Hanoi lotus flowers in full bloom amid sweltering summer

It is a visual delight watching vendors pedaling bicycles carrying baskets full of white and pink lotus flowers this time around Hanoi, alleviating the scorching heat that is covering the city.  

The white and pink flowers are sold in every corner of Hanoi, even online.

Bunches of pink lotus flowers are usually wrapped in a lotus leaf before being sold. Moving flower shops on bicycles are found mostly on the streets of Hanoi such as Thuy Khue, Hoang Hoa Tham, Nguyen Chi Thanh and Phan Dinh Phung.

The vivid colors of lotus flower are really a seasonal bounty.

Besides lotus, the Hanoi summer is characterized by red phoenix flowers, purple lagerstroemia flowers or cassia fistula flowers.

The vendor is carefully arranging bunches of lotus flowers.

A lotus flower vendor in Phan Dinh Phung street told Kinh te & Do thi that the flowers were brought from the neighboring province of Bac Ninh to Hanoi.

The flower vendor added that each bunch of ten lotus flowers at the beginning of the season is priced at VND80,000-100,000 (US$3.4-US$4.3). The price would go down toward the middle of the season.

Lotus lovers in Hanoi can’t wait to take photos with the flowers in ponds near the West Lake when the season comes.

In the lotus paradise around Hanoi’s West Lake, the season usually begins from the end of May through June.

According to the lotus pond owners in West Lake, the lotus flowers here blossom with unique fragrance.

Lotus flowers of West Lake become an exclusive trademark of Hanoi.

A girl takes photos to save the first moments of the lotus season.

White lotus flowers are also favored by many people. The white lotus is brought from India.  Some lotus pond owners said, if well cared for, the lotus plant can grow to nearly 2m.