In addition to pink peach flowers, Nhat Tan village is busting with chrysanthemums, globe amaranths, honeysuckles, and carnations. This is the best time of the year to take photos. Le Huyen is a student at the Hanoi University of Business and Technology. "We come here to take our photos with peach flowers. Tet is coming and we want to have some photos of Vietnam’s traditional flowers. It’s very beautiful here with so many kinds of flowers."

Some businesses want to shoot pictures for documentaries or product ads. Nguyen Hong Loan is from the Trung Thanh Food company, which specializes in processing and trading ingredients, foodstuffs, and agricultural products. "The Trung Thanh company is making a photo collection for our spring magazine. We chose Nhat Tan village because it has the most beautiful flower gardens in Hanoi, especially during the spring Tet festival. We have just reviewed the photos. They’re very beautiful and diverse. We’re satisfied with the quality of the photos."   

This year, due to an unusually long, chilly winter, not all the peach buds will open before Tet. This is a problem for peach blossom growers. Nguyen Van Chung owns a peach blossom garden. "This year the weather has been unusual. Due to severe cold weather, 70% of the peach trees are not fully blooming. I’ve been growing peach flowers for 40 years and every crop is like a bet with the weather. We depends 50% on the weather. I hope it’ll get warmer for a few days and the flowers will get better."

Growing peach flowers is the main source of income for Nhat Tan villagers. They tend and shape the peach branches and trees to make the best ornamental trees for Tet. In cold weather, they carefully protect each peach tree with additional soil or warm the flower buds with electric lights. Here and there in the village, peach flowers are blossoming – a harbinger of spring.

Cao Le Quyen