Vietnamese flower lovers have enjoyed a special chance to contemplatebeauty of blooming cherry-blossoms at a festival which kicked off in HaLong city of northern Quang Ninh province on April 11.

The Cherry-Blossom Festival – Ha Long 2013, themed “A Japanesecultural feature in Ha Long”, is part of a wide range of activities tocelebrate the 40 th anniversary of Vietnam–Japan diplomatic ties andthe Vietnam-Japan Friendship Year.

The highlight ofthe event is a display of five cherry trees and 100 branches brought infrom Gifu and Okinawa prefectures, respectively.

Festival-goers also have a chance to enjoy cultural exchanges betweenthe provincial and Japanese artists, cuisine performances as well asattractive tourism destinations, products, traditional Japanese foodshowcased in 20 booths.

After the festival, onApril 13, Ha Long city’s authorities will receive the cherry trees fromthe Japanese side to plant them at the city’s Lan Be park. In addition,provincial authorities proposed Japan side to set up cherry blossomparks in the city.

From this year onwards, Ha Longcity will be chosen to hold the annual festival which had beensuccessfully taken place in the capital city of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minhcity before.-VNA