Hanoi ready for first lotus festival

The festival will include many activities to promote lotus, lotus products and One Commune-One Product (OCOP) products from the city and northern mountainous provinces.

Within the framework of the festival, a workshop will take place on the conservation and development of Vietnamese lotus. Tay Ho district will inaugurate a centre for OCOP product introduction and sale. There will be a lotus installation art space, an exhibition of lotus photos in the Vietnamese life, a promotion programme for Tay Ho district’s tourism, a music night featuring works by Vietnamese popular composer Trinh Cong Son, and a cycling event in which 7,000 people are expected to pedal around the West Lake.

Lotus pond owners in the district have been working feverishly to get ready for the festival since the district People’s Committee announced the festival mid last month.

Farmer Chu Duc Trong said this year, lotus started blooming in May but the pond owners are currently pruning the plants to ensure the lotus garden remains green during the festival.

Trong said they have been trying to keep the ponds with enough lotus for visitors to enjoy, take pictures, and experience many exciting activities. They also added some decorative objects for guests to take pictures on the spot.

He said that when first hearing about the festival, lotus pond owners like him were very excited as the festival will be a great opportunity to promote Hanoi lotus.

Particularly, West Lake lotus is very famous, attracting thousands of people to take picture and enjoy tea when it's in full bloom. In preparation for the Lotus Festival, pond owners have made lotus tea and mut sen (sugar-coated lotus seeds) and arranged tea treats.

Meanwhile, Luu Thi Hien - the owner of Hanoi's famous lotus tea brand Hien Xiem - said that her establishment has prepared unique lotus tea for the festival.

She said her family has had the tradition of making tea for many generations and supplied large quantities of lotus tea to the market every year.

"The art of making lotus tea has been passed down for many generations in many families in Tay Ho, but now there are only a few left. Therefore, the festival will help promote the quintessence of Hanoi lotus and encourage artisans to preserve their ancestors' craft," Hien said.

According to the Tay Ho district People's Committee, the Hanoi Lotus Festival 2024 will feature lotus bulbs, silk, sweet soup, sticky rice, sausage, decorative products, and handicrafts.

Vice Chairwoman of the committee Bui Thi Lan Phuong said that so far, enterprises are making preparations, ready to offer unique Hanoi lotus products to festival-goers.

She emphasised that the festival will provide an attractive and unique experience for local and tourists, reaffirming the value of the lotus in the cultural and spiritual life of Vietnamese people in general and Hanoi in particular, as well as the potential of lotus in the economic development.