Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The spring atmosphere is overwhelming Hanoi’s streets,from downtown to the outskirts.
In the heart of the Old Quarter in downtown Hanoi, one can find a traditionalflower market which will stay open till the last day of the lunar year(January 24).
The Hang Luoc Flower Market is located on Hang Luoc, Hang Khoai, Hang Ruoi, HangMa and Phung Hung streets in Hoan Kiem district.
The market takes place every day between 8am and 10pm, offering bonsai kumquatplants, fresh flowers, fake antiques and various other decorations.
Handmade products of traditionalhandicraft villages, folk paintings and folk toys are also exhibited alongPhung Hung street together with folk music and calligraphy.
Themarket introduces the heritage values of the Old Quarter and surroundingareas to domestic and foreign visitors.
The traditional flower market hasbeen held in the area for the past century.
In the past, farmers from nearby Ngoc Ha,Nghi Tam, Nhat Tan and Quang Ba villages would take their bonsai trees andflowers to sell at the market, which only gathers once a year from the 15th tothe last day of the 12th lunar month.
Only in 1947, when Hanoi was fighting against the French, did the marketnot gather. Even during the anti-US war, the market still gathered aheadof Tet (Lunar New Year) as a custom of Hanoians.
Since 2018, beside the traditional flower market, Hoan Kiem district authoritieshave hosted other festive activities on Phung Hung street, which hosts dozensof murals on the stone walls of the railway viaduct drawn by Vietnamese and Republicof Korean painters at the end of 2018, creating a cultural space for thecommunity.
The viaduct starts from the Phung Hung-Tran Phu crossroads and runs to Long BienTrain Station, passing through Phung Hung and Gam Cau streets. The viaduct ispart of the historic Long Bien Bridge, built from 1899-1902 by French architects.
The cultural space is part of a pedestrian zone planned to be set up along PhungHung street, which will offer various services for tourists.
Further from the city centre, Quang An flower market on Au Co street has beenfilled with peach blossoms, ochna and kumquat bonsai for nearly a month now.Flowers and bonsai trees planted from the nearby Nhat Tan Flower Village areavailable here.
On the outskirts of the city, flower villages are busy for Tet aswell.
Tay Tuu ward, formerly known as Dam village, in Bac Tu Liem district, 20kmto the west of Hanoi’s centre, provides fresh flowers to Hanoi and neighbouringareas.
This timeof year is the biggest harvesting season for locals in Tay Tuu, where some 200ha of flowerplanting area hosts various kinds of flowers, mostly lily, chrysanthemumand roses./.