The streets surrounding Hoan Kiem Lake have been transformed into a pedestrian zone in which vehicles have been prohibited until January 3.
Cao Thanh Huong, a first-year student at Hanoi’s National University of Economics, was among the hundreds of local students volunteering to guard the flower arrangements, ensuring that none were pilfered.
Huong said she and her colleagues didn’t mind standing in the rain to protect the flowers. The first morning had passed without incident, she said.
Most visitors used the dazzling display of Dutch tulips and other flowers as a photo opportunity with family and friends.
Also on display alongside the flowers were a giant ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress), 10 meters in length and weighing more than 30 kg, and a royal edict replica carved on pearl wood. The edict depicted the 1010 decree by King Ly Thai To that transferred the capital of Vietnam from Hoa Lu in Ninh Binh Province to what was then Thang Long and is now known as Hanoi.
Visitors can also admire a 6.5m, 120 kg rattan-made flower vase and attend a flower art arrangement competition and tea night-flower party.
Reported by Thu Huong |