Bustling streets
This morning, like every day, Mr. Tan Hung (living in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City) still went to work on the familiar Nguyen Chi Thanh street, but many sections of the street seemed more beautiful and bustling with colorful Tet flower pots blooming and spreading fragrance.
Giant chrysanthemums from Central Vietnam have just arrived in Ho Chi Minh City to serve Tet.
Tet in the small alleys of Saigon
"Tet has really come. So fast, just the day before there was nothing, but this morning the spring colors are already filling the streets. And in the coming days, the flavor of Tet will continue to increase many times over," Mr. Hung happily told his friends and colleagues at the company. Sharing the joy of welcoming spring, Ms. Nguyen An (living in District 4) added: These past few days, passing by 23.9 Park (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City), I saw pots of large chrysanthemums, crystal flowers as tall as human bodies, so beautiful and radiant. Every year, when this flower market gathers, it is also the time when spring has arrived. Not only flowers, but also Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, has many stalls selling all kinds of goods, cakes and gifts for Tet and there are also "check-in" photo spots that are often crowded with visitors.
"The whole neighborhood is bustling with excitement to welcome spring, which makes me feel excited every time I pass by. Now I just want to finish work quickly to go out to welcome spring and return home to reunite with my family like everyone else," An shared.
Ho Chi Minh City streets are brightly decorated
In many businesses, this is the last working week of the year. Therefore, most people take advantage of the time to meet up at the end of the year before the Tet holiday. Although the weather in Ho Chi Minh City has been quite hot these past few days, Ms. Phuong Linh and her female colleagues took advantage of their lunch break to wear ao dai and go to the Youth Cultural House (District 1) to take souvenir photos.
"People have worked hard to create beautiful scenery, I have to take time to take pictures to not let their efforts down. Many roads and street corners suddenly become bright and colorful, which also improves my mood," Linh said happily.
According to Ms. Linh, after a hard year, whether successful or unsuccessful, Tet is also a time for reunion, having fun with family, relatives and resting to restore energy for the long journeys "promising many hardships" ahead. That is why every year I really like to go for a walk and take pictures with my relatives and friends in the city center. Because in addition to public entertainment venues, the city center is also home to many beautifully decorated businesses and shops.
When people go out to the streets, shop and visit each other, besides the Tet specialties from all over the city overflow onto the sidewalks and roadsides, the streets in the past few days have been crowded, narrow and take more time to travel. However, many people also sympathize because it is Tet, the necessary excitement of the peak shopping and travel season of the year.
People are busy shopping
At the 23.9 Park flower market, giant pots of chrysanthemums taller than a person are the highlight attracting visitors from both home and abroad. Mr. Nguyen Quoc Trieu, owner of a chrysanthemum garden in Ninh Hoa Town (Khanh Hoa), said: Last night, a batch of crystal chrysanthemums was just shipped from the countryside, and a few days before that, large chrysanthemums. The goods will continue to be shipped in the next few days. Like previous years, this year his family does business at 3 locations: 23.9 Park, Le Van Tam Park flower market and Gia Dinh. Compared to previous years, the amount of flowers brought to Ho Chi Minh City this year has decreased by 1/3, from more than 60 trucks to about 40 trucks. Flower prices have also decreased slightly. Large potted chrysanthemums cost 12 million VND/pair and crystal chrysanthemums cost 10 million VND/pair.
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"This large chrysanthemum is a "specialty" of Khanh Hoa gardeners. Because of the long-term business, there are many regular customers. Every year, as soon as the goods arrive, they are delivered to customers immediately. Mainly businesses and companies, while strangers have to wait until the days before Tet. Due to economic difficulties this year, my family and many local people have proactively reduced production," said Mr. Trieu.
Along Nguyen Huu Tho Street towards District 7, the spring colors are equally bustling with rows of flower and ornamental plant shops. Although the sun is quite harsh, the shopping atmosphere is quite bustling. Many people said they take advantage of buying early to choose the most satisfactory products and "enjoy" Tet earlier.
Many foreign tourists enjoy the spring flower market.
Similarly, at the "rich" Phu My Hung spring flower market, on January 30 (December 20), gardeners everywhere began bringing flowers here to serve Tet. A representative of a peach garden in the North who was unloading goods said: The market will officially open in the next few days, but we want to prepare early so that the trees can stabilize their health and best serve the people in the South. This year's quantity of goods is relatively abundant, with reasonable prices so that everyone can "play Tet" most comfortably.
In recent days, purchasing power in Ho Chi Minh City has increased sharply. From traditional markets to supermarkets and shopping malls, it is always crowded and bustling. Ms. NTTu, owner of a gift shop on Nguyen Van Dau Street (Binh Thanh District), shared: This year's Tet shopping season "started" late and there is only a little over a week left to sell. This can be considered the "final" week for revenue for the entire 2024 Tet season. Perhaps because last weekend, many units and businesses just paid bonuses to employees, so purchasing power has gradually increased by 20-30% and today is about 40-50% compared to normal.
"Hopefully, consumption will continue to increase in the coming days because normally during Tet in previous years, purchasing power often doubles or triples normal days. This year, in addition to traditional fruits and cakes, we also try to import more regional specialties and decorative products. Prices will basically only increase slightly compared to normal days," Ms. Tu is full of optimism.
Representatives of several large supermarket chains said that purchasing power has been increasing rapidly in recent days, averaging 50-70% compared to normal days. In addition to essential goods such as necessities, cosmetics, and clothing, gifts, beer, and soft drinks have also increased.
Tet is coming very soon on the roads and streets everywhere.
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The largest dong leaf market in Ho Chi Minh City on CMT8 Street at the intersection with Pham Van Hai Street (Tan Binh District) has also been gathering for the past ten days. Many shop owners who have been in business here for a long time said: The majority of customers are those who wrap banh chung to sell and donate cakes for charity. The dong leaf market here usually officially becomes bustling after December 23 - the day the Kitchen God returns to heaven. This year, the economy is difficult and the trend of self-wrapping has decreased, so consumption is forecast to be not as strong as previous years. Depending on the size, the price of dong leaves ranges from 30,000 - 120,000 VND/bundle of 50 leaves. Bamboo strings cost 10,000 VND/bundle, banana leaves from 25,000 - 30,000 VND/kg... Chung cake molds cost from 30,000 - 40,000 VND.
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