Enjoying fresh air in flower village outside Hanoi

Cycling around Me Linh village in Hanoi’s outskirt covered with hundreds of flowers, visitors can soak up the fresh and peaceful ambiance of the suburb or experience fragrance and beauty of flowers grown by friendly locals.

Located just 30 kilometers from downtown Hanoi, Me Linh village has long-standing history of floriculture, some ten years, and is a new flower hub offering fresh flowers for Hanoi and northern provinces.

A day trip to Me Linh flower village is a chance to escape from hustle and bustle and to fill one’s lungs with fresh air in flower fields after long days choking in Hanoi's polluted air.

The best time to roam the village when the weather began cold, in the early mornings or late afternoons to witness romantic and picturesque scene.

Though it does not have long history like Ngoc Ha and Nhat Tan villages, Me Linh now hosts more than 200ha of flower fields.

“Income from flowers has made significant changes to our life. In the past, we just planted rice, corn, vegetables and fruits,” said a local farmer.

“We still live on agriculture but our living standards have greatly improved thanks to flowers,” the farmer added.

Flower fields featuring violet, gladiolus, mimosa, rose, daisy and lily have brought new colors for the village.

Few people would know that the flower village was formed accidentally nearly 20 years ago, when Nguyen Van Loi, a student from the National Economics University, brought a Da Lat rose from a birthday party home to Me Linh district, which was then part of the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

At that time, such a rose was a rare and luxury item found on postcards only.

Passion for Loi’s future career drove him to graft the rose with wild rose plants popular in Me Linh fields.

The mixed rose plant grew well, to Loi’s surprise. He then spread the plant across his field with his older brother Nguyen Van Quy.

The first crop brought his family enough money to ease the loss of the family’s fish pond.

The family then grew more bumper flower crops, which inspired more households in the area to ask for help grafting plants, selecting genres and care techniques.

Gradually, flowers spread across the district, which now supplies flowers for northern provinces like Thanh Hoa, Bac Giang, Yen Bai, Ha Giang and even exports overseas.

Unlike planting rice and vegetables, farmers can plant flowers year-round.

Not only wholesalers, domestic and foreign tourists also visit to enjoy the immense flower fields.

According to local farmers, the best time to visit Me Linh is between the 12th lunar month and the third lunar month of the new year, when many kinds of flowers come to full bloom to prepare for Tet (lunar New Year).