Notes: The flowering season lingers

Impressions of the flower season

The 15km flower-lined road in Cho Lach has been recognized as the longest in Vietnam, created by local people.

Tourists enjoy visiting the locals' roadside flower gardens to take souvenir photos. Photo: Trung Hieu

Ms. Hoa Ninh, residing in Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City, commented: " In Cho Lach District, there are many trees, flowers, and fruits, and they are all beautiful. The fruits are so fresh and delicious, which I really enjoy. Organizing a festival for tourists from all over the country and abroad to visit Ben Tre at the end of the year is truly meaningful."

Ms. Hoa Ninh, a resident of Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City, poses for a photo next to a kumquat bonsai tree in a festival setting.

Coming from Lang Son province, Ms. Dao Kim Chung enthusiastically participated in the festival: " Ben Tre truly left a good impression on me. The flowers were fresh, and the fruits were beautiful and delicious. I just ate durian, rambutan, and mango from the Chanh Thu Company's stall (offering free durian to visitors), and they were incredibly tasty. Cho Lach is amazing, and I will definitely come back here."

Ms. Dao Kim Chung, a tourist from Lang Son province, was delighted with the fruits and flowers of Cho Lach and promised to return again.

Ms. Doan Thi Thap, 78 years old, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City: The flowers in Cho Lach are absolutely stunning; everywhere you go, you see lush greenery and vibrant, beautiful blossoms. I've always heard about the beauty of Cho Lach's ornamental flowers but never had the chance to visit. This time, I had my daughter take me to the Flower and Ornamental Flower Festival. Now I see that Cho Lach has beautiful flowers and honest farmers, which is truly admirable.

A booth displaying delicious specialty fruits at the Cho Lach Flower and Ornamental Plant Festival 2025.

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Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Thu, representative of Chanh Thu Fruit Import-Export Co., Ltd., Hoa Nghia commune, Cho Lach district, excitedly said: " I am proud that my hometown is organizing a festival dedicated to flowers and ornamental plants for the first time. The people have created the longest flower-lined road, setting a Vietnamese record. This is a significant milestone for me and the people of my hometown – those who have been involved in flower and ornamental plant cultivation for generations – contributing to the development of Cho Lach as a national-level center for seedlings and ornamental plants. This festival has connected the essence of ornamental plants and fruits – because Cho Lach is also famous for having many of the best tropical fruits such as durian and rambutan..."

TikTok Shop Vietnam held a Megalive event showcasing frozen durian products that meet OCOP 5-star standards, connecting Cho Lach district and Hanoi, resulting in a reach of 52 million viewers.

In just one week, we racked our brains trying to figure out "What contribution will Chánh Thu make to the festival in our hometown?" As a result, Chánh Thu successfully held the first Megalive event in Vietnam showcasing frozen durian products that meet OCOP 5-star standards, with the support of many organizations and the workshop "Solutions to promote cross-border e-commerce of frozen Vietnamese durian products meeting standards." The achievement made us feel very fortunate to have promoted our delicious fruit brand to consumers.

Visitors enjoy free durian at the Cho Lach Flower and Ornamental Plant Festival (Phu Son commune stadium).

Ms. Vuong Uyen, a gardener from Phu Son commune, Cho Lach district, is busy selling her homegrown ornamental plants to passersby along the flower street . Ms. Vuong Uyen said: "I'm lucky to have a frontage of about 50 meters along the flower street. Thanks to that, my ornamental chili peppers, foliage plants, chrysanthemums, etc., are very popular with customers. I think the main stage isn't very lively because it lacks eye-catching floral structures. I think if the authorities had prepared early and called for support, people would surely have joined hands to create floral structures, adding a highlight to the festival."

Ms. Vuong Uyen's eye-catching and diverse ornamental chili pepper garden, located along the Flower Road, attracts many visitors who come to admire and purchase plants.

Mr. Dao Tuan Vu, a tour guide from Vietravel Tourism Company (Ho Chi Minh City), said: " The company received information about Cho Lach district organizing the first Flower and Ornamental Plant Festival in 2025 through several official news outlets announcing the festival in early November 2024. After gathering this information, the company planned a tour program to bring tourists to Cho Lach. On January 8th, 10th, and 11th, 2025, Vietravel organized 7 groups for tourists to attend the festival, and the number of registered visitors continues to increase (the festival ends on January 12th, 2025)."

Vietravel tour guide Dao Tuan Vu (holding the flag) and a group of tourists visiting the festival.

The tour guide from Vietravel added: "Our group's guests said that the festival program was quite diverse, and the travel distance was quite suitable for visitors from Ho Chi Minh City. Cho Lach has many beautiful flowers, ornamental plants, and bonsai trees. What tourists enjoyed most was being able to enter any flower garden along the road to take and capture beautiful photos – photos of their family's spring outing at the beginning of the year. However, guests also commented that there were no trash cans in the main festival area (Phu Son commune stadium). Our group had to wander around looking but still couldn't find any. The organizers should place more trash cans."

