Hue Festival 2023 has been officially announced. Accordingly, there will be more than 50 main programs and festivals, along with nearly 100 side activities, taking place continuously throughout the year according to the four seasons orientation, including "Spring in the Ancient Capital", "The Imperial Citadel shines" in the summer, "Hue in the autumn", and "The Winter of Hue". The Spring Festival takes place from January to March, with unique royal festivals, traditional festivals, and folk festivals, as implemented in 2022. In particular, the national-scale Yellow Apricot Festival will be held in the ancient capital of Hue for the first time.
Hue yellow apricot (Hoang mai i.e., Ochna integerrima) is a famous flowering tree, and has become popular in normal life. At many houses, yellow apricot trees are planted in front of the house entrance, adorning and beautifying the garden space and home space. When the flowers bloom, it is a reminder to stay true to one’s character and virtue in daily life, like the meaning of this flower with many Eastern philosophical meanings.
When talking about the Spring in Hue, people will think of the yellow apricot trees, as they become deeply rooted in the people’s hearts.
According to Hue Festival Center, the 1st Hue Yellow Apricot Festival 2023 will take place from January 9 to 19, 2023 (from the 18th to the 28th days of the 12th lunar month) at Thuong Bac Park. The festival aims to honor, promote and spread the cultural and artistic values of Hue people in the ancient capital, and the brand name of Hue yellow apricots during the New Year and Spring holidays.
This festival also aims to raise the position of the yellow apricots in the traditional Tet holiday of Vietnamese people; restore the tradition of planting yellow apricot trees, and the hobby of keeping decorative yellow apricot trees of the people, thereby making the campaign of "Yellow apricot blossom at the front entrance" a key campaign associated with the project of "Hue – a city of four seasons of flowers", while creating a highlight on traditional humanistic ecological landscape of the ancient capital.
Visitors to Hue are impressed by the yellow apricot blossoms
Furthermore, the festival seeks to promote the image of Hue yellow apricots, aiming to turn Hue into Vietnam’s land of yellow apricots; as well as preserving and developing Hue yellow apricot varieties; establishing seedling production facilities of Hue yellow apricots, meeting the local demand for planting yellow apricot trees, towards commercializing the trees to domestic and foreign markets. Besides, the festival also creates a meaningful playground for experts, artisans, and lovers of the art of planting yellow apricot trees, with the opportunity to exchange and learn experiences on methods of planting, caring for the yellow apricot trees, as well as their feelings for the trees via a contest and an exhibition, creating a premise for the annual Yellow Apricot Festival in the following years with local traditions.
The Festival Organizing Committee has informed that there will be many interesting and unique activities in the Yellow Apricot Festival. Its highlights will be a contest of beautiful and valuable yellow apricot trees; the exhibition and display space; the exchanging space; and the auction space, etc. The festival will bring together many artisans, organizations, and gardeners, who are members of Hue Yellow Apricot Association in Thua Thien Hue Province, and from other provinces and cities that have strong movements with unique yellow apricot trees.
According to Hue Festival Center, the yellow apricot trees brought to this festival are the most quintessential and unique ones by the artisans. They will have the opportunity to meet, exchange experiences, and promote their trees; they can also purchase, sell and exchange their trees.
Coming to the festival, yellow apricot lovers will also have a chance to watch leading artisans showing their skills, exchanging experiences, and introducing to the public new and innovative methods in the art of caring for and shaping the yellow apricot trees. At the same time, the artisans also had the opportunity to meet and exchange experiences in the technique of planting the yellow apricot trees.
Mr. Huynh Tien Dat, Director of Hue Festival Center shared that Hue Festival 2023 would continue to show the spirit of innovation, diversifying the types of festivals, towards the participation of the community. At the same time, the province will strengthen the socialization of the organization of festivals within Hue Festival, linking festival activities with tourism products, contributing to the introducing of the cultural quintessence of Hue as well as promoting a friendly and safe destination. In particular, there is the upcoming Yellow Apricot Festival, which will be held for the first time on a national scale; thereby, creating a driving force to build Thua Thien Hue into a centrally-governed city on the basis of preserving and promoting the values of the ancient capital heritage and Hue cultural identity.