In just over a month, the Lunar New Year will arrive, and it’s also the time when the grapefruit gardens in Phuc Dien ward, located in Hanoi, are ripe and ready for the harvest season. The grapefruit trees are planted in a straight line, with a small path in the middle, and golden ripe grapefruits hanging from the branches. The garden’s beauty is so enchanting that many people from the capital come here to capture rare and beautiful moments.
Mr. Nguyen Gia Dung’s family owns the grapefruit garden, and many people have suggested opening the garden to visitors for photography. Mr. Dung’s family will charge a fee of 50,000 VND for each guest, which will be used to keep the garden clean and secure.
With a large space, this is a suitable place for children to play freely.
The Dien grapefruit garden is 4 hectares wide, with about 2,000 grapefruit trees nearly 30 years old. The garden is open every day from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The largest number of visitors gather on Saturday and Sunday, with an average of 150-180 visitors on weekends.
The garden will welcome customers until January 20, and then they’ll harvest grapefruits to sell for the Lunar New Year. Visitors can buy grapefruit to take home or eat on the spot. The price of a Dien grapefruit ranges from 25,000 VND to 40,000 VND.
Dien grapefruit is a specialty grapefruit variety of Hanoi. It has a dark yellow color, thin pulp and peel, small cloves, and a slightly sweet, succulent taste. When eaten, its aroma lingers in the mouth.
When grapefruit trees bloom, it’s also a very poetic scene suitable for taking photos. Many families from inner-city districts, such as Ba Dinh and Dong Da, as well as farther away, Me Linh and Gia Lam, come to take photos of the ripe golden grapefruit garden.
Nguyen Minh Chi (right) shared: “I feel very happy to visit this garden. The first thing I felt was that it was very similar to the gardens described in the fairy tales I had read. I got to wear ao dai and take pictures with big, ripe yellow grapefruits, which made me feel like the Tet holiday is very close.”
@vtv.vn