Ninh binh nguyen shack

Bui Huu Thanh in Quang Ninh has one hectare of orchid sapling cultivation area

Lan dot bien, or mutant orchid, has become a hot keyword on online forums as people believe the flowers can help them make a fortune.

In March, two mutant orchid transactions occurred in Hung Yen province, with the value of tens of billion of dong.

In Thuan Hung commune in Khoai Chau district, six Ngoc Son Cuoc mutant orchids were sold for VND34 billion. Meanwhile, Hoi Hoa Lan Pho Hien (Pho Hien Orchid Association) in Hung Yen City reported a record deal where one orchid sold for VND40 billion.

Also in March, B.H.T, the owner of an orchid garden in Hai Phong City, said he sold 5,000 Ngoc Son Cuoc mutant orchid seedlings for VND250 billion.

T said in his 12 hectare orchid garden, there are Ngoc Son Cuoc mutant orchid species valued at VND30 billion per plant.

Prior to that, on July 2, 2020, orchid collectors were talking privately that there was an orchid called ‘Huyen thoai buom dai ngan’ (Legend of a jungle butterfly). The owner of the orchid affirmed that it did not resemble any other orchid flower.

After that, they heard that one kie (the bud arising from a tree knot) from this orchid sold for VND15 billion.

Buying frenzy

The Vietnam Seed Association affirmed that mutant orchids have not been recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as an orchid species for official circulation in the market.

Prosperous businesspeople have been willing to spend hundreds of billion of dong to buy mutant orchids, and many households have mortgaged their land, houses and assets to borrow money from banks to trade mutant orchids.

However, they have tasted bitterness because of their dream of getting rich from the charming flowers.

“I was tricked. I spent VND10 billion to buy mutant orchids. But the flowers are violet. Real mutant orchids must have a white jade color,” Nguyen Van Su from Vinh Phuc told Lao Dong newspaper.

The money Su used to buy the orchids came from loans from banks and relatives.

Su tried and failed to contact the gardeners he bought orchids from, including B.N in Chuong My, H.C in Hoai Duc, L.B.D in Dong Nai province, T.V.T and T.V.D in Hoa Binh.

The dozens of orchid plants Su bought were priced between VND70 million and VND1 billion.

On April 12, the community of orchid collectors was stirred up by the news that the owner of a mutant orchid garden in Ung Hoa district in Hanoi had fled with VND200 billion.

T is one of the victims of the gardener. N.H.P, 30, the younger brother of T, told reporters that T had a good business which brought VND3-5 billion a year. However, he later decided to “play big” by cooperating with C, the gardener.

Under the agreement between them, C provided mutant orchids to T for sale. However, T found that the orchids were not mutant. He then had to sell his car and land to pay his debts.

How did this begin?

In September 2020, the Di Linh district Police arrested Bui Van Sy, born