The festival showcased and introduced floral products researched and produced by the Ben Tre Provincial Center for Seed and Ornamental Plants.

The farmers are delighted.

Mr. Vo Thanh Hai, owner of a chrysanthemum garden in Long Thoi commune, Cho Lach district, happily said: " My garden is located along the record-breaking flower route, with about 2,300 pots of chrysanthemums. I grow the flowers to sell in Hanoi, so I let them bloom early, which tourists love. They come to the garden to take pictures, making it very lively. I also feel happy because this is the first time I've seen so many people visiting my hometown. Not only my garden, but all the gardens of the households along the road allow visitors to take pictures for free. We don't need to guard the gardens because this place is inherently peaceful."

Mr. Vo Thanh Hai, the owner of a chrysanthemum garden in Long Thoi commune, is delighted that many tourists enjoy visiting his garden to take photos as souvenirs of their trip to Cho Lach.

Mr. Le Tu Guong, a resident of Long Thoi commune and Head of the Organizing Committee for the Artistic Cockfighting Cultural Space in Cho Lach district, shared with surprise: " Cho Lach district has long been famous for its fighting cock breeding. However, this is the first time that artistic cockfighting has been organized free of charge for the community to enjoy, as part of a district festival, attracting many curious onlookers."

Over the course of three days, 50 teams competed for the "Hoang Ke Cho Lach" cup, with 150 roosters participating. The organizers awarded the championship trophy and sponsor's gifts to the owners of the eight winning roosters in all three matches. I was quite surprised by how much the spectators enjoyed the event. The roosters all had protective spurs, posing no threat of injury; it truly was a traditional form of entertainment.

However, as this was the first time organizing the event, we also received feedback on the rules and regulations. Tourists and cockfighting enthusiasts wanted it to be held more frequently because it is a healthy, fun, attractive, and highly entertaining event. A total of 450 gifts were given by sponsors to the winning and losing roosters; on the day of the trophy presentation, the champion roosters received prizes worth over 3 million VND.

Mr. Le Tu Guong - Head of the Organizing Committee of the Artistic Cockfighting Cultural Space in Cho Lach District (far left) was surprised by the overwhelming positive reception from tourists towards artistic cockfighting.

"The King of Ornamental Plants - Artisan Nam Cong, from Hung Khanh Trung B commune, held a live stream demonstration of creating dragon and snake mascots at the main area of ​​the Cho Lach Flower and Ornamental Plant Festival 2025 for visitors to see his skills," said artisan Nam Cong. " Previously, in Cho Lach, people only produced small ornamental plants using the 'bum sum' tree, which doesn't last long. During a visit to the festival, I saw the 'san' tree - a type of tree with long-lasting vitality - which is perfect for making ornamental plants."

So, I chose banyan and fig trees instead of the crape myrtle. Word spread, and I started making bonsai trees in animal shapes and selling them to Singapore, Australia, and Cambodia via sea freight. Afterward, I had to fly there to assemble them and instruct customers on how to care for them. When the media there featured my "dragon bonsai" creations, claiming they were from Ben Tre province, Vietnam, I felt incredibly proud.

Artisan Nam Cong, 77 years old, residing in Hung Khanh Trung B commune, will be demonstrating live the creation of dragon and snake mascots at the main area of ​​the Cho Lach Flower and Ornamental Plant Festival 2025.

* Expressing gratitude for the contributions of the people.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Cho Lach District, Pham Anh Linh, expressed: " The Cho Lach Flower and Ornamental Plant Festival in 2025, held for the first time in the district, was a resounding success. To have a large-scale festival, taking place over a wide area and attracting a large number of visitors, the district had to mobilize resources through a completely socialized approach. The success of the festival owes a great deal to the local people, especially the residents of the four communes in the Cultural and Tourism Village: Vinh Hoa, Phu Son, Vinh Thanh, and Long Thoi, who created the flower and ornamental plant route themselves."

Without the people and this route, the festival would not have attracted the attention it has received in recent days. This is a community-based festival, and on behalf of the local government, I sincerely thank the people of Cho Lach district, especially the ornamental plant producers, for their contributions to the festival's success.

Chairman of the People's Committee of Cho Lach District, Pham Anh Linh, delivered a speech at the workshop within the framework of the Cho Lach Flower and Ornamental Plant Festival 2025.

Thach Thao (compiled)

Source: https://baodongkhoi.vn/van-hoa/du-lich/ghi-chep-mua-hoa-o-lai-a141050.html