With over 120 kilometers of coastline and a vast lagoon system bestowed by nature, Hue is home to numerous attractive seafood markets, including Phu Hau Market and Ngu My Thanh Floating Market, and Vinh Hien Market… In this issue of Hue Today Weekly, we would like to take readers to the fish market of Thuan An through a series of photos taken by Duc Quang, a reporter, offering a glimpse into the vibrant daily life of a coastal fishing community.

At the end of the academic year, when flamboyant trees begin to burst into fiery red blossoms, yearbook photography services also enter their busiest season, allowing students preserve their school memories.

While Hue Festival was previously held biennially, creating impressive “peak” moments yet remaining largely seasonal, with the model of a four-season Festival, Hue has now chosen a more sustainable direction: Turning culture and heritage into an ever-present rhythm within the city’s daily life.

It is the season of late spring transitioning into early summer, when cicadas begin their rhythmic chorus amidst the leafy canopies. During this season, from late March to early April, Hue still carries a slight chill in late night and early morning, offering many cool parts throughout the day. This is an ideal condition for visitors from near and far to experience the natural scenery, historical relics, scenic spots, and the daily life of this ancient capital.

Within the cultural complex of Hue, if the system of palaces and royal tombs defines the face of an Imperial capital, the villages along the lagoon and coastline preserve the depth of community life. There, heritage does not lie dormant in the past but lives on in every festival season, every daily custom, and every belief tied to the natural environment. The Cau Ngu Festival of Thai Duong village, held once every three years in January at the Thuan An seaport, is precisely such a heritage - a vibrant cultural practice where community memory, maritime knowledge, and the will to survive have woven together into an enduring whole across hundreds of years.

In Greek mythology, the supreme god Zeus transformed himself into a bull to seduce the beautiful princess Europa. When she mounted his back, the bull carried her across the sea to the island of Crete, where she gave birth to great kings, seen as an allegory for the birth of European civilization. The continent of Europe was therefore named after her – Europa, later known by the common name Europe.

A quick lunch when the afternoon has already faded into evening, and a dinner late at night, despite the hard work, orchid arrangers during Tet season remain cheerful and excited, because the job is not only a way to earn a living, but also a way to satisfy their passion.

At the heart of the Imperial City of Hue, the 180-year-old Co Mat Vien (Supreme council for military and major state affairs of the Nguyen Dynasty) is gradually being revitalized in a new guise. Formerly the seat of the highest decisions of the Nguyen Dynasty, the space is being shaped into a center for creativity, education, and heritage experiences for the community.

For over two decades devoted to mother-of-pearl inlay work, Phan Tan Dat, born 1992, has transformed seashells into shimmering masterpieces on horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, guarding screens... preserving the complete ancient soul of Hue.

The lotus is one of the beautiful symbols of serenity, peace, and tranquility. In Hue, the lotus blooming season usually begins in May and June, when the weather changes into hot and sultry days. This time also coincides with April of the Lunar year, the time marked with the significant event of the Grand Buddhism Celebration (Vesak).