Thua Thien Hue’s sweet spot

Sugarcane fields, harvested and yet to be harvested, in Ha Cang Village, Quang Phu Commune, Quang Dien District.

This is Thua Thien Hue Province’s biggest sugarcane growing area, well known for its Cam Tan variety of sugarcane which was used to pay tribute to the king during the feudal era.

Each sugarcane field has between 2,000 and 3,000 plants. People often calculate the time to plant new sugarcane crops so that the harvesting time falls on Tet, Vietnam’s Lunar New Year holiday, when the craving for sugarcane is larger.

Minh, a sugarcane farmer, ties up the stalks with rope to prevent the plants from falling over. He said the crop this year is excellent, and people are happy they would make more money during Tet.

People shed old leaves on mature sugar canes to burn. When the tree is taller than the head of the human, the trunks are divided into parts that are the size of human knuckles. When the trunks turn to dark purple color, that means they are ready to be harvested.

Thuy, the owner of a large sugarcane warehouse, is tying up bundles of sugarcane she just harvested to be delivered to markets. The sugarcane harvest season in Ha Cang Village lasts from October to the end of February.

A farmer stacks bundles of sugarcane which are to be picked up by the buyers with trucks. The sugarcane has an eye-catching color while its taste has a delicate sweetness.

Located about 12 km from the center of Hue Town, Ha Cang Village has recently attracted numerous visitors after director Victor Vu chose this place to film his new movie Mat Biec (Blue Eyes), an adaptation of a namesake book written by well-known Vietnamese literary author Nguyen Nhat Anh. The movie is set to be shown in cinema in December.

Nguyen Phong, a Hue photographer who took these photos, said: "I feel a sense of peace when I observe the beauty of Ha Cang. The countryside is the quietest, most peaceful place for me to go to when I feel tired. This place has a beautiful landscape, the people are sincere and warm-hearted."

The parasol tree in the photo (right) is associated with the childhood of the two main characters in the movie Mat Biec, whose love story the centerpiece of the movie. Its flowers bloom in the second lunar month and turn pink-violet color by the third month in the lunar calendar when all the leaves shed off.