Preparation of Ho Chi Minh City's iconic flower street speeds up before showtime
Friday, January 21, 2022, 09:00 GMT+7
Workers are racing against the clock to finish Nguyen Hue Flower Street, an annual event hosted in Ho Chi Minh City to commemorate Vietnam's traditional Lunar New Year, or Tet.
As the 2022 Lunar New Year ushers in the Year of the Tiger, the vast majority of the venue’s designs and decorations will feature the zodiac animal, with 50 mascots put up along the flower street.
Among the 50 mascots, four of the largest tigers stand more than three meters tall and five meters long.
One of these massive tigers is a 3.5-ton behemoth that was created from gravel, mica, and softwood.
 |
| Duong Anh Duc (third left), vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, checks on Nguyen Hue Flower Street on January 17, 2022. Photo: Nhat Thinh / Tuoi Tre |
During a Monday inspection on the progress, quality, safety, and pandemic prevention regulations of the “flower road” in District 1, Duong Anh Duc, vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, gave suggestions for the the tigers to be made more visually appealing.
He also reminded workers that the holiday is just days away and asked them to speed up progress.
 |
| An area undergoes construction at Nguyen Hue Flower Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nhat Thinh / Tuoi Tre |
 |
| Workers rush to complete decorative miniatures at Nguyen Hue Flower Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nhat Thinh / Tuoi Tre |
According to Saigontourist, the company charged with constructing the flower street, workers on the project have faced several obstacles spanning all stages of work, from design organization to construction, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A major roadblock has been the declining flower supply due to gardeners being unable to seed and harvest as usual due to social distancing restrictions.
However, the organizers are still attempting to display over 80 different types of flowers in nearly 97,000 pots and baskets.
Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2022 offers the public hope for the future and is an expression of gratitude to Vietnamese citizens, especially frontline workers, throughout the country who supported Ho Chi Minh City in its fight against the pandemic.
According to the organizing board, work on adorning the street will continue until 4:00 pm on January 21.
The venue will officially open to the public at 7:00 pm on the same day.
All traffic on roads surrounding Nguyen Hue Street will be blocked from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm during the opening ceremony on January 21.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
