The five-day festival opened o­n December 30 with a “flower hill” at the Da Lat Golf Course near the iconic Xuan Huong Lake, and many smaller floral decorations.

For the first time the Da Lat Flower Association joined hands with the golf course to create a flower garden that covers over 3.3 hectares and has 360,000 plants.

Also for the first time in its two-decade existence, the golf course opened to the public for sightseeing.

An area of nearly 3,000 square meters at the golf course was reserved for a “Netherlands corner” with 130,000 tulips and models of windmills to honor the Dutch who helped develop the floral industry in Da Lat.

Another space called “Colorful Integrated World” had cultural icons from all over the world - like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Sphinx, a pyramid, Hanoi’s o­ne-Pillar Pagoda, and Japan’s Fuji Mountain, which were made completely from flowers. There was also a pond of lotus flowers - Vietnam’s national symbol.

The organizers said 36 countries and territories have promised to send representatives to festival for which the association and city flower farmers have been preparing for the last four months.

On the occasion, there was a show called “Flowers and light” o­n Le Dai Hanh Street featuring 3,000 flower baskets of various kinds, and an exhibition of Da Lat’s handicrafts and famous photographs of the city.

Hotels said rooms are still available during the festival. Many travel agents are offering three-day tours to the festival by air, and four-day tours by bus.