In 2023, the working delegations led by Ho Chi Minh City leaders paid visits to many countries to promote economic diplomacy, lure investment to the city and learn from development experiences and exemplary models in socio-economic fields.

Vietnamese students are visiting other nations and industriously gaining new knowledge while still maintaining their distinctive traditional values.

The capital city of Hanoi won the “Asia's Best Emerging Culinary City 2023” title at the World Culinary Awards 2023 last October, demonstrating the attraction of Vietnamese cuisine to international tourists.

Despite facing global headwinds, HCMC, which was hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021-2022, secured high growth in 2023, creating an essential prerequisite for the city to move ahead in 2024 and beyond.

The Ministry of Public Security has proposed a new identity card model in a new draft circular to replace the current citizen identity card, for public opinions.

A new spring in the Year of the Dragon has arrived, creating fresh hope of turning Vietnam into a dragon thanks to forward-thinking policies to be introduced and absolute trust people place in the clear-sighted leadership of the Communist Party.

Many communities hold festivals to ensure that their traditional identity is preserved with thoughtful preparation.

Although the section of the Red River that flows through Hanoi is relatively short compared to its overall length, it plays a significant role in shaping the city's distinctive cultural and landscape features.

Tet, or Lunar New Year, remains the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture, despite changes over time.

Young theatre actress Nguyễn Quỳnh Như is travelling around her homeland, Bạc Liêu Province, to offer cải lương (reformed opera) concerts for many villagers during the Lunar New Year or Tết holiday.

With the current export prices standing at $2,955 per tonne, reflecting a 35.2 per cent uptick from the previous year, Vietnamese coffee export companies were said to have secured substantial orders in the first quarter of 2024.

Investing in high-tech projects that utilise clean raw materials and reduce carbon emissions into the environment is the current global trend.

A surge in domestic coffee prices was attributed to the fact that traders actively purchased coffee before the Lunar New Year (Tết) holiday while exporters were afraid of supply shortages like last year so they tended to buy more.

Digital class model piloted in HCMC to ease teacher shortage

The ancient podocarp, or xich tung in Vietnamese, (Dacrydium elatum) in Yen Tu forest is no longer being threatened with extinction because there is a "sponsor" who has successfully propagated it.

Encouraging results were gained last year after Hanoi Mayor Tran Sy Thanh committed to revive the parks in the city.

After enduring a difficult year, Vietnamese men’s football looks set to bounce back at the many tournaments being held over the next 12 months, with fans hopeful it was all worth the wait.

Vietnam now has to import thousands of spare parts and components for domestic production, worth tens of thousands of billions of dollars each year. Annual automobile part imports alone are valued at $50-60 billion.

"Vietnam’s Tet is festive. From every corner of the city emanates the Tet ambience, streets bustling with shoppers and markets teeming with flowers,” says Du Phong, a Chinese man who has been residing in the nation for 22 years.

Along with apricots, peach blossoms, and kumquats, all of which are popular bonsai trees for Tet decorations, gardeners in Ho Chi Minh City are offering customers multicolour bougainvilleas at a price of up to hundreds of millions of VND.