“Ve ngang mot mua hoa gao/ Thang Ba e ap ma hong/ Bang hoang tieng keu chim sao/ Mot troi hoa do menh mong…” (“Passing by a season of silk-cotton flowers / March shyly blushing pink / Startled by the call of a starling / A vast sky with red blossoms…” (from Ve ngang mua hoa gao by Thien An).

Ask the people of Hue what flower they love most, and most will likely answer: the apricot blossom. To put it more formally, “hoang mai” - yellow apricot, without a doubt. Don’t believe it? Come to Hue and see for yourself! There’s a whole movement called “Yellow apricot blossom in front of the entrance”; a completed research project on “Conservation and development of Hue’s yellow apricot variety (Hue’s Hoang mai)”; a scientific conference on developing Hue’s Hoang mai into a key local product, aimed at successfully realizing the project to build Thua Thien Hue province (now Hue City) into Vietnam’s yellow apricot homeland. My friend, journalist Minh Tu, even published a book called “In front of the house stands a yellow apricot tree”, which sold out instantly, was reprinted, and translated into foreign languages to great acclaim.

I visited An Dinh Palace on a warm, sunny early spring day. Not counting the respectful foreign visitors pausing before each artifact, I figured that among the more than 20 young people bustling about in ao-dai, with flowers, striking various poses for photos, few knew that they were standing very close to the remnants of a famous theater from the end of the Nguyen Dynasty that has now completely disappeared: Cuu Tu Dai.

Thousands of flower pots, together with decorative miniatures featuring the horse mascot along the two banks of the Perfume River, have emerged as a focal point of the Binh Ngo Tet (Lunar New Year of the Horse) 2026. The urban space of Hue has thus preserved its ancient charm while creating a distinct touch of modern beauty.

Not as common as apricot blossoms or chrysanthemums, daffodils can still be found in a few homes in Hue whenever spring returns. Enthusiasts carefully trim the bulbs, change the water, and watch the buds day by day, hoping the flowers will bloom exactly at the turn of the Lunar New Year – an elaborate pastime to welcome the new year.

While the morning mist still lingers over the streets, Hue’s flower market is already awake before dawn. At the market along Ngo Kha Street in Phu Xuan Ward, near the wholesale market, warm yellow lights spill over bundles of flowers still in bud. The sharp revving of motorbikes, vendors calling out to one another, and brisk bargaining create a unique rhythm of the final days of the lunar year.

Preparing for the flower season of Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026, flower growers across the city are staying close to their fields, busily tending their plants to ensure timely supply for the market.

While not as large-scale or bustling as many famous flower villages in the North and the South such as Sa Dec (Dong Thap), Cai Mon (Vinh Long), Nhat Tan, Tay Tuu (Hanoi), or Thai Phien (Lam Dong)…, the flower villages supplying Tet flowers in Hue remain vibrant and deeply imbued with local cultural identity.

Alongside their efforts to help trees sprout and flowers bloom across the nation’s borderlands, the Border Guard force has been nurturing a vibrant spring in the hearts of the people.

Under the theme “Hue Spring Festival 2026 - Identity and integration”, Hue Spring Flower Festival 2026 will be held at Ly Tu Trong Park, Thuong Bac Park, Kim Long Park (the area opposite Kim Long communal house), 3/2 Park, and at various green spaces and streets in the city.

If you come to Hue in these late spring days, let’s wander along the banks of the Huong River, parks, and streets in the city to admire the gentle purple Xoan petals, as beautiful as Hue maidens!

In the gentle golden sunlight of early spring, millions of tiny, pure white daisies bloom, astonishing visitors with their pure beauty.

When mentioning the Firmiana simplex tree, one is also reminded of the phoenix - a bird that only perches on Firmiana simplex tree.

The trees with red silk-cotton flowers blooming like dots, making the landscape of Hue even more brilliant.

As a unique handmade product that combines both the art of mixing and shaping, the artistic powder flowers require both the meticulousness and ingenuity of the hands.