Cherry flowers bloom early in many parts of Tuyen Quang province. (Photo: Huyen Trang)

Roosters crow near and far as the night mist slowly lifts, revealing terraced fields and splashes of pink peach blossoms growing around houses built halfway up the mountains. Along the steep paths, Red Dao girls head up the hills to pick tea buds still heavy with dew.

Nam Pieu village, Nam Dich commune, lies at the center of the shan tuyet tea-growing area in the Tay Con Linh mountain range. These centuries-old tea hills are now dotted with cherry blossoms in full bloom. The landscape, once subdued by lush green, has become more colorful, showing a gentle change of nature as spring comes.

Red Dao girls prepare to head up the hills to pick tea buds. (Photo: Huyen Trang)
This morning, the family of Hoang Sanh Vay welcomes a friend from a neighboring village who brings dragon-claw tea, a kind of ancient white tea from Tay Con Linh, to brew and enjoy together. Under the eaves looking over the yard with some cherry trees in full bloom, an everyday conversation now carries the festive atmosphere of Tet. In most years, cherry blossoms appear around the Lunar New Year. But because this year is a leap year in the lunar calendar, cherry blossoms have bloomed earlier.

Mr. Vay told us, “Cherry blossoms are blooming, while indigenous peach trees are budding and may bloom around the Lunar New Year next month. The flower season can last about a month or longer, depending on the weather. If there’s a lot of rain, the blossoms don’t last long. You can feel that spring and Tet are around the corner.”

Cherry trees grow around yellow-painted earthen houses of the Mong. (Photo: Huyen Trang)
On the Meo Vac rock plateau, cherry blossoms seem to dispel the winter chill. In Mong villages, brownish-gray earthen houses are adorned with pink blossoms. Thao Thi Phuong said, “When these cherry trees bloom, the scene is very beautiful with grey rocks and pink flowers. Some trees bloom early, others bloom late, lasting until the end of the third lunar month, so even during the Khau Vai Love Market on March 26, there are still flowers. In some hamlets, people have already celebrated early Tet and then continue their farm work. When we see cherry blossoms, spring is coming.”

Lung Cu commune has welcomed a large number of visitors coming to admire the most beautiful time of year in this border mountain region. Shamika, a tourist from Sri Lanka, said, "This is the first time I see many mountains like this. There are many beautiful scenes along the way. The cherry flowers are beautiful."

Shamika, a Sri Lankan tourist, is delighted to experience the Ha Giang Loop and the peach blossoms in Tuyen Quang province. (Photo: Huyen Trang)
Along the winding paths leading into villages, cherry flowers intermingle with a few early-blooming wild peach trees, spreading a pink shawl on the yellow-painted earthen houses. Households involved in community tourism, such as the family of Vang Thi Phan in Lo Lo Chai village, recently named one of the “Best Tourism Villages in the World”, are busy welcoming guests.

She is happy that her homestay is fully booked during holidays and the whole village is crowded with visitors dressed up to take photos beside the peach trees. “Cherry blossoms are beautiful, although they haven’t fully bloomed yet. In the next couple of months, there are mustard flowers and white pear blossoms. When peach blossoms fully bloom across the village, there are more visitors. It’s so exciting.”

Vang Thi Phan runs a homestay in Lo Lo Chai village. (Photo: Huyen Trang)
The blooming cherry and peach blossoms have become a distinctive characteristic of Tuyen Quang province in spring. Beautifying mountain scenery, peach blossoms are attracting more visitors to ethnic villages.