TL;DR: Đào Nhật Tân is a ornamental peach variety grown in Nhật Tân ward, former Tây Hồ district (before July 2025), Hanoi, prized for đào bích and đào phai with thick, deep-colored petals that Hanoians favor for Tet. The local growing craft has weathered many ups and downs, once seeming lost, and is now maintained on about 66 ha with 4-star OCOP products. Hanoi's Tet flower market, notably Quảng An flower market, is where locals and visitors come to choose peach branches from the start of the twelfth lunar month.
What is Đào Nhật Tân and why is it tied to Tet in Hanoi?
Đào Nhật Tân is the name for the ornamental peach variety grown in Nhật Tân village, now Nhật Tân ward, Tây Hồ district (before July 2025), Hanoi. This is a famous peach-growing area of the north, linked to the Tet peach tradition of Hanoians for many generations[1][2].
According to Pháp Luật Việt Nam newspaper, Nhật Tân village has existed for hundreds of years, but its exact origin remains hard to determine[2]. The story of Cao Biền climbing a mountain and breaking off a peach branch as a seasonal marker is a legend passed down, with no historical basis to confirm it[2].
Đào Nhật Tân is described as having large flowers, deep color, thick layers of petals, and petals that open fully[1]. That beauty has built the reputation of this land, drawing Hanoians to seek out a đào bích or đào phai tree of their liking each Tet[2].
How do the Đào Nhật Tân varieties differ?
Đào Nhật Tân is not just one type. According to garden owners, peaches are divided into several groups: đào bích, đào phai, peaches propagated from branches of rare trees, and peaches grown from seed[2]. Each type has different characteristics and prices, depending on rarity and care.
Previously, according to Pháp Luật Việt Nam, Nhật Tân peach village only grew đào phai, with stock taken from the forest; later đào bích was introduced[2]. Đào phai has a soft pinkish-red flower color and is seen as a symbol of luck and prosperity[2]. Đào bích gives a deeper pink and has been favored in recent years.
The table below summarizes some distinguishing features of the common peach groups in Nhật Tân as recorded by the press:
| Peach group | Main features | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Đào phai | Soft pinkish-red flowers, thinner petals | Long-grown variety in Nhật Tân, stock from the forest[2] |
| Đào bích | Deep pink flowers, thick petals, large blooms | Introduced later[2] |
| Branch-propagated peach | Propagated from branches of precious trees | Higher price, keeps mother plant traits[2] |
| Seed-grown peach | Vigorous tree, easy to flower | Suits beginners, lower price[2] |
What ups and downs has the peach-growing craft in Nhật Tân gone through?
Peach growing in Nhật Tân has not always been easy. At times peach growers in Nhật Tân faced hardship, as around 1954 many peach gardens were destroyed and locals switched to vegetables and fruit trees[2]. Later, as urbanization spread, fields were concreted over for high-rise buildings, and peach trees also faced hard times[2].
Still, locals stayed with the craft. Nhật Tân peach gardens bloom again on the Red River banks each Tet[2]. Today, most of Nhật Tân ward's agricultural land lies outside the dike, bordering the Red River, and is concentrated in peach growing with 92.45 ha of cultivated land, of which 66 ha is peach land[2].
On 22 March 2017, the Chairman of Tây Hồ District People's Committee issued Decision No. 723/QĐ-CTUBND allowing the establishment of the Nhật Tân Peach Blossom Traditional Craft Village Association[2]. Three products, "Hoa đào thất thốn", "Cây đào thế", and "Cành đào tròn", of the Nhật Tân General Agricultural Service Cooperative were rated 4-star OCOP Hanoi[2].
What do Nhật Tân peach growers do to make flowers bloom at Tet?
To make peaches bloom at Tết Nguyên đán, growers must strip the leaves from mid-eleventh lunar month. This concentrates nutrients for bud formation, helping buds come out numerous, even, plump, with large flowers, thick petals, and good color[2]. Depending on the weather, growers adjust the leaf-stripping time: in hot years a few days later, in cold years earlier[2].
After leaf stripping, fertilizer and watering need even more attention. Peach growers are described as "eating with the peach, sleeping with the peach", watching the weather to tend the garden[1]. In the early harvest season, branches from early leaf-stripped trees are harvested first and often sell at higher prices because early-season demand is large while early-blooming peaches are limited[1].
