“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous

Thua Thien Hue Province

Location

Located in the North Central of the country, Thua Thien Hue Province is considered the center of the ancient works with the temples, pagodas, palaces and the old life style.
Thua Thien Hue province is bordered with Da Nang City to the south east, with Quang Nam to the south, with Laos to the west and with Quang Tri province to the north.




  • Center city: Hue City.
  • Town and Districts: Huong Thuy Town, Huong Tra Town, Phu Vang District, Quang Dien District, A Luoi District, Nam Dong District, Phong Dien District and Phu Loc District.
  • Tourist places: Hue City.
  • Climate: Thua Thien Hue is in the tropical monsoon climate region. The season in the area is not so distinct. There are the rain time from October to March and the dry time from May to September. It is hot in the dry time and cold in the rain time. Sometimes there are the storms in the rain time. The average temperature is from 25 C degree.  The best time for travelling in Thua Thien Hue Province is from September to November each year.
  • Transportation: Travel conveniently by land, railway and airline to the province and from it to other provinces.

        The distance is for reference as below:
        From Hue Center to Phu Bai Airport: 16km
        From Thua Thien Hue to Ha Noi: 649 km
        From Thua Thien Hue to Ho Chi Minh City: 937 km
        From Thua Thien Hue to Quang Tri:  71 km
        From Thua Thien Hue to Quang Binh:  164 km
        From Thua Thien Hue to Da Nang:  95 km
        From Thua Thien Hue to Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province: 122 km
  • Population: There are Kinh people and some ethnic groups in the province such as  Bru-Van Kieu, Co Tu, Ta Oi and Pa Koh.

Landscapes

  • Thien Mu Pagoda:  The pagoda is located on Ha Khe Hill and far from Hue Center about 5 km to the south west. Thien Mu Pagoda, also known as Linh Mu Pagoda, is one of the most beautiful and ancient architectural structures of worship in Hue. The pagoda was built in 1601.
  • The group of relics in Hue city: recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage sites of the world in 1993. The group of vestiges included relic group inside and outside the imperial city.
  • Nha Nhac: recognized by UNESCO in 2003 as immaterial cultural heritage site of the world. It is included nha nhac (imperial music), mua cung dinh (imperial dancing) and tuong cung dinh (imperial singing).
  • Huong River (Perfume River): called Huong River because the river passes through some forests in which there are perfume plants so the river flows through Hue with the faint aroma of plants. The river is long of 80km. A boat excursion will take guests to visit Minh Mang Tomb, Hon Chen Temple, Thien Mu pagoda and then to Thuan An beach for swimming or  to the pine-trees in Thien Tho. 
  • Ngu Binh Mountain: Ngu Binh Mountain is considered one of the significant symbols of Hue. The imperial city is sometimes called Huong-Ngu City, referring to the beauty of the mountain and the river. Also known by the name Bang Son Mountain, Ngu Binh Mountain is located 3km from Hue. It is 103m high and, seen from a distance Ngu Binh looks like a screen protecting Hue.
  • Trang Tien Bridge: Trang Tien is the subject that Hue people are very proud of. According to history documents, Trang Tien Bridge had renamed many times cause of many reason relating to the history. First named was Thanh Thai, after that Cleùmenceau, then Nguyễn Hoàng, Trường Tiền, and the lasted name has been Tràng Tiền.
  • Dong Ba Market: Located in Tran Hung Dao Street, it is far from Trang Tien about 100m to the north. Dong Ba Market is the biggest commercial centre in Hue. You can find here any Hue popular products to the special things.
  • Tam Giang Lagoon – Cau Hai: It is 52 km2 wide and 24 km long from The O Lau Mouth River to the mouth of Huong River. This lagoon is not only important for economy, making coastline ecosystem equable, but also the attractive and potential tourist area of the province.
  • Canh Duong Beach: it is far from Hue 60km to the south west. It is about 8km long with the arc form which cover by Mui Chan May and the seaport Tu Hien. So with the beautiful scenery, the white sand beach sloped gently to the sea, out of the wind. Canh Duong beach is considered one of the best beaches in Hue.
  • Lang Co Beach: It is 80 km from the centre of Hue. Lang Co Beach stretches 10 km along National Highway 1A, near Hai Van Pass and Bach Ma National Park.  Lang Co is a nice white sandy beach, a pleasant place for vacation to enjoy the sea and the sun.
  • Bach Ma National Park: Bach Ma National Park is approximately 50 km far from the centre of Hue, with a temperate climate much like Da Lat, Sapa and Tam Dao. However, it is located close to the sea, so the temperature in winter never goes below 40C and the highest temperature in summer never exceeds 260C. Given these advantages, the French transformed Bach Ma into a summer resort in the early 1930s. The area comprises 139 villas and auxiliary buildings such as the post office, bank, tennis court…Unfortunately, the war and lack of maintenance have significantly affected these constructions. Still, the beautiful National Park houses 124 wildlife species, including tigers and monkeys. It is also home to more than 330 species of birds. More than 1,150 species of plants have also been identified.

And there are many other impressive destinations in the province for tourists to explore.

Festivals:

  • Hon Chen Temple Festival: includes festival in February (Spring Festival) and in July (Autumn Festival). The festivals happen to honor Thien Y A Na Thanh Mau. It takes places in Ngoc Tran Mountain and Communal House in Hai Cat Village, Huong Tra district. This is one of the folk festivals in Hue to express the spiritual religion in Hue.
  • Gia Lac Spring Country Fair: ( 1st to 3rd of the New Year’s Festival) This country fair, located in Nam Pho Village, was first created during Minh Mang’s reign ( 1820-1840) to trade and exchange goods and to entertain the inhabitants. People from the whole region came to buy and sell products and to take part in the entertainment During the fair, people play bai choi, bai ghe, hat gia gao ( song while pounding rice), and bai thai games.
  • Sinh Village Wrestling Festival: (10th day of the 1st lunar month) Sinh Village is situated on the southern bank of Huong River in Huong Phu District. Wrestlers from every school of martial art from Hue and other surrounding districts flock to compete in the wrestling competitions, which belong to an ancestral tradition.
  •  Canoe Competition:  Held at the beginning of spring, the canoe competition has its origin in the “praying for rain” ceremonies of the ancient time when the population heavily relied on agriculture. There is a canoe competition that annually organized on the Perfume River to express the talent and skill of the local inhabitants who live on the rivers and the sea of Thua Thien Hue. The rites of the ceremony (cult, kowtowing) are very solemn.

And there are many other unique festivals in the province.

Local specialties

There are different local specialties in the province such as com hen (cooked rice mix mussels), bun bo gio heo ( local noodles and beef and pig’s feet), banh beo (dirt cakes), banh khoai (same with « banh xeo » in the south of Viet Nam), local sweet soups, ginger jams, royal cuisine and other typical specialties.