Brilliant Flower and Ornamental Plant Craft Village

The craft village of Tich Giang is named after the Tich river that flows through the commune. The local economy is primarily agricultural, with 350 ha of production land inside and outside the Tich river dyke. In 2022, the flower and ornamental plant craft of Tich Giang was officially recognized as a Hanoi Craft Village.

The craft village of Tich Giang is a hub of flowers and ornamental plants

On December 6, the Opening Ceremony of the First Tich Giang Flower and Ornamental Plant Craft Village Festival 2025 officially took place in Phuc Tho commune. The event gathered hundreds of garden owners and thousands of varieties of traditional and artistic flowers and ornamental plants. More than a cultural festival, it was an opportunity for the locality to reposition its brand, expand markets, attract investment, and create more stable jobs for residents. The event opened a vibrant, colorful space, honoring the commune’s unique gardening tradition while creating important momentum for Tich Giang to affirm its position as the hub of flowers and ornamental plants.

Brand positioning

In a joyful and enthusiastic spirit, Nguyen Thi Thu, a flower grower from Tich Giang 2 hamlet, shared that her family is cultivating about one hectare with a variety of flowers, ornamental plants, and landscape plants, especially those for the year-end market such as marigold and four-season chrysanthemum. Preparing for Tet, her family grows tens of thousands of pots of each type to meet market demand. This year, input and labor costs have remained stable, so flower prices have not changed. In addition to household production, growers in the commune work with the Gardening Association and the Flower Growing Association to support one another and import additional varieties for more diverse displays.

Amid the cheerful crowd, Duong Thi Thanh Thuy from Long Xuyen hamlet, Phuc Tho commune, said: “The scale of the festival is very large, the flower road is beautiful, and the decorative miniatures are eye-catching. I especially like the hanging flowers of Tich Giang because their colors last long, sometimes even until Tet. After visiting the booths, I bought several pots for my home.”

Tich Giang is an attractive tourism destination 

Nguyen The Tai (from Tung Thien ward) spent a lot of time selecting petunias: “This year the scale is much bigger, flower varieties are diverse, and the gardens are meticulously cared for. I picked four pots. The price is a bit higher, but the quality is excellent.” The festival not only offers shopping opportunities but also allows visitors to immerse themselves in the cultural space of the Tich riverside countryside, where the flower and ornamental plant craft has existed for decades and become a source of local pride.

The brilliant colors of the flowers, the excitement of residents and visitors, and the commune’s correct development direction are creating new momentum for Tich Giang. From their traditional craft, residents are gradually building a modern and sustainable agricultural economic model, contributing to local prosperity and the development of Hanoi’s agriculture.

Affirming the craft village brand

According to Phuc Tho Commune People’s Committee Chairman Kieu Trong Sy, Phuc Tho has long been known as an ancient land rich in revolutionary and cultural traditions. Among them, Tich Giang stands out as a distinctive craft region, described as a “living museum” of gardening art. Since the 1990s, the alluvial fields along the Tich River have been filled with the sounds of pruning scissors, pinching buds, and the conversations of artisans. Many recall Do Xuan, the first person to successfully hybridize the Tich Giang mandarin variety, as a symbol of creative labor. The fragrant, sweet mandarin helped many households escape poverty and provided a new economic direction for the locality.

Veteran artisans such as Nguyen Van Uoc and Nguyen Tien Cat laid the foundation for Tich Giang to become the cradle of flower growing, bonsai, and artistic ornamental plants. Today, younger generations continue to expand the craft, with hundreds of hectares of flowers covering the fields and many businesses and cooperatives rising to assert their brands. Outstanding names such as Ngoc Trang Company led by Khuat Van Hong along with artisans Ha Dat Uy, Nguyen Tien Quang, and Kieu Binh Thanh have helped bring Tich Giang flowers and ornamental plants to major fairs and exhibitions within and beyond the city, becoming a source of pride for Phuc Tho.

Kieu Trong Sy affirmed that this festival marks an important milestone in the craft village’s development strategy. For many years, the commune has focused on zoning production areas, investing in infrastructure, encouraging farmers to apply science and technology, and innovating farming methods. As a result, former purely agricultural fields have transformed into ecological flower and ornamental plant zones with high incomes.

The festival targets three strategic goals: honoring artisans and farmers who have devoted generations to the craft, those who “breathed life” into the land to create today’s Tich Giang brand; creating a space for trade between growers, businesses, and visitors; and bringing OCOP products and Phuc Tho’s key agricultural products to wider markets. The event also aims to build a green, clean, sustainable agricultural model, combining craft village tourism, preserving local culture, and creating added value for residents, Kieu Trong Sy emphasized.

Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Dinh Hoa assessed that Phuc Tho’s development orientation aligns well with Hanoi’s trend of building ecological agriculture linked with tourism and urban development. The city has issued many support policies for craft villages, including training skilled workers, supporting artisans, connecting raw material areas, and promoting trade. Tich Giang is rapidly completing its concentrated production zone, developing a flower and ornamental plant value chain, and becoming an attractive destination on Hanoi’s tourism map.

The first year of the festival is not only a cultural rendezvous but also a strong affirmation that Tich Giang, the peaceful land along the Tich River, continues to shine as the “capital of flowers and ornamental plants” of Hanoi on its new journey.

By Bao Dan, Vietnam Business Forum