For Hue people, the Diospyros decandra tree is more than a fruit tree; it carries spiritual significance, often standing beside shrines, village communal houses, and ancient pagodas, etc. Therefore, the season of ripe gold apple fruits not only brings back a familiar fragrance, but also awakens a part of the cultural memory of the ancient capital.
In front of the ancestral worship hall of the Than Van family’s, Duong Xuan branch (Thuy Xuan Ward), stands a Diospyros decandra tree, which is more than 300 years old. This is the first Heritage Tree in Hue, which was recognized in 2010. According to the family’s genealogical records, the tree was propagated from Nguyet Bieu Village (now in Thuy Bieu Ward, Hue City), and planted in 1698 to mark the family’s land boundary and the moment they settled down in the new land.
The trunk measures roughly 1.4 meters in diameter, with exposed roots spanning over 10 meters in circumference at the base. Beneath its canopy stand a heritage plaque and an inscribed stele recounting the ancient tree’s history.
Further along Than Trong Phuoc Street (Thuy Xuan Ward), another century-old Diospyros decandra tree rises beside a shrine built during the reign of Emperor Khai Dinh. Nearly everyone in the old Thuy Bieu area knows this tree, since the fragrance of its ripe fruit spreads along the street for weeks every fruiting season.
Eighty-year-old Ton That Au, who looks after the shrine, said that he had seen the Diospyros decandra tree here since he was a child. As the shrine was built under royal order and its history is documented in surviving records, the site has always been carefully preserved and largely untouched.
These days, as people travel along many streets, they can easily catch a faint fragrance drifting on the breeze. It is then that we realize we are in the midst of a fragrant, sweet autumn filled with the fruits of Hue…
Join Hue Today Online in visiting these ancient Diospyros decandra trees that quietly spread their fragrance along the streets:
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| In the courtyard of a shrine along the Huong River |
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| Gold apple fruits recalling Co Tam, a character in grandparents’ fairy tale |
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| The more-than-300-year-old Diospyros decandra tree bearing a plaque recognizing the first Heritage Tree in Hue |
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| A hollow in the trunk is a scar from wartime bomb shrapnel. |
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| Gathering fruits beneath a century-old Diospyros decandra tree |
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| Traces of time on the roof of the shrine at Mr. Ton That Au’s house |
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| A 200-year-old Diospyros decandra tree growing alongside a Ficus microcarpa and a Sterculia lanceolata tree along the road to Huyen Khong Pagoda |
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| This is the peak ripening season of the gold apple fruits. This year, the trees have produced fewer fruits than usual due to weather conditions |
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| A fruit stall selling gold apple fruits at Ben Ngu Market for 50,000 VND per kilogram |
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| Cherishing the gift from the fairy tale |
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| Being excited about the autumn’s signature fruit |