(VOVWORLD) - The Hanoi Botanical Garden is an ecological space where visitors can enjoy the beauty of nature while gaining insights into botany through an extensive collection of rare plant species. Originally established as a center for scientific research and education, it has since evolved into an attractive ecotourism destination.
 Hanoi Botanical Garden in Tay Tuu ward (Photo: Kim Lieu) |
Located in Tay Tuu ward, the Hanoi Botanical Garden is described as the “green lung” of the western part of the capital. Covering an area of 20 hectares, the garden grows more than 300 rare plant species – valuable protected hardwood species like iron wood, black rosewood, and Siamese rosewood and species listed in Vietnam’s Red Book like lacewood and Indochinese rosewood. Together, they form a diverse botanical collection from the northern and central mountains of Vietnam.
The garden also hosts a research and conservation center for medicinal plants, valuable herb species, and indigenous plants of northern Vietnam that are at risk of extinction.
 The Hanoi Botanical Garden has diverse ecosystem and fresh natural environment. (Photo: Kim Lieu) |
Forestry expert Dr. Tran Ngoc Ninh said, “This botanical garden has precious and rare plant species, such as the red pine, from which substances are extracted for cancer treatment. There are kim giao trees and short-leaf bamboo pine used for ornamental purposes and making chopsticks. In the past, kings used kim giao wood to test for certain poisons.”
With its diverse ecosystem and fresh natural environment, the Hanoi Botanical Garden has been developed as an ecotourism, environmental education, and experimental research complex. It includes several functional zones: a forest and ecological lake where visitors can stroll in a fresh setting, a plant exhibition area for study and research, and a green education zone where students can explore the botanical world and develop ecological awareness through hands-on activities.
Le Dinh Toan, Deputy Director of the Tu Liem Tourism Orchard Enterprise of the Hanoi Agricultural Investment and Development Company, said, “The botanical garden is divided into different zones, including an area of ancient timber species and a deeper section featuring ironwood, teak, and coniferous trees. The trees are zoned and planted in designated plots. The garden’s highlight is the conservation of forest tree and flower species. The large garden attracts many bird species.”
 The lake at the heart of the Hanoi Botanical Garden. (Photo: Kim Lieu) |
At the heart of the garden lies a 1.5-hectare
picturesque lake, shaped like the map of Vietnam, its blue water shaded by trees.
Nguyen Huong Lien, a visitor from An Giang province, said, “I’ve been in Hanoi for two days. I searched online and found positive reviews of this garden, so I came here. I really like it, even though I’ve been to many gardens in the south. It’s a wonderful place with dense ancient trees and fresh air. I don’t have to travel far, right in Hanoi I can see plant species that I previously only encountered in remote regions of Vietnam. The deeper you go into the garden, the more you feel you’re in another world.”
Visitors can tour an exhibition house displaying specimens of insects and rare flora and fauna. This facility keeps dry and preserved samples for scientific research.
 Schools children visit the Hanoi Botanical Garden. (Photo: Kim Lieu) |
Visitors can also take part in traditional folk games, such as stilt-walking, seesaws, and tug-of-war, and hands-on activities like planting flowers and trees, tending plants, and feeding livestock and poultry.
Students from Tan Dinh Secondary School in Hanoi told VOV, “There are many plant and forest flower species, some of which I had never seen before. The ancient trees have huge trunks and wide canopies. Some trees are so big that four of us together can barely wrap our arms around them. We can hear birdsong and the sound of geckos.”
“I really enjoyed this experience. We played many games with friends. I even took a nap in a tent in the forest, something I’ve never done before.”
In the 30 years since it opened, the Hanoi Botanical Garden has become a popular destination for families and groups of friends seeking a few peaceful moments in a green natural space without leaving the city.