Hanoi (VNA) - The‘Bulgaria Rose Festival with Friends’ opened on March 3 inHanoi, attracting thousands of local and foreign lovers of nature fromdifferent regions of northern Vietnam.
   
The festival, the biggest ever in the country, is being held fromMarch 3-8 in the capital city, featuring 300 kinds of roses from Bulgaria andother countries.

The event is taking place on Thong Nhat island in Thong Nhat Park. The islandhas been decorated with roses in different sections, each with its own theme.

The festival is being organised by the Embassy of Bulgaria in Vietnam and the Vietnam-BulgariaFriendship Association, on the occasion of the National Day of Bulgaria and67th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the twocountries.

The Bulgarian embassy also offered the Hanoi People Committee some damasceneroses, the most typical rose variety from Bulgaria.

The Ambassador of Bulgaria to Vietnam, Evgueni Stoytchev, said at thefestival’s opening ceremony that he highly appreciated the efforts of the Vietnam-BulgariaFriendship Association in co-organising this festival. He also highlighted theclose friendship between the two countries.

“The rich culture of Bulgaria is well known in Vietnam, and cherished in thehearts and memories of the tens of thousands of Vietnamese people who studiedand worked in Bulgaria in the last decades of the last century. They rememberBulgaria as the land of roses, land of opportunities and their secondhomeland,” he said. 

“Ever since, Vietnam has remained one of Bulgaria’s main partners in Asia, andwe have enjoyed a most vibrant and close relationship,”

“Bulgaria has been famous for rose festivals in the Rose Valley forcenturies. Since 1903, this traditional festival has been held on the firstSunday of June and attracted millions of tourists from all over the world. In1971, it became a national festival.” 

 “It is not the first time a Bulgarian rose festival has been held abroadbut it is the first time such a large-scale Bulgarian rose festival has beenheld abroad,” he said.

Nguyen Doan Toan, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, alsohighlighted the significance of the event, saying it is a milestone in ourbilaterial relations and a cultural bridge between Vietnam and Bulgaria ingeneral, and between Hanoi and Kazanlak in particular.

“We will plant, preserve, and propagate the Damescene rose, thus contributingto the beauty of Hanoi as well as the solidarity and friendship between the twopeoples and between Hanoi and Kazanlak,” he said.

The opening ceremony of the festival included traditional Bulgarian dances. Thefive-day-long event will offer diverse cultural activities to entertainnature-lovers. Some of the highlights of the festival include a streetparade with circus artists and cars decorated with flowers, and performances bystreet artists from Bulgaria and Vietnam. The Queen of Rose contestwill also be held to pick the most beautiful woman.

This rose festival is one of the most anticipated events of the year. However,opinions are divided. Some people expressed their disappointment at to thefestival’s opening day as they had expected something even grander.

“I was very excited when I heard about the event. I expected to admire a lot ofroses from Bulgaria, but not many are on display here. The bridge was decoratedwith roses, but they are fake,” said Tran To Nga, a 40 year old teacher.

On the other hand, Mai Thi Ngoc appreciated the event, saying “It’s the firsttime that I have been able to admire such a wide variety of roses at a park!It’s great moment.”  

The public will be able to enjoy and take part in more activities over thecoming days.-VNA