HÀ NỘI — A special áo dài (traditional dress) collection by designer Vũ Việt Hà, inspired by roses to honour Vietnamese women’s beauty, was presented at the opening ceremony of a rose festival in Hà Nội on Saturday.

Hundreds of visitors rushed to the festival at Thăng Long Rose Park, the first of its kind in the capital, which runs until October 22.

“We organised the event on occasion of Vietnamese women’s day on October 20 to honour the beauty of women, which is often compared to roses. We hope the festival is a meaningful event to honour women, half the world’s population, and helps connect nature lovers in the beautiful autumn season,” Hùng said.

Full bloom: Models on áo dài (traditional dress) collection by designer Vũ Việt Hà at the opening ceremony of the rose festival in Hà Nội’s Thăng Long Rose Park on Saturday.--VNS Photo Bạch Liên

Three hundred different species of roses are on display at the rose park located in Hà Nội’s Thanh Trì District. Located in Huỳnh Cung Village, the park has long been a favoured destination for rose lovers in the capital.

With a total area of around 45,000sq.m, it is the largest park of its kind in the city and houses thousands of rose plants.

At the week-long event, visitors can discover various varieties of roses, enjoy rose tea from Bulgaria, love songs performed by the capital’s street artists and see hundreds of photos of roses and women on display at the festival.

Rosey future: "Rose Queen" Bùi Thị Thanh Hương-- who won the title at the first-ever Bulgarian Rose Festival in Hà Nội last year.--VNS Photo Bạch Liên

Experts will share with visitors stories about the origins of roses and instruct visitors on how to take care of rose plants.

Awards will be given to houses with the most beautiful rose-decorated balconies.

Various kinds of rose plants, souvenirs made from roses and cosmetics from Bulgaria are being sold at the event at discounted prices.

“Queen Rose” Bùi Thị Thanh Hương-- who won the title at the first-ever Bulgarian Rose Festival in Hà Nội last year, sponsored by the Bulgarian Embassy, came to the festival to share stories about the secret of preserving love in marriage.

Ngô Ngọc Toàn, chairman of Tam Hiệp Commune of Thanh Trì District said the region is proud of this rose park which was created by Hùng who was born in the region.

 “We will create favourable conditions to encourage Hùng to enlarge this park, so it can become an interesting eco-tourism destination, creating a new tourism attraction for nature lovers in Hà Nội,” he said. — VNS