Late-blooming season in Long Luong

SON LA – Coming to the villages in Long Luong (Van Ho) at the end of February and early March, visitors still see peach gardens blooming.

Lunar New Year is nearly half a month, it is the time of spring to start in Long Luong, when the cherry blossoms are at their most brilliant. Visitors coming here will see many gardens, villages, even valleys glowing with pink, red, and purple colors of cherry blossoms.

For H’mong people, especially in Long Luong commune, cherry blossoms not only symbolize spring, luck and completeness, but also a close friend. The tree provides a source of income for the people from harvesting the fruit and selling peach wings and peach root. So it is rare to find houses in the villages that do not grow peaches.

Ancient peach roots bloom alternately with yellow mustard greens in the old forest - the area bordering the two communes of Long Luong and Chieng Yen. Photo: Ngo Thanh Dao — Ancient peaches bloom interspersed with yellow mustard greens in the old forest – the area bordering the two communes of Long Luong and Chieng Yen. Photo: *Ngo Thanh Dao*

There are many explanations for digging Long Luong blooming so much late. Part of that is because the commune is located at an altitude of nearly 1,000 meters above sea level, with cool weather like Sa Pa and Tam Dao. Most of the peach trees here are old peach “cat” with fat flowers, big wings, often blooming later than apricot peaches, French peaches. Therefore, when the plum and peach blossoms are everywhere, visitors to Long Luong can still admire the immense peach forests.

Visitors can visit the gardens, peach forests along NH6 with the ticket price of 20,000 VND / person. If you go deeper into the ethnic minority villages, ask for permission to see flowers for free. Photo: Ngo Thanh Dao — Visitors can visit the gardens and peach forest along NH6 with the ticket price of 20,000 VND / person. If you go deeper into the ethnic minority villages, ask for permission to see flowers for free. Photo: *Ngo Thanh Dao*

On the Moc Chau tourist road , touching the gateway of Van Ho district, along the NH6 road, visitors will see on the hillsides on both sides of the road covered with pink color. Here there are peach gardens of the people, there is a fee of about 20,000 VND when taking pictures.

To Chieng Yen commune, the tourist destination is the old forest peach garden, where there are nearly a hundred old peach trees, ragged with moss. The rocky fence along the roadside with cat-ear rocks placed naturally under the base, mixed with yellow mustard greens, stands out against the pink, peach-colored sky that any visitors who pass by also want to stop to take pictures.

From here onwards, to Long Luong commune, the two sides of the road had more flowers and more and more deeply like the villages of Co Long, Co Cham, San Cai … every house has peach root growing in full bloom. Going deeper into the villages, visitors can ask for permission to take pictures with the garden in full bloom, have fun with children and chat with local people.