Grand old peach trees grace Hanoi’s streets

Jenna Duong - Duy Khanh

Jan 19, 2022 / 03:48 PM

Adorning a house with peach blossom or kumquat tree is a long-standing and elegant hobby of many Hanoians on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.

A couple of weeks ahead of the Tet holiday, the streets of Hanoi are adorned with peach trees displayed on the sidewalks, ready to be sold or rented.

Normally, these huge ancient trees with nice shapes, vivid flowers, and big buds are only found in large Spring fairs. This year, however, they are displayed right on the sidewalks, waiting to be purchased or hired.

These hundreds of years old peach trees are being offered for sale by traders for tens to hundreds of millions of dong.

This large peach tree with a canopy simulating a flying dragon is priced at VND250 million (US$10.900).

If they can’t afford them, people can rent these old peach trees to adorn their house for a month before and after Lunar New Year’s Eve. The rental price of peaches is cheaper than buying, from dozens of millions of dong.

The brilliant ancient peach trees are dyeing red an entire stretch of Lac Long Quan Street, Tay Ho District.

Some wild peach trees are considered “rare creatures” by traders. Instead of selling, these trees are displayed for rent at high prices only. This peach tree is said to be collected from Son La Province and cared for years in a garden in Hanoi.

According to Quan Trong Nghia, the peach trader, a peach tree for being considered “ancient” must be over 100 years old with a trunk diameter of about 90cm.

These huge peach trees are very picky about buyers. Not only are they willing to pay a fortune for the flowers, but they must also have a large space to display them. “Old peach trees are suitable for decorating large apartment halls, spacious villa living rooms or gardens only,” Nghia stated.

However, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the purchasing power of ornamental plants for Tet this year has dropped significantly.

“For fear of coronavirus transmission, visitors to the flower stalls are few, the buyers are even fewer,” said Nguyen Thi Hoan, a trader. Thus, despite their stunning beauty, the ancient peach trees and merchants still had to wait patiently for the rich customers.