About 20km from the administrative center of Dien Bien province, the cherry blossom island located in the middle of Pa Khoang lake, Muong Phang commune, appears like a watercolor painting with pink as the main color.
To have the flower island like today is the nearly 20-year research journey of Dr. Tran Le - owner of the cherry blossom island.
According to Mr. Tran Le, in 2006, he brought the first 10 rare cherry seeds from Japan to Vietnam. Overcoming many failures that predecessors had encountered due to hard seed husks and inappropriate planting techniques, he researched how to safely separate seed husks and create soil slope so that the roots of the tree do not water.
As a result, 9 out of 10 seeds germinated, of which 4 trees were test-planted on this deserted island. By 2009, the first flowers bloomed, marking a milestone turning the dream of Japanese cherry blossoms rooting in Dien Bien land into reality.
Muong Phang is a land with a prime location behind the Hoang Lien Son range and an altitude of more than 1,000m above sea level.
Especially, because it is located next to the largest reservoir in the province, the climate here is warm winter, cool summer, and there is no frost thanks to water vapor rising from the lake surface. This is an ideal condition for this fastidious flower to grow" - Mr. Le analyzed.
Currently, the flower island area of more than 7ha currently owns 20 different flower varieties, most of which are Edohigan Zakura varieties with about 120,000 trees.
According to reporters' records on December 31, groups of tourists came to record the moment flowers bloomed in the early morning sun. Visitor tickets are currently listed at 50,000 VND/person.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Viet - a photographer in Dien Bien said: "This year's flower season blooms very evenly, bright pink. The number of customers booking photos has increased dramatically, especially on weekends. However, service prices remain stable so that everyone can save beautiful memories.
Muong Phang commune is preparing for the Muong Phang Commune Cherry Blossom Festival in 2026, expected to take place from January 9 - 11, 2026. This year's festival has the theme "Muong Phang in Spring - Cherry blossoms show off their colors", promising to be a series of unique cultural and tourism events.
The highlight is the opening art program at Muong Phang Victory Celebration Park and the "Muong Phang Colors" festival held right on the flower island.
Visitors to the festival not only enjoy the colors of flowers, enjoy cuisine, and tea ceremony in the Japanese cultural space, but also immerse themselves in local life through OCOP booths, Thai, H'Mong, and Kho Mu cultural spaces.
In addition, kayak racing on Pa Khoang Lake and folk games are also organized to increase community connectivity.
In particular, the launching ceremony of cherry blossom planting in Keo village (Muong Phang commune) will be a meaningful activity, sending a message of environmental protection and sustainable tourism development of Dien Bien province.
