The golden apricot flowers in Yen Tu mountain will be displayed for the first time at the 2016 Ha Long cherry blossom festival, which will take place in Ha Long city in the northern province of Quang Ninh from March 18 to 21.

With the special appearance of this kind of flower, the organisers changed the festival’s name to the Ha Long Cherry Blossom - Yen Tu Golden Apricot Festival 2016 with the theme of Integration, Cooperation and Development.

Ha Long city and Quang Ninh province have only about one week to prepare for this change.

Ha Long city has four years of experience organising the cherry blossom festival and Uong Bi city has held the Yen Tu festival as well, so combining them should go smoothly, said Vu Hong Son, Vice Chairman of the Ha Long City People’s Committee.

This is the fourth annual festival organised by the People’s Committee of Quang Ninh province and the Wanokai International Culture Association (WICA) from Japan.

Festival activities include the opening ceremony, performance and art programmes by Vietnamese and Japanese artists; Japanese culture; and an exhibition of cherry blossoms and apricot flowers.

At the opening ceremony, despite the unexpected change, the cultural performances of Japanese artists will still account for 50 percent of the time.

The golden apricot is a valuable, rare flower on Yen Tu Mountain in Uong Bi city. This year, the flowers have bloomed beautifully and are scheduled to have about 80 trees on display.

In addition to 60 cherry blossom trees from Japan and some from northern mountainous provinces in Vietnam, there will be 160 stalls introducing tourism, culture and foods from Vietnam and Japan.

The annual festival aims to strengthen cultural relations between Quang Ninh and Japan, which has brought in many businesses and encouraged cooperation between local people and tourists in Vietnam and Japan. It will also introduce Japanese culture and flowers to Vietnam and promote the development of tourism in Vietnam.

VNA