The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on Thursday evening held a ceremony to open the Nguyen Hue Flower Street, which is organized annually to celebrate the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday and is now in its 20th year.
Before the opening ceremony, the flower street had been teeming with visitors.
Most of them expressed their keen interest in statues of cat, the zodiac animal of the upcoming lunar new year, on the street.
Visitors were also surprised at statues of zodiac animals of previous years, which were also erected on the street this year.
Nguyen Hoang Vy, residing in Thu Duc City, said the flower street this year is more interesting and impressive.
“With this feelings, I hope I will obtain certain achievements in 2023 and my family will spend more time together,” Vy added.
Thang from Binh Thanh District, said his family would return to his hometown on Friday, so they came to the flower street from Thursday afternoon.
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| The family of Nguyen Hoang, a resident in Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City, takes photos on the flower street. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
Speaking at the Nguyen Hue Flower Street opening ceremony, Ho Chi Minh City Vice Chairman Duong Anh Duc said the highlight of the flower street this year is 20 statues of zodiac animals at the entrance of the street, which represent the city’s development process over the past 20 years.
The flower street was inspired by the city’s multi-cultural lifestyle with traditional dishes, ca phe bet (drinking coffee on the ground), and smart and technological city.
The flower street this year also includes flower-based artistic works of general consulates of eight countries, including the U.S., Thailand, Japan, and South Korea, in Ho Chi Minh City, Duc said.
The municipal leader also hailed Saigontourist Group, a local tourism firm, for designing, managing the construction and mobilizing resources from other enterprises to develop the flower street.
Over the past two decades, the Nguyen Hue Flower Street has become an entertainment venue for local residents and tourists, a special cultural work, and a new symbol of the city when the lunar new year is coming.
To mark the 20th year of the flower street, the city will extend the flower street’s opening time by one day compared with previous years to January 25, or the fifth day of the new lunar year.
With the theme “Xuan an vui, xuan thinh vuong” (Happy and prosperous spring), the flower street has been a symbol of the city during the Tet holiday.
The flower street is divided into two segments—happy spring and prosperous spring.
Many environmentally-friendly materials, such as spongy, bamboo, bricks, and fabrics, nearly 106,000 pots with 88 kinds of flowers, 18 kinds of leaves, and 300 square meters of grass are used for the decorations on the over-600-meter street.
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| Delegates cut the ribbon to open the Nguyen Hue Flower Street in celebration of the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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| An artistic performance at the opening ceremony of the flower street. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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| Delegates visit the flower street after attending the flower street opening ceremony. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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| A family has a look of their photos. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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| Some female consuls of other countries in Ho Chi Minh City wearing ao dai (Vietnamese traditional outfit) while visiting the flower street. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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| The flower street opens at 7:45 pm on Thursday. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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| The Nguyen Hue flower street is crowded with visitors. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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