Masked masses attend HCMC Nguyen Hue flower street opening

At 6 p.m., an hour before the flower street opened, they had already queued up outside a fence, everyone wearing face masks.

Patiently waiting for more than an hour, six-year-old Tran Lam Quy peered through the fence for an early glimpse at the flower street. The boy's father said that it was the first year his son was visiting the flower street, so he was very excited and wanted to get there early.

At 8:15 p.m., after the opening ceremony, residents and visitors were allowed to enter, one at a time. To ensure observance of pandemic prevention measures, a barrier was set up around the flower street with only two main entrances to the street near the water fountain.

All visitors are required to show proof they have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid. Their body temperature is checked before they enter.

Those with temperatures of over 37.5 degrees Celsius will be taken to a separate area for a re-check.

Visitors are not allowed to remove their face masks even while taking pictures.

A little boy looks on from his father’s shoulder at the flowers and the crowd around him.

Right at the entrance to the flower street at the corner of Nguyen Hue - Ton Duc Thang is a giant gravel tiger 3.5 meters tall and eight meters long, weighing nearly two tons.

A group of girls have their photo taken against the tiger statue.

"This is the third year I am visiting the Nguyen Hue flower street. Every time this place is decorated with its own identity and beauty and I love the mascots models most," said Russian German Belenkov as he walked with his girlfriend.

Since it first opened in 2002, the flower street has become an important part of the country’s celebration of the Lunar New Year, its biggest and most important festival.

The street is scheduled to remain open until February 4, the fourth day of the lunar new year.