Forest peach blossoms in the Hmong language are called "to day." According to Vang A Thao, a tour guide at Mu Cang Chai, the flowers usually bloom at the end of December of the lunar calendar. This year, due to changes in weather, the flowers bloomed nearly a month later than usual.
Peach flowers in Mu Cang Chai bloom the most in La Pan Tan Commune, and Trong Tong and Trong Pao Sang villages. The forest peach blossoms can also be found in other places, such as Thao Chua Chai Village, Che Cu Nha Commune, Mi Hang Village, Mo De Commune, and Lao Chai Commune.
Thao said that the flowers bloom according to the height of the area. The trees in the higher areas bloom first, and the trees in the lower areas bloom later. This is why La Pan Tan Commune is the area where the flowers bloom the earliest.
Because the flowers only bloom in cold weather, it is considered one of the winter symbols of Mu Cang Chai.
The most beautiful time of the flowers is about 10 days before blooming. If you wait any longer to see the flowers, they will have withered off the branches, and the tree will have started to form buds and leaves. Once they bloom, you will see flowers in different shades of pink.
Tran Minh Phuong, a 60-year-old resident of Hanoi, said she had previously visited Da Lat to see forest peach blossoms, which were lovely and poetic, but she said that the flowers in Mu Cang Chai were distinctive. "The flowers in Mu Cang Chai are more rustic and beautiful," Phuong said.
Ngo Duc, a Hanoian, who spent two days in Mu Cang Chai taking photographs, was most impressed with the scenery in La Pan Tan. "Almost all of the nearby forests are blooming,” he said. “The area is also brightened by a garden of rapeseed flowers,” he added.
Vang A Thao claims that this year's peach flower season has seen a decrease in the number of visitors to Mu Cang Chai. "It is possible that this year's flower season blooms early, near the end of January, which is also close to Tet, so people find it difficult to arrange the schedule," said Thao.
