Student's feedback: Learning PR from a field trip.

Seeing is believing!

At 7 am, we arrived in Da Nang – Vietnam's most livable city. During our two days there, we visited many places and listened to many stories. From the Cham Museum with its relics of a rich culture, to Linh Ung Pagoda with its 68-meter-tall statue of the Goddess of Mercy overlooking the sea, to Ba Na Hill, a paradise on earth, and the dreamy My Khe beach, and finally, a meeting with Greenviet's media team about conservation efforts for the brown-footed langur.

Each destination tells its own story, offers its own unique lesson, allowing us to reflect on and better understand Da Nang, how it creates its own identity, and how it attracts and retains tourists. These are truly fascinating experiences and new lessons for us.

Visiting the Cham Museum, we were amazed by an ancient culture, recounted through artifacts dating back thousands of years. These artifacts contain a wealth of information about the culture of an entire era and a whole nation. Stepping into Linh Ung Pagoda, one easily feels the tranquil atmosphere of the Buddhist sanctuary, with statues of the 18 Arhats in the courtyard, along with a complex of many other shrines, all contributing to the spiritual and cultural space of this land. And at Ba Na Hill, one feels transported to 19th-century Europe, with houses, castles, churches, and even windows reminiscent of Shakespeare's novels. All of this creates a fascinating tourist experience in Da Nang, where nature, culture, spirituality, and modernity blend together to create an environmentally friendly Da Nang, a Da Nang that knows how to utilize both natural and man-made resources for development.

In particular, through the exchange with the Greenviet Center, we gained a better understanding of how Da Nang is protecting the greenery of its homeland, preserving the pristine forests right in the heart of the city. This is achieved through the consensus of both the people and local officials. They have been, are, and will continue to protect the greenery of their homeland, preserving its natural beauty, alongside constantly renovating the city. This has taught us valuable lessons about the importance of protection alongside development. Only then can development be sustainable and create a balance between the environment and people, between nature and man-made structures.

Furthermore, the people of Da Nang are incredibly friendly and highly disciplined. It's rare to see anyone making traffic violations or littering. They have cultivated a strong sense of responsibility for protecting their environment. The Da Nang residents we were fortunate enough to interact with, such as Ms. Le Thi Trang, Deputy Director of the GreenViet Center; Mr. Le Xuan Tien, a tour guide at My Son; and Mr. Phung Tan Dong, a cultural expert in Hoi An, are all highly professional, enthusiastic, and deeply knowledgeable and passionate about their respective fields. They inspired us greatly in their work, their professions, and the land and people of this place. Perhaps this is also why tourists always feel nostalgic and want to return to Da Nang after leaving?

The key to Da Nang's success today lies in its respect for the environment and its diverse landscapes, along with its commitment to building a friendly, clean city with numerous interesting destinations. This is largely due to the strength of the local government, which has dared to think and act based on the interests and aspirations of the local people.

A mark of convergence of valuesculture of many eras

Da Nang – Hoi An – My Son, a place that hides the cultural beauty of an entire region, along with the clear manifestations of cultural exchange throughout the ages. While Da Nang represents the modernity of a city rising against a backdrop of nature and culture, My Son tells the story of a thousand years ago with its ancient towers built in the 4th century. Each tower holds its own mysteries about the beliefs and culture of an ancient civilization that was once forgotten, but is now a highlight of international cultural exchange, attracting and captivating countless visitors.

Hoi An is a special case, once a bustling trading port that was then forgotten, and now it is reviving with tourism. Here, you'll find a cultural fusion of Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese influences, all reflected in the architecture and customs of the local people. Stepping into Hoi An is like entering another world, with its Japanese Bridge, Assembly Hall, ancient houses, and colorful lanterns. All of this tells the story of a vibrant trading town with a long tradition of international economic and cultural integration, a story that even today's youth admire and are amazed by.

These three seemingly separate locations are, in fact, linked by cultural values ​​and traditional beauty, which are now gradually being restored and becoming the "soul" of this place. This is also the key factor attracting tourists from both within and outside the country.

The evergreen tree of life has been found.

From what we saw, heard, and felt, we drew our own lessons. These could be lessons about how Da Nang is developing its tourism industry, or simply how the Greenviet Center is persistently communicating about protecting the brown-footed langur. Or how Hoi An is balancing economic, conservation, and development management—harmonizing the interests of the government and the people in cultural preservation… We used these lessons to prepare for our final project.Tpractical trainingcellRegarding communication strategies for building and developing Da Nang's image, it seemed as though the examples of PR theories, strategies, and tactics we learned in the classroom were unfolding vividly before our eyes. If the saying "theories are all gray, only the tree of life is eternally green" is true, then we found countless green lessons in PR on this trip. The broader and more far-reaching lessons were about building and developing a city's image based on its inherent characteristics such as geography, history, and culture, in order to continuously exploit its sustainable benefits in many aspects. On a more personal level, we share experiences about organizing a class trip, how to foster stronger bonds among team members and improve teamwork, and how to manage potential risks on a long journey. This is why we eagerly explore destinations together, seeking out new experiences or elevating familiar feelings, as well as enriching ourselves.

Although the time we spent together was short, it acted like glue, binding us together and giving us more time to understand each other. University life is a wide-open world, and sometimes it's hard to see each other. But through this trip, I understood each other's personalities and habits better. It helped us learn to love and share more. We had moments together playing in the waves and sand at the beach, laughing and chatting on the bus, experiencing heart-pounding moments on the cable car, and feeling excited about each destination. And then, we were happy together after each journey. Above all, we felt like one, empathizing with and understanding each other.

That's how we learned, not only in the classroom but also from our own experiences, what we heard, saw, and always thinking like professionals to ask questions, find answers, or discover paths no one else has taken. Indeed, this was a meaningful and invaluable journey in our student lives, filled with countless beneficial things that we, as we prepare to leave school and confidently embark on our careers, have gathered.