The life and people of Hue are the boundless treasure for tourists to explore
Familiar and full of love
That was the feelings of Nhat Nam (23 years old, from Hai Phong), a travel blogger well known for his experiences in exploring famous places in the country, with an impressive number of followers. During last Tet holiday, Nhat Nam came to Hue on a 4 day-3 night trip to discover the ancient beauty of the Imperial Citadel.
The reason behind his claim that the most beautiful thing about Hue is its people is that during his days in Hue, the young man rented a motorbike to explore the Imperial Citadel. Due to a broken fuel indicator, he was unable to notice and ran out of gas in front of Hue University of Education.
It was already midnight, and as he was walking his bike, a woman in her 40s came to him and offered to help him buy gas. The blogger had forgotten his wallet at the hotel and only had 50,000 VND in his pocket. Still, he gave his money to the female stranger to buy gas for him.
Roughly 10 minutes later, the woman came back with a liter of gas and a change of 20,000 VND. She said that the liter of petrol was only 27,000 and another 3,000 for the bottle. She then gave the change back to the guy.
He asked her to keep the change as a gift for helping him, but she firmly refused: “No! I’d rather you give it to someone else. There are other people out there who need it more than I do". And thus, he used that money to support a living statue artist on Nguyen Dinh Chieu pedestrian street.
In another clip, not long after the incident, he came to visit an incense shop in Thuy Xuan Incense Village. Upon seeing a customer, the shop owner enthusiastically introduced her wares, asked the customer to take photos, and even took out a conical hat and said, "Don’t worry about having to buy something. I’ll lend you my hat, and you can use it to take photos."
According to the blogger from Hai Phong, in his conversation with the shop owner, he was surprised to hear her story about the fate that brought her and pediatric cancer patients together.
She was already over 70 years old. One time, while visiting a friend who had cancer in the hospital, she met a patient diagnosed with corneal cancer. As her heart sank at the sight of a precious baby contracting such a serious illness at the tender age of 5, she gave all her 100,000 VND to him.
It was from that fateful meeting that she continued to put aside money from selling wares and bring snacks to the hospital every month for the children. Rain or shine, even when the pandemic stops people from coming to the village, her shop is still open so she can help those less fortunate. Due to the unstable income, her amount of money to help the children each month is not much, but it is all of her heart.
Nhat Nam shared: “The people here are still struggling, yet they always radiate positive energy, warmth, and love. Hue makes me feel at home, so dear and safe."
Family culture and hospitality are unique features in Phuoc Tich ancient village.
Great value for tourism
Research documents indicate that there is no other land or locality in the country and the whole region owning the uniqueness as that of Hue. Hue culture is really different, people live in harmony, closeness and affection. It is seen that the people of Hue are distinct in their characteristics due to being raised from the land and traditional culture that deeply ingrained in each generation.
Mr. Vu Hoai Phuong, Principal of the Hue Tourism College, analyzed that development will not avoid interference. A land of sustainable development must have its own character and personality, and the “soul of Hue" needs to be promoted and be a strength for other fields to rely on.
As Hue was oriented to become a city directly under the management of Central Government based on the core value of its culture, it is necessary to strengthen education work to imbue generations of Hue people with the good values of their culture. When the love for their land blossoms within their hearts, the younger generations will be proud of and will continue to preserve the “soul of Hue” and personality of Hue. And with cultural values “flowing” in their blood, the Hue people's personality will endure.
Mr. Hoang Van Khanh, Director of Vietravel Hue Branch, said that it is not an exaggeration to claim that Hue people are themselves an attractive tourist product. Culture is the strength of Hue tourism, and the people of Hue are its core. Therefore, tours to experience and explore the lives of indigenous people are always loved by tourists when coming to Hue, especially international visitors. Those values need to be enhanced and linked together to form a "strip" of specialized tour routes.
According to the leader of the Department of Tourism, over the past time, the promotion of the image of people, customs, and festivals has been carried out with great frequency. Hereafter, the industry will prioritize promoting this aspect even more, and at the same time, organize seminars, surveys, orientations, and coordinate with businesses to build suitable tours.
Story and photos: Duc Quang