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“The harvest season is perhaps the most memorable for any child growing up in a rice-growing countryside. Every year, at the beginning of May, cycling along the village roads, with endless rice fields on both sides, feels like riding through a golden sea. The wind carries the scent of ripe rice to our noses, and at that moment, we kids knew another summer had arrived.”
That's the sentiment shared by photographer Nguyen Huu Thuong, a student from Quang Tri province, who created the photo series of golden rice fields during harvest season.
The beauty of Vietnamese countryside during harvest season, as seen through the eyes of a university student.
These photographs were probably not taken through the eyes of a college student, but rather by an innocent, naive boy who spent his days wandering along the embankments of his homeland, breathing in the scent of ripening rice.
The vast expanse of golden rice paddies stretches as far as the eye can see, blending seamlessly with the verdant mountain range.
“The rice grains of our village / Have storms in July / Have rain in March / Drops of sweat fall / On June afternoons…”. Nestled within the heavy, ripe rice grains are the sweat of the farmers. The golden harvest season is the one they look forward to most, the season of reaping the fruits of months of hard work in planting and caring for the crops.
The golden season, the season when the sweat of farmers transforms into the sweet milk of rice grains.
Golden rice paddies, winding green canals reflecting the sky and clouds. For many, it's an ordinary sight, nothing special. But for the children of the Vietnamese countryside, perhaps it is precisely these simple things that evoke profound emotion.
The green canal meanders through the golden rice paddies.
The golden rice season is the most anticipated time of year. Children look forward to summer vacation, and adults look forward to the harvest. After a long year of hard work, the children finally get a break and rush out to play in the village streets. What could be better than cycling through the ripening rice fields, breathing in the sweet aroma of the rice, and enjoying the summer breeze blowing through your hair?
The golden season, the season when children have their summer vacation.
During the lotus blooming season, children happily play by the vibrant lotus pond.
"When we are here, it is merely a place to live; when we leave, the land suddenly transforms into a soul." (Che Lan Vien).
Hey friend, the rice harvest season is here! If you can, take the opportunity to visit your hometown, see the golden rice fields, meet the people of the past, and visit the familiar places. What could be more precious than the place where you were born and raised, the place that nurtured you into the person you are today, the place that has become a part of your very being?
