Vietnamese Women's Day, which falls on October 20 every year, is one of the busiest celebrations of the year. The day before the anniversary, Quang Ba - the largest flower market in Hanoi is packed with buyers and sellers.
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Located in Tay Ho District, Hanoi, Quang Ba Flower Market is considered as one of the oldest markets in town, selling flowers at night. |
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Every night, while the whole of Hanoi is asleep, the Quang Ba flower market is very lively. The wholesale flower market is usually open from midnight until the early morning of the next day. |
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| The market gets crowded on some days before major festivals, such as the traditional Vietnamese Tet Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day, International Women's Day or Vietnamese Women's Day. |
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| Hundreds of species of flowers such as colourful daisies, cherry blossoms, roses, orchids and sunflowers are on sale. These flowers are said to be brought from gardeners in neighboring areas such as Tay Tuu, Dong Anh, Me Linh District of Hanoi suburb or from China. |
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| A flower trader told The Hanoi Times that the number of visitors to the market has increased dramatically a couple of days before the commemorative date and the price of flowers is also two to three times higher than normal. Roses seem to be the most popular at this year's anniversary. |
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“I sell many different types of roses, among them, the cheapest are roses from Tay Tuu flower village, which is around VND5,000 or US$0.2 per flower; roses from Moc Chau Plateau in Son La Province are priced from VND8,000 or $0.3 to VND10,000 or 0.4 per piece. Meanwhile, and roses from Dalat are the most expensive, at VND12,000 or $0.5 per piece” she said. |
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| Besides roses, there are dozens of other flowers with rich colors that can be good choices for buyers. |
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| Nguyen Huyen Trang, a customer in Ba Dinh district, told The Hanoi Times that she usually visits Quang Ba flower market on the occasion of Vietnamese Women's Day every year. "I buy these flowers for my home decoration and to give to my friends on this special day," she says, "The flowers should be bought first thing in the morning because they are still very fresh and can last longer." |
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| Quang Ba night flower market usually opens at 8 o’clock in the evening and closes at dawn the next day. Many young people not only come to the market to buy flowers, but also to admire these wonderful tiny creations, relax and take beautiful photos. |
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| According to them, staying up late to explore Quang Ba flower market is a very interesting experience, because people will find a totally different Hanoi at night. Also, it is a very interesting time when strolling through the colorful and fragrant flower stalls on a cold autumn night. |