According to folk experience recorded by the press, young, vigorous peach trees flower easily and abundantly; old trees with large, beautiful trunks need more care to bloom beautifully and thickly[2]. Shaping trees into forms requires not only experience and technique but also an aesthetic sense[2].
What is special about Hanoi's Tet flower market?
Hanoi's Tet flower market is where flowers and peaches are traded for the capital's Tet needs. According to Quốc tế newspaper, at Quảng An flower market, trading is busy from the start of the twelfth lunar month[1]. Many Hanoians and people from other provinces still keep the habit of going to Nhật Tân peach gardens or flower markets to pick each branch and tree they like best[1].
Hàng Lược flower market is a familiar address in the memory of old Hanoians. According to Pháp Luật Việt Nam, in the past, the road from Nhật Tân to Hàng Lược flower market was not far but quiet and deserted; only households with large gardens dared to hire a hand-pulled cart, while others carried a few branches on foot[2]. Peach sellers often came home late and had to guard against robbers by tucking money into their calves and wrapping cloth around[2].
Today, besides traditional flower markets, Nhật Tân peach gardens also offer photo services for visitors, adding income[2]. Hundreds of visitors come to admire flowers and take souvenir photos in the days before Tet[2].
What does the Tet peach tradition mean to Hanoians?
According to Mr. Nguyễn Văn Bích (65 years old, Hàng Bài, Hanoi), connoisseurs choose Nhật Tân as their destination for buying flowers, and in some years Nhật Tân peach blossoms are ordered from the start of the first lunar month[2].
Old Hanoians chose peaches not only for beauty but also by feng shui. Peach is seen as yang energy, and the pink of đào bích adds warmth, dispelling the northern winter cold[2]. Family elders also hold the belief that playing with peaches wards off evil spirits[2].
As for shapes, popular folk forms chosen by many customers include the quần tụ form (a tall canopy representing parents, with small low branches around representing gathered children) and the bạt phong form (branches as if blown by wind but still rising)[2]. These are folk interpretations, not mandatory rules.
Why is Đào Nhật Tân preferred over other peach varieties?
Đào Nhật Tân is favored for its beauty described as thick, plump petals and clear color[2]. According to Pháp Luật Việt Nam, nowhere in the north has peach blossoms as beautiful as Nhật Tân[2]. However, this is a cultural sentiment, not a scientific comparison between growing regions.
Another reason is the long-standing reputation of the craft village. Hanoians who know peaches often choose Nhật Tân because they trust the quality and aesthetics of this land[2]. The scarcity of beautiful peaches early in the season also contributes to higher prices. Ông Nguyễn Văn Phức ở Nhật Tân, Hà Nội said a peach branch cost about 50,000 VND the previous year and rose to 150,000 VND this year, the high price because early in the season demand was high while early blooming was limited[1].
How has the Nhật Tân peach craft changed in modern times?
Peach growing in Nhật Tân today has changed much from before. According to Pháp Luật TP.HCM, previously many people sold peaches, but now almost everyone in the village only rents them out. The reason is that large, precious old peach trunks decades old are very expensive, and few dare to spend money to buy them for Tet.
After Tet, growers collect the rented peach trunks for care for the next season. Pruning branches and leaves is important, helping the tree not waste nutrients, producing thicker new branches, more shoots, and more flowers. For a single-trunk, single-canopy tree, people cut off all branches, leaving only branch bases 5 to 7 cm from the main trunk.
To have large, healthy peach trunks, growers also buy wild peach trunks from northern mountainous provinces such as Lào Cai, Sơn La, and Lạng Sơn for grafting. This is an expansion of stock sources, not a loss of Nhật Tân peach characteristics.
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: How to choose and enjoy Tet peaches?
Nhật Nguyệt's suggestion: If you want to choose peaches for Tet, consider a few points. First, choose branches with plump, even buds, not bruised, and thick petals as signs of a healthy peach. Second, if displaying indoors with air conditioning or in a closed room, choose slower-blooming branches so flowers last longer. Third, do not overemphasize feng shui; choose a tree you find beautiful and suited to your living space.
As for buying or renting peaches, it depends on each family's situation. Large shaped peaches are more often rented than bought because of their high price. If you only need a small branch for the living room, you can buy a fresh peach branch at a more affordable price. What matters is keeping a warm Tet atmosphere in the family, which the peach tradition has long helped create.
