Hue strives to join UNESCO Creative Cities Network

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, Director of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies, Hanoi is currently one of the 66 cities in the world that have been recognized as a creative city by UNESCO. The city was awarded the title in the field of Design on October 30, 2019 and it is the first city of Vietnam receiving such title.

After Hanoi joining the network of creative cities in 2019, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism continues to implement a plan to build a Vietnam Creative Cities Network Development Project, and has identified potential cities including Ha Long, Hue, Da Nang, Da Lat, Vung Tau, and Ho Chi Minh City in 2021.

If Hue chooses the culinary field, the process of preparing data for the application in 2025 or 2027 will need a systematic implementation roadmap from now, and the city should gain experience from the Republic of Korea’s Jeonju city, Director of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies affirmed. 

At a symposium held in Hue city in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on September 22, many experts had discussed measures to help the ancient capital achieve a listing in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) thanks to its culinary artistry.

Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Phan Ngoc Tho said that Hue's cuisine had more than half of 3,000 dishes in Vietnam recorded in the Nguyen Dynasty (1802–1945)'s documents. 

Mr. Phan Ngoc Tho once again affirmed that Hue is a land with a long history, converging unique values in the flow of Vietnamese culture through many periods. Hue is proud of what is being preserved and inherited, and is trying to promote the value of that cultural flow in the context that the people of the province are focusing their efforts on building Thua Thien Hue to become a centrally-governed city on the foundation of preserving and promoting Hue's heritage values and cultural identity.

In particular, Hue cuisine has become a brand symbolic of Vietnamese culinary culture. Over the past few years, the city’s authorities have displayed determination and exerted efforts towards the preservation, building and promotion of its quintessential culinary culture, targeting to develop the city into the ‘food capital" of Vietnam.

The process of Hue urban development is oriented towards a heritage city in which the viewpoint of harmonious development, continuity between tradition and modernity, between conservation and development, between the profound atmosphere of Hue Ancient Capital and the innovative vibe is a thorough direction for Hue urban development in all fields.

Choosing a creative urban model is an important direction for Hue to create a harmonious transition in development and is an opportunity to convert heritage values into assets so that people can get rich from what they have and what they are proud to preserve.

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is a flagship city programme of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which highlight culture and creativity as strategic drivers of sustainable urban development. As of 2022, there were almost 300 cities from around 90 countries in the network.