Hanoi Spring Flower Festival showcases regional specialties

THE HANOI TIMES — People visiting Hanoi this spring have a chance to admire hundreds of flowers and ornamental plants as well as shop regional specialties at a dedicated Tet display space featuring 100 booths at the Astronomy Park in Hanoi’s Duong Noi Ward.

The event is part of the 2026 Flower and Ornamental Plants, OCOP Products, and Regional Specialties Festival, covering an area of around 7,000 square meters and running from February 5 to 11.

The festival is designed as a lively spring destination where residents can enjoy seasonal sightseeing while visitors gain a deeper understanding of Vietnam’s traditional Lunar New Year culture.

Alongside floral and ornamental displays, the festival offers a wide range of traditional cultural activities that reflect the spiritual values of Tet.

Visitors can experience customs such as erecting the New Year bamboo pole, making Chung cake, enjoying tea beside blooming narcissus flowers, watching calligraphy performances, shaping to he figurines and printing Dong Ho folk paintings.

These spaces are not only meant to attract Hanoi residents on their spring outings but also to provide domestic and international visitors with an authentic and hands-on experience of Vietnamese Tet traditions, from family rituals to folk arts.

The festival also serves as a platform to connect garden owners and ornamental plant artisans from Hanoi and many other localities nationwide. Through this exchange, the event promotes sustainable consumption of ornamental products while supporting the development of ecological agriculture and urban tourism.

One of the highlights is the architectural space inspired by a traditional northern Vietnamese house, complete with a solemn ancestral altar. This setting vividly conveys the beauty of Vietnamese family culture during Tet, when respect for ancestors and family bonds takes center stage.

Surrounding this space are spring-themed mini landscapes featuring peach blossoms, artistic kumquat trees, and the symbolic animal of the Year of the Horse, helping to honor Hanoi’s ornamental plant sector.

This industry is estimated to generate a production value of around VND10 trillion (US$382.9 million) annually, making it a significant contributor to the capital’s agricultural economy.

According to Ngo Van Ngon, Deputy Head of the Hanoi Office for Coordination of the New Rural Development Program, the festival is not only a scenic spring destination filled with colorful blooms but also a “trade meeting point.” It offers an ideal space for shopping OCOP products, regional specialties, and high-quality flowers and ornamental plants in preparation for Tet.

The festival is held in celebration of the success of the 14th National Party Congress and marks the 96th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3, 1930 – February 3, 2026), adding further significance to this cultural and commercial event.