Shaped and engraved watermelons in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City attract customers during Tet

(Dan Tri) - The market for fruits carved with letters and animals has begun to become bustling as Tet approaches. Melons shaped like snakes, gods of wealth, peacocks, phoenixes, etc. attract customers to buy them as decorations for Tet.

Dan Tri reporters in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City recorded that the market for fruits engraved with words and animal shapes was bustling on some streets.

In Hanoi, carved watermelons are sold by vendors. In addition to being sold by the kilo, the price of the watermelons is also determined by the difficulty of carving the image.

The big, round watermelons become more attractive through the hands of artisans. According to Ms. Ngoc Mai, the owner of a watermelon carving shop on Nguyen Van Cu Street (Long Bien District, Hanoi), watermelons cost VND25,000/kg. Customers can choose a pre-carved watermelon or choose a new watermelon and the artisan will start carving. Each watermelon weighs from 3kg to 8kg.

"Carving words on a watermelon costs 70,000 VND/word, if carving more difficult shapes like snakes, gods of wealth, peacocks and phoenixes... the price is 100,000 VND/shape," she said. Normally, a watermelon is completely carved in 30 minutes to 1 hour.

She said that she used to go to cooking school and learned about carving words on fruit, so she took the opportunity during Tet to review the profession, also to earn extra income.

Watermelon engraved with words displayed on a table on Nguyen Van Cu Street (Long Bien District, Hanoi) (Photo: My Tam).

To carve the animal, she said one can use a stencil or a pen to draw the image on the melon rind, then scrape off the green rind. The smoother and more evenly colored the melon rind is, the more beautiful it is. If one is more skillful, one can use a chisel to lightly chisel the rind to create delicate, graceful lines.

When you first carve the watermelon, it will still have green streaks, but by the third day, it will look smoother and whiter. The shelf life is about 10 days from the day you start carving.

This year, the price of watermelons carved with animal shapes has increased by about 10% compared to last year. According to Ms. Yen, a watermelon carver on Nguyen Van Cu Street (Long Bien District, Hanoi), the reason is that the price of watermelons has increased, other input costs are also expensive, so the price of carved products has increased. "Last year, I sold watermelons for 20,000 VND/kg. This year, it is 5,000 VND/kg more expensive. The carving price remains the same."

In Ho Chi Minh City, watermelons on Ta Quang Buu Street (District 8) come in many varieties and sizes. The smallest ones weigh 6kg to 7kg, just right for display on the family altar. In particular, larger watermelons weighing 15kg to 20kg are chosen by many families to display in the living room, with feng shui significance, creating a luxurious highlight for the Tet space.

Engraved watermelons attract customers in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Vi Quang).

The price of watermelons during Tet in Ho Chi Minh City ranges from VND30,000 to VND35,000 per kilogram. At this price, a pair of standard watermelons can cost up to over VND1 million. Many retailers said that prices have increased slightly due to high demand at the end of the year, but consumers are still willing to pay to get the most beautiful pairs of watermelons.

In addition to regular watermelons, watermelons engraved with calligraphy or the image of the God of Wealth are "on the rise". Each engraved watermelon will cost an additional VND100,000, but many people are still willing to choose it to bring a more unique and special meaning to Tet.

A merchant on Ta Quang Buu Street said that to engrave words on a watermelon, you only need an engraving machine, and it only takes about 5-10 minutes to engrave a word or image on the watermelon. To engrave words on a beautiful watermelon, you need to choose a fruit with a beautiful, balanced skin so that the engraving stands out more.

In the past, when there were no modern machines, to create a finished product, the seller had to sketch, then trim with a knife and finally engrave. But now, with the development of laser engraving technology, to produce such an engraved melon, all you need to do is create the shape on the computer, then place the melon in the engraving machine and it's done, the seller said.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/dua-hau-tao-hinh-khac-chu-o-ha-noi-tphcm-hut-khach-ngay-tet-20250126112131042.htm