The opening ceremony of Hanoi Lotus Festival 2024 (Photo: Ha Phuong/VOV5)

Held until Tuesday, the festival also introduces OCOP (One Commune, One Product) items and the culture of northern mountain provinces, Nguyen Manh Quyen, Vice Chairman of Hanoi City People's Committee, told the opening ceremony.

“Hanoi is developing lotus plants as part of the strategy to restructure the agricultural sector associated with the development of urban agriculture and tourism. This is one of the important parts in restructuring crops and livestock to suit the urbanization process and build sustainable eco-urban areas,” said Quyen.

At the festival, the organizers awarded prizes to winners of the photo contest “Beauty, Ao Dai, and Lotus”. The Vietnam Record Organization presented two record certificates: "The largest number of cyclists – 7,000 people – joining in the West Lake lotus green journey" and "The largest number of people – 1,000 people – wearing traditional ao dai with lotus motifs."

Local residents and tourists were also treated to a semi-realistic art program “Story of the Lotus” on a floating stage.

The festival attracts local residents and visitors. (Photo: Ha Phuong/VOV5)

Pham Thi Ha, a resident in the West Lake district, said she was glad to attend this program to promote lotus products and Vietnamese craft villages including lotus silk for weaving clothes and pottery villages making lotus flower carving.

“Today lotus flowers have more diverse colors like pink, white, and red-purple for public enjoyment,” Ha noted.

OCOP products from 33 provinces and cities nationwide associated with the culture of the northern mountain provinces are on display at 100 booths. The highlight is the debut of a portrait of President Ho Chi Minh assembled from nearly 2,000 photos of lotus from different regions, and a painting made of 20,000 lotus flowers.