The Enchanted Beauty of Spring in Hanoi

I remember it was an early morning of late January, I woke up to the lively chirping by my window. Yesterday night’s rain left fresh water droplets on leave-less branches. Somehow, it did not feel like any other passed winter days. Something had changed. Perhaps the warm air full of flower fragrance, perhaps the sky that was clearly brighter and higher than usual, or could it be the faint sight of newly appeared green buds that had made that day so different, so not… wintery. That moment I suddenly realized, spring was coming!

Source: talkvietnam.com

Spring, one simple word with so many beautiful meanings. Spring is the time of renewal and transformation. This is the time when Mother Earth awakens from her long sleep and explodes with new life, new vitality. Spring for humans means a new start, a fresh and new beginning for better fortune and health. Spring brings beauty and colours to life after the long cold and solitary winter. 

Spring in Hanoi means the coming of Lunar New Year, or Tet Holiday – an important cultural festival for the Hanoians in particular and the Vietnamese in general. However, for me, it has never been the joyful festival or the endless celebrations of a happy new year that make up the beauty of this city when spring comes. 

Hanoi’s beauty in spring lies in the phenomenal transition of nature and the interesting contradiction of the weather. Funny how you walk down the street and catch sight of once-wilted flowers blooming radiantly again despite the slightly chilly weather. Unlike the comfortable warmth in Ho Chi Minh, or the freezing winds flowing through Hue during this time of the year, spring brings Hanoi continuous drizzles and mist and a bearable coldness that cannot be found in any other cities in Vietnam. It is this odd combination of warmth and chill in Hanoi whenever spring comes that makes this city so unique. Hanoi during this time is beautiful and attractive in such an unusual way.

Hanoi’s beauty in spring lies in the fervent vitality that pervade even the smallest street corners of the city. Hanoi in spring is indeed a beautiful picture in various glowing hues. People dressing up in colorful clothes; blooming flowers and fresh plants embellishing the streets; Vietnamese flags fluttering from balconies; cheerful music resounded everywhere. The unseen vitality of Hanoi in spring comes from all these view-able ordinary things. It is the way people in Hanoi treasure and celebrate the season that blows liveliness to the city. It is the way Hanoians say “xin chao” to spring with happiness and devotion, with hopes and gratefulness that has made this city so beautiful and so full of lives.

Hanoi’s beauty in spring lies also in the ancient architecture and old streets under the shower of sombrous drizzles. The refreshing air, the earthy smell of grass after rain, the sound of water droplets falling to the ground, the curvy shapes of Hanoi’s ancient citadel under a thin layer of mist… all give Hanoi a dreamy yet mysterious beauty – the beauty that makes Hanoi so unearthly, as if the city has just walked out from an old folklore.

It has been years since the last time I enjoyed spring in Hanoi, but the intimate feeling and all the fascinating beauties hidden in the ordinaries of the city still linger deep in my heart. It is the beauty of the season arriving in the city, and the unique beauty of the city wallowing joyfully in the season that has made Hanoi so captivating and beautiful, especially in spring.

Source: talkvietnam.com