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As March arrives, Hanoi enters a gentle transitional period, with a lingering chill in the air and soft morning sunlight filtering through the trees. This is also the time when the bauhinia flowers begin to bloom, painting many streets purple and giving the capital a romantic, poetic, and nostalgic beauty.
Bauhinia flowers bloom in the early morning sun, dyeing a corner of Hanoi's sky purple.
When Hanoi is bathed in the purple hues of Northwest Vietnam.
Bauhinia flowers – a characteristic flower of the Northwest mountainous region – have long been an indispensable part of Hanoi's springtime scenery. Every March, rows of bauhinia trees on Bac Son, Hoang Dieu, Phan Dinh Phung streets, and around Ho Guom Lake… burst into bloom simultaneously, creating a dreamy scene in the heart of the city. Their delicate petals, a pale purple-white hue, adorned with yellow stamens at the stem, brighten the space with the colors of spring.
For Tran Van Chung (Hanoi), the season of bauhinia flowers is always a special time of year. He shared: “Looking at the bauhinia flowers in bloom, I feel more peaceful and relaxed amidst the bustling city. Just walking along Bac Son road and seeing the long stretches of blossoms is enough to make a day more gentle.”
The delicate petals of the bauhinia flower display their beauty, exuding an elegant and pure charm.
Fragile beauty in the early morning sun.
Perhaps the best time to admire the bauhinia flowers is in the early morning or late afternoon. When the first rays of sunlight are gentle, the petals still hold dew, sparkling in the soft light, creating a poetic scene. Tran Van Chung recalls a memory of an early morning photographing bauhinia flowers on Bac Son Street: “Dew still clung to each petal, sparkling in the early morning sun, making the scene even more romantic. Bauhinia flowers bloomed profusely all over the area, and many people wearing traditional Vietnamese dresses came to take pictures, creating a lively yet very gentle atmosphere.”
Many Hanoi residents are taking advantage of the short but beautiful season of bauhinia flowers to capture stunning images.
Not only a destination for photography enthusiasts, the blooming season of the Bauhinia flower also becomes an opportunity for many Hanoians to rediscover peaceful moments amidst the hustle and bustle of life. Streets like Hoang Dieu, Bac Son, in front of the National University gate, or around Hoan Kiem Lake… are always ideal places to immerse oneself in the beauty of the flowers.
Each bauhinia flower is a work of art, soft and graceful in every detail.
Bauhinia flowers – a unique charm of Hanoi in March.
The bauhinia flower is not only beautiful with its gentle purple color, but also carries a profound cultural story. This flower is associated with the legend of the faithful love between Khum and Ban in Thai ethnic culture. Therefore, the bauhinia flower is not only a symbol of spring in Northwest Vietnam, but also signifies unwavering loyalty and lasting love.
In Hanoi, bauhinia trees have been widely planted since the 2000s, gradually becoming an indispensable part of the city's streets every March. Initially, rows of bauhinia trees appeared in the Bac Son - Hoang Dieu area, then spread to many other streets such as Phan Dinh Phung, Duong Thanh, the area around Bach Thao Park, and in front of the National University.
The setting is very romantic, very poetic...
What's special about the bauhinia flower is that it's not only beautiful when it blooms on the branches, but even when it falls, its delicate petals retain their pristine beauty. Chung exclaimed: "Hanoi in the bauhinia season has a very unique beauty. In the heart of the bustling city, the blooming bauhinia blossoms seem to bring the purple hues of the Northwest mountains to the urban landscape."
The bauhinia flower season doesn't last very long, only about a month before giving way to the scorching summer sun. But it is precisely this fragility and brevity that makes people cherish it even more. Anyone who has ever strolled along streets covered in bauhinia blossoms will surely carry with them beautiful memories of a Hanoi that is both poetic and romantic.
In the final days of spring, the bauhinia flowers bloom profusely, like a gentle greeting from nature.
March will pass, and the bauhinia flower season will come to an end, but those streets covered in purple blossoms will always remain a beautiful part of Hanoi's memories, evoking a sense of nostalgia in anyone who has ever witnessed them.
