Every year in March mountain ebony flowers bloom across Dien Bien Phu City. Along the route leading to the heart of the city, hillsides are blanketed in the white color.
The hamlet of Nam Cum, in Na Tau Commune, disappears under a canopy of white.
The blossom cycle begins in February and reaches its peak in mid-March, when the days are warmer.
With temperatures ranging from 21 to 26 degrees Celsius in March, the flowers open evenly and in full force.
Photographer Trinh Xuan Tu notes that the petals, tinged with violet and pink, compose what he calls the portrait of spring in Vietnam's far northwest.
The higher the altitude, the cooler the air is, and this causes the flowers to bloom later but also linger longer too, extending the season through the end of March.
In Nam Cum hamlet, the flowers bloom above people's homes. The area has 1,200 mountain ebony trees, most of them standing over five meters tall.
Tu observes that roads, lakesides and parks blanketed in white flowers have become gathering points, drawing both locals and visitors who stop to take pictures and breathe in the season.
"Young women posing in Thai costumes beneath the canopy have become one of the most familiar sights of every flowering season."
The 2026 Mountain Ebony Flower Festival ran from March 6 to 12. The opening night held at the provincial square featured a drone light-mapping display that traced the region's history.
