HCM CITY —  The annual 2019 Spring Flower Festival opened yesterday at the Tao Đàn Park in HCM City’s District 1.

The 12-day event displays 5,000 indigenous and foreign flowers, ornamental fish, bonsai plants and trees, most of which were provided by florists, farms, handicraft villages and businesspeople involved in agriculture from southern provinces.

Well-known handicraft villages and farms in HCM City, Đà Lạt, and the provinces of Bình Dương, Đồng Tháp, Tiền Giang, Vĩnh Long and Bến Tre are introducing their products at the festival. 

“We often visit Spring Flower Festival at Tao Đàn Park every year to see and buy flowers for display at home for Tết. Visiting it is part of Saigonese lifestyle,” said Vũ Thúy Ngân, a resident of District 3, who took her children to the festival’s opening ceremony last night. 

Dozens of musical and dance performances in praise of the country, soldiers and late President Hồ Chí Minh, which were staged by State-owned traditional art troupes, are also included during the event.   

A variety of street shows featuring folk art and games staged by hundreds of puppet and circus performers will dazzle visitors every night.  

Cultural exhibits such as traditional food festivals, calligraphy and painting displays are also featured.

“Designed to look like a colourful garden, the Spring Flower Festival at Tao Đàn Park attracts foreign and local photographers, sculptors and painters who find inspiration in nature,” said Võ Khánh Hưng, deputy director of the city’s Department of Transport, a member of the festival’s organising board. 

“We have worked to make the festival a famous tourist site,” said Hưng, adding that last year more than 800,000 people visited during Tết. 

The festival will end on February 10, the sixth day of the lunar calendar’s first month. Tickets are VNĐ30,000 (US$1.3). Entrance is free for children under 12 years old. — VNS