Meet Spring in the Land of Flowers

Every Lunar New Year, photographers enter a special "travel season": the flower hunting season.

Springtime in the highlands. (Photo: DUONG TOAN)

Every Lunar New Year, photographers enter a special "travel season": the flower hunting season. From Hanoi's flower markets to the northern rocky plateaus; from the cherry blossom hills of Da Lat to the riverside flower villages of the Mekong Delta... these journeys are not only about finding beautiful images but also about preserving cultural memories, people's lives, and the country's transformation in the new spring season.

Flowers beckon footsteps

It's no coincidence that photographers often jokingly call spring the "starting season." After a busy year, they don't rest but instead hit the road, carrying cameras, lenses, and the excitement of the flowers gradually awakening the earth and sky. About a month before the Lunar New Year, the creative atmosphere in Hanoi is already bustling.

At the familiar destination of Nhat Tan peach blossom garden, amidst the peach trees still dotted with buds, photographers arrive at dawn, checking the light, adjusting the composition, patiently waiting for a thin mist or a passing figure to capture the essence of their photos. Tay Tuu and Quang Ba, in the days leading up to Tet, become outdoor "studios" with roses, chrysanthemums, lilies, gladioli, peonies... in a dazzling array of colors.

On the eve of Tet at Hang Luoc flower market, amidst the characteristic spring drizzle of Hanoi, flower vendors, shoppers, elderly people leisurely choosing peach blossoms, and graceful young women showing off their figures in traditional ao dai dresses… all create scenes that are distinctly Vietnamese Tet.

These subjects might seem old to outsiders. But for photographers, they are an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Each year, the light changes, the crowds change, and the photographer's emotions change. It is this very difference that keeps them coming back, year after year.

Leaving the city, spring, captured through the lens, heads towards vast, expansive fields of flowers. Nighttime journeys take photographers to the northern mountains, where peach blossoms, plum blossoms, apricot blossoms, rapeseed flowers… transform the landscape into a colorful carpet of blossoms.

The plum valleys of Na Ka and Mu Nau ( Son La province ) become a popular destination for hundreds of photographers every spring.

On peak days, the number of photographers increases three or four times the normal number. But what keeps them there isn't just the flowers, but also the local way of life: the highland market, the H'Mong flute music, the Thai folk dance, the pao throwing game, the pounding of sticky rice cakes…

In Dong Van and Meo Vac ( Tuyen Quang province), vibrant pink peach blossoms bloom beautifully like a dream on the winding rocky slopes, beside ancient rammed-earth houses, providing a backdrop for the colorful dresses of Dao and Lo Lo women going out to celebrate spring.

For photographers in the south, the Tet flower season leads them to the bustling floating markets of Cai Rang and Chau Doc, filled with the atmosphere of buying and selling, or to villages of apricot blossoms, bougainvillea, and chrysanthemums bursting forth in the warm golden sunlight…

Each flower has its own rhythm and nuance, but they all share one thing in common: flowers and plants don't stand alone; they always accompany people and life. Flowers are a gateway to stories of identity and the continuation of tradition within the flow of modernity.

Therefore, these flower-hunting trips at the beginning of the year have more significance than just a characteristic artistic activity of the photography world; they become a form of documentary writing using visual language and emotions.

Thousands of artworks have been and will be used for tourism, advertising, books, magazines domestically, as well as international publications, contributing to spreading the image of Vietnam to a wide audience.

Preserving Spring with Light

While "flower hunting" remains a tradition, well-organized photo trips in recent years are opening up new avenues for photography linked to tourism and local culture.

At the end of January, the "Spring Comes to the Land of Flowers" photography competition in Sa Dec (Dong Thap) attracted more than 100 photographers from many provinces and cities across the country.

Photographer Ngo Tran Hai An, a member of the organizing committee, recounted with emotion: "Hundreds of people with cameras and lenses of all kinds lined up to receive their press passes from before sunrise."

Some people crawled on the ground to catch dewdrops on flower petals, others stood in the middle of the walkway asking for a moment to be moved aside to preserve the moment, and some switched lenses as quickly as magic. Memory cards started "crying for help," not because they were overloaded, but because emotions were overflowing.

But according to him, what was even more impressive than the beautiful flower village scenery was the enthusiastic participation of the community, from the People's Committee of Sa Dec ward, the Women's Association, the Youth Union, the Monument Management Board... to the farmers, all of whom made efforts to support and create an inspiring creative space.

At the ancestral home of Dr. Nguyen Thanh Giung, locals recreated the traditional Southern Vietnamese Tet atmosphere: wrapping banh tet (traditional rice cakes), lighting fires, and preparing the feast. In the afternoon, at the Huynh Thuy Le ancestral home, golden sunlight fell on the tiled floor, and the flowing skirts of traditional Vietnamese blouses created cinematic images.

The photographs produced were not only used for exhibitions or competitions, but they also became valuable visual documentation of a vibrant spring season.

Photographer Nguyen Bao (Dong Nai) shared that his greatest joy is finding novelty in things that seem familiar. In early 2026, he went to Da Lat (Lam Dong) to photograph cherry blossoms, then returned to Phu Son bougainvillea village (Vinh Long). There, he not only photographed the flowers, but also the anxieties and hopes of the flower growers on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

Whether flowers bloom early or late, whether the harvest is bountiful or the prices are low… all are reflected in the eyes of the farmers – the people who silently create spring for millions of families. Waking up at 4 a.m. on a cold January day, the photographers of the Lao Cai Provincial Union of Literature and Arts prepare their equipment and travel along the roads of Mu Cang Chai, Tram Tau, Y Ty… Hunting for spring flowers is becoming an integral part of the cultural-tourism-creative value chain.

Many travel companies collaborate with photographers to organize photography tours for domestic and international tourists who wish to experience Vietnam's nature and culture through the lens.

After the Lunar New Year, spring continues with pear blossoms in Tuyen Quang, hawthorn blossoms in Son La, and bauhinia blossoms in Dien Bien… associated with vibrant New Year festivals. This continuity not only provides a constant source of inspiration for photographers but also helps localities extend the tourism season.

Many models of flower festivals, community tourism, homestays, and cultural experience services have developed from the flower seasons themselves.

Time passes and never returns, but the vibrant colors of flowers in these spring photographs will forever shine brightly. It is the spring of a nation undergoing renewal, of its hardworking people, and of fields where flowers bloom in succession throughout the country.

For photography enthusiasts, a spring flower season is not only a date with nature but also an opportunity to enrich experiences and love for life, thereby continuing to "tell" the story of their homeland, Vietnam, in their own unique way.

MY HANH

Source: https://nhandan.vn/hen-xuan-o-nhung-mien-hoa-post943251.html