The “Chinese Spring & Vietnamese Tet” program provided a welcoming environment for IUH and Taiwanese students to experience the languages, customs, and spring traditions of both Vietnamese and Chinese cultures.
On January 29, 2026, as Tet approached, the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH) hosted the “Chinese Spring & Vietnamese Tet” cultural exchange. The event brought together Chinese Language majors from IUH’s Faculty of Foreign Languages and students from the National University of Kaohsiung, Taiwan (NUK).
 

IUH and NUK students at the “Chinese Spring & Vietnamese Tet” program
 

The exchange offered practical opportunities for students to use Chinese and share their customs, cuisine, and cultural identities. IUH students presented the áo dài, traditional dishes, and the vibrant atmosphere of Vietnamese Tet, while Taiwanese students enthusiastically introduced their spring traditions, including family customs and New Year rituals.
Tsai Wei Che, an NUK student, shared: “This is my first time participating in a cultural exchange program in Vietnam. I am very impressed by IUH’s beautiful green campus, the friendliness of the lecturers and students, and especially the traditional Vietnamese dishes. I hope to welcome you soon at the National University of Kaohsiung (NUK) so that we can continue to exchange, learn from one another, and experience more of Taiwan’s cultural beauty together.”
 

NUK students experienced and practiced making Vietnamese drip coffee in the program
 

 
Late General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng stated, “As long as culture remains, the nation remains; if culture is lost, the nation is lost,” highlighting the importance of national identity. IUH continues to promote Vietnamese culture through international exchanges. share many similarities in East Asian culture, especially in Tet customs, with the spirit of family reunion, gratitude to one’s roots, lucky money, and traditional New Year rituals. It is this closeness that helped students from both sides quickly find common ground, thereby fostering mutual understanding and connection between the two cultures.
 

A highlight of the program came from the sincere sharing and emotionally interactive activities led by the lecturers. In his opening remarks, Dr. Nguyễn Trường Sa – Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages – recalled childhood memories beside his family’s pot of bánh tét and personally demonstrated how to cut bánh tét using traditional binding strings, creating a warm, familiar atmosphere like that of every Vietnamese home during Tet.
 

  

Dr. Nguyễn Trường Sa – Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, IUH – shared moving reflections on the traditional values of Vietnamese Tet as a sacred time of reunion after a year of hard work

 

Continuing that cultural story, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trịnh Ngọc Nam – Head of the Office of Science Management and International Affairs – illustrated the beauty of bánh chưng and bánh tét through a live demonstration of how to cut bánh chưng with traditional strings in the Northern Vietnamese style. The neat, beautiful cake slices, accompanied by enthusiastic applause from students, turned a folk technique into a vivid cultural lesson right on stage.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trịnh Ngọc Nam – Head of the Office of Science Management and International Affairs, IUH – demonstrated the traditional way of cutting bánh chưng

 

The “Chinese Spring & Vietnamese Tet” program not only helped students improve their intercultural communication skills, but also left a lasting impression of sincerity, hospitality, and connection between the two peoples. As the lecturers shared, this is the beginning of lasting friendships, where Chinese and Vietnamese serve as bridges through which lecturers and students can together “wrap” the humanistic values of the traditional Lunar New Year.