Within the closing ceremony of the Visit Vietnam Year - Dien Bien 2024 on the evening of December 22, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong and the leaders of Dien Bien Province handed over the flag to Thua Thien Hue Province to host the Visit Vietnam Year 2025.

Though without the vibrant flowers adorning the streets and alleys, nor the sweet confections filling every kitchen, the excitement and national pride on Independence Day remain undiminished in the hearts of every Vietnamese citizen. This sacred and eternal spirit continues to shine through the colours of the flag and the clothes worn in the rhythm of today's life.

The working trip to the Spratly Archipelago lasted 18 days, but for me, the emotions in my heart are forever filled with years, when I "touched" the sacred waves. Tearful, I looked up at the proudly flying National Flag, imprinting the national image on waves, carrying the image of a resilient soldier in the open sea, and bursting into a heroic song: "The Fatherland’s echoes from the sea..."

For Hue Ancient Capital, Ao dai is a unique cultural heritage that has been formed, developed, and existed for over 300 years. In recent years, Thua Thien Hue has launched and promoted the revival of the traditional ao dai (including both male and female versions) in connection with the implementation of “Hue - The capital of Ao dai Vietnam” project. Ao dai has been integrated into daily life, cultural festivals, sports events, and flag-raising ceremonies in offices.

For the first time, more than 100 documents, containing royal seals and autographs, along with many images about the story of the construction of Hue Imperial Citadel, were vividly reenacted through an exhibition held right in the Flag Tower (Ky Dai) area, the Upper Surface of the Citadel rampart, Hue Imperial Citadel.

Dissemination information on border security and maritime sovereignty; providing guidance on communication methods when fishermen encounter difficulties at sea; as well as supporting students in drug prevention; sharing good ways to do business, and giving national Flags to locals, etc., are significant actions that are regularly done by Thua Thien Hue border defense force.

On the afternoon of September 5, Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper coordinated with the Provincial Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union held the inauguration ceremony of the “National Flag Road” on the way to Uncle Ho’s Memorial House in Duong No village, Phu Duong Commune (Hue City).

Ky Dai (The Flag Tower) is one of the cultural symbols of Hue Ancient Capital, an architectural relic of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Going to the tailor shop at Dong Ba market, looking for the person who sewed the national flag in large quantities, I was introduced to Ms. Hanh's tailor shop. It was even more honorable when she was also the one who sewed the flags hung at Ky Dai Hue.

It is rumored that there is a species of fragrant sweet flag growing from underwater on both sides of the Huong River upstream, which makes the river fragrant. I have heard about this fragrant grass associated with the legend about the name of the Huong River, but I have never seen it with my own eyes.

Ky Dai is the symbol of Hue Ancient Capital, where major political and cultural events of the province take place.