Hue landscape gets a colorful Tet makeover courtesy of paper flower makers

Thanh Tien Village is situated in Phu Mau Commune, Phu Vang District, about 7 kilometers from downtown Hue, Vietnam's former imperial capital.

Residents of the village have been making the most colorful paper orchids, lilies, daisies and other flower varieties for centuries. They also make rice leaves and ears symbolizing local farming and agriculture.

Every flower is handmade, from cutting to shaping the petals. Locals will take down old paper flowers from altars and other places and replace them with new ones for Tet (Lunar New Year).

Vendors take paper flowers from the village to the market early one misty morning in a collection of photographs taken by Nguyen Van Truc, a Hue resident. Truc said he hopes these images will help promote local culture and preserve a traditional vocation. 

Four paper flower vendors cross a bridge at the La Y dam in Phu Vang District.

It is said that for centuries, families in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue have been using these flowers for the trang ong trang ba ritual, a worship practice in central Vietnam that seeks the well being of residents and protection from calamities.

People buy these flowers from various markets and also offer their ancestors at altars in their homes.

Locals make two types of paper flowers - multicolored varieties of various floral species and lotus flowers. Both are used for worship and as home decorations, apart from being sold as souvenirs to visitors.

Vendors transport paper flowers via boat from Thanh Tien, Sinh or Tien Non villages to the towns of Bao Vinh and Huong Tra on the other side of Huong (Perfum) River.

A pair of flowers is sold for VND7,000-10,000 ($0.3-0.4).

Villagers start selling the paper flowers from January (mid-December on the lunar calendar).