In the days of March, all roads of Dien Bien Province are filled with the pure and poetic white colours of flowers. From the highland districts to Dien Bien Phu City, hoa ban bloom brilliantly for several weeks. This is also when the exciting festival in the early year of ethnic minority groups is held, attracting many visitors.
All roads of Dien Bien Province are filled with the pure and poetic white colours of flowers during the days of March. (Photo: Hai Lam)
This year, the scope of the Bauhinia Flower Festival will be reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the flowers are still beautiful. Travelling to Dien Bien during this season, visitors can see forests, hills and streets filled with white and purple-pink bauhinia flowers. Several destinations that feature many perennial bauhinia trees, such as Na Nhan (in Dien Bien District), Sa Long (in Muong Cha District) and Tua Thang (in Tua Chua District), have been attractive to travellers and photographers looking to take beautiful photos of the symbolic flower of the north-western region.
According to the legend of Thai ethnic minority people, hoa ban is dedicated to the faithful love and the beautiful qualities of women. Once upon a time, the beautiful woman named Ban had a passionate love affair with a man and would rather die than marry a rich man. For many generations, hoa ban has always been closely associated with the life of Thai people, in their beliefs and spirituality as well as their culture and folk arts activities.
Bauhinia flowers have fragile petals, but they bloom densely. They have a sweet and pleasant fragrance. When the wind blows, the heavy flower clusters flutter like butterflies flapping their wings. The flowers falling to the foot of the trees remain fresh for a few days, creating a romantic scene. In addition to visitors, the locals are also eager to visit and take photos with bauhinia flowers, such as Nguyen Huu Tho Street along Nam Rom River or the Dien Bien Phu Victory Monument area.
Coming to Dien Bien during the season of hoa ban, visitors can enjoy xoi nep (sticky rice), thit gac bep (smoked meat), fried fish and ruou can (wine drunk from a jar through pipes). The beautiful bauhinia flowers appear in the traditional skirts of charming Thai girls, xoe khan (a dance with scarfs) and xoe quat (xoe dance with a fan) in the spring.
Hai Lam - Translated by NDO