Nguyen Hue boulevard - the flowering street right in the heart of Saigon - the most "invested" event for Lunar New Year festivities, the most eagerly awaited event for people living in Saigon, for visitors. It could be also the oldest flowering street, back to 1970s or even before I was born, at that time it was just a simple flower market held for few days before Tết. The authorities continued the tradition and turned it into an annual activity to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Every year with different theme, but always loyal with the image of Vietnam in the countryside, the rice field, the monkey bridge across the pond with lotus, the evergreen bamboos…
2014 - the year of the Horse. These 5 horses carrying a giant clock, will the Time fly faster?
The opening ceremony will be held on 28th of Dec. by Lunar calendar (i.e tomorrow) and last for 7 days. After the opening, day and night, this street is always horribly crowded…so I decided to have a night shoot, just one night before the opening, to share with those Vietnamese living abroad and can't go back home, feel homesick, nostalgic during this traditional festive, and also for those foreigners who never visit Saigon during this special period of the year.
Final maintenance works before the Opening Ceremony...
The flowering boulevard has a magical view at night...
the weather in Saigon this time is unusually cold, it would help flowers lasting longer...
After many years, the image of the evergreen bamboos, the rice flower, rice field - always here
The monkey bridge across the pond with lotus - a familiar image in Vietnam's countryside.
The City Hall at the other end of the flowering boulevard...
The worker keeps watering flowers...
as all undone works should be completed by today - the last day before the Opening.
The giant symbolic rice flowers express our wish for the prosperities...
The evergreen rice fields under the moon night...
The dark night, the light make the scenery more mysterious...
and these giant bird nests are surely for the Pigeons...
here you are…the Pigeon hidden in the nest.
Let's hope many things in this year will be moving faster in a positive, better way, all unsolved crisis, problems will be quickly solved…Only few days left to our traditional New Year, so I wish everyone who spend time to check my blog, to make comments a very Happy New Year!
Thank you so much for posting, Anh. It does help ease the pain of missing Vietnam que^ hu*o*ng a bit.
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