Combining artistic expression with refined sculpting skills, Nguyen Thi Quynh Nhu, a pastry chef born in 1995, is creating vivid “blooming flowers” on each of her cakes.

These days, lotus flowers are blooming profusely in the Imperial City, along the streets, and in the suburbs of Hue, bringing it a peaceful and gentle beauty. Lotus flowers have always been closely connected to the people of Hue. Wherever visitors travel in Hue, they will encounter lotus ponds and lakes.

I happened to come across a Facebook post of a friend currently living in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It read, “seeing seven blooming pink lotus flowers celebrating Vesak on Nhan Co Lake reminds me so much of my hometown - Hue, where Ngu Mountain and the Perfume River reside.”

Inherently being called a regal flower associated with the image of the Nguyen Dynasty in Hue, the annual blooming season of Firmiana simplex (also known as Chinese parasol) flowers is in late March and April, creating picturesque images in the space of Hue Imperial Citadel.