In mid-January 2025, when there are only about 2 weeks left until people officially welcome the spring of At Ty, according to Lao Dong, from early morning, crowds of people flocked to flower selling areas to choose for themselves the most brilliant pots of plants and bouquets of flowers, bringing the flavor of spring home.
The closer it gets to Tet, the busier peach growers are pruning and transporting colorful peach branches from their gardens to the streets to sell.
Through observation, along National Highway 4D from Sa Pa to Lai Chau and vice versa, people have begun to display peach branches and orchid pots.
Transporting peach branches from the garden with the hope of selling them quickly, Mr. Ly Van San (Trung Chai commune, Sa Pa town) shared: "The weather this year is very cold, so peach blossoms bloom slowly and last a long time. Due to the impact of storms and floods, many peach growing areas in the provinces have been damaged. Therefore, at this time, many people from Hanoi, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh provinces come here to see and choose beautiful peach branches."
According to Mr. San, the price of peach blossoms this year is slightly higher than last year, but not much higher. Therefore, at this time, people often buy early instead of waiting until the last minute like every year.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lo Van Son (Tam Duong district, Lai Chau province) also said that he and many peach growers in the district have been bringing peach branches down to National Highway 4D to sell for more than a week now. For convenience, people often set up temporary tents as shelter. If there were vehicles to transport them downstream, the price would be higher.
“This year’s peach blossoms are more beautiful than usual, and the cold weather will keep them longer and bloom right on Tet. Although it’s hard work, we hope we can sell them all soon so we can go home and celebrate the new year with our families,” Mr. Son said excitedly.
Having just finished a trip from Sa Pa and on her way back, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Huyen (a tourist from Hanoi) said: “I passed by here and saw people selling peach blossoms along the road, so I conveniently stopped by to choose a branch to bring “spring” home. This year’s prices are also from a few million VND/branch, with beautiful branches or trees costing more. But I think it’s worth the effort of the people to take care of it over the past year.”
Through research, Sa Pa town currently has about 100 hectares of peach trees planted in Ngu Chi Son, Ta Van, and Ta Phin communes. This is a local peach variety, so people grow it from seeds. From the third year onwards, they start harvesting fruit and pruning branches for sale.
Not only peach blossoms, but also Northwest orchids have become a favorite choice of many families. Orchids such as Phi Diep orchids, Phalaenopsis orchids, or Tran Mong orchids are brought to the streets for sale by people.
According to the People's Committee of Sa Pa town (Lao Cai province), up to now, about 30,000 pots of Tran Mong orchids (priced at millions of dong per pot) have been brought to Lao Cai city by gardeners for sale and to avoid cold damage.
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