hue City established two Pioneering Youth regiments tasked with surveying, building roads, clearing land, and constructing homes to welcome thousands of families from Hue to settle in the southern regions and establish new Hue communities far from home. Among the many resettlement programs, one new homeland for Hue people was founded nearly half a century ago: the Huong Lam New Economic Zone (NEZ), now part of Da Lay Commune, Da Huai District, in the southern part of Lam Dong Province…

As the Tet holiday approaches, many Vietnamese people living far from their homeland still feel the eager atmosphere. Some feel excited when returning to their homeland, while many families enjoy celebrating Vietnamese Tet in foreign lands.

I am a child of Hue, who is studying for the Master's Program of Global Communication and Innovation Technology at National Chengchi University (Taiwan). With love for my homeland, via studying and researching, I am very interested in the contest “Initiatives to reduce plastic waste in Hue City”.