In previous time, Hanoi’s flowers markets were located inside the old narrow area of HangLuoc Street with houses with moss-covered roofs and the sounds of thewhistles from trains passing at night.
Nowadays,Hanoi’s flower markets have moved to the wider streets of Au Co, NghiTam and Nhat Tan, which are crowded with visitors out walking, ridingbicycles, motorbikes or in their cars to enjoy the beauty and aroma ofthe various kinds of flowers.
In the 40-70 of the 20th century, Ngoc Ha flower village, a popular centre for flora inHanoi , became famous all around Hanoi as it could ensure asufficient supply of flowers for citizens living in the Old Quarter.Moreover, it was also one of the thirteen villages that encompassed theWest Lake , which produces the basic necessities for Thang LongRoyal Citadel in the past.
While excavating ThangLong Royal Citadel, archaeologists came across the remains of a smallriver running under the Citadel to Ngoc Ha village.
The river bears the name of the Ngoc river, after which Ngoc Ha village is named.
The industrialisation and reduction in size of the old flower-growingvillages such as Ngoc Ha, Nhat Tan, Phu Thuong and Tu Lien, with theconstruction of new villas and new urban areas have made many peoplefeel they have lost a great asset.
The biggestflower market in Hanoi , now is housed in Quang Ba district and isopen every day from early in the morning until midnight, selling variouskinds of seasonal flowers. The market is full of peach blossom inspring, fragrant lotus in summer, daisies in autumn and apricot blossomin winter.
Nowadays, wandering about the flowermarkets to buy beautiful flowers is a popular pleasure for Hanoians,especially before the Tet Holiday.
Subsequently,the end of the flower trade in Ngoc Ha has helped several other flowervillages on the outskirts of Hanoi to flourish. They are Kim Chung,Van Tri and Uy No in Dong Anh district, Tay Tuu and Dai Mo in Tu Liemdistrict, Dong Du, Bac Bien and Yen Vien in Gia Lam district./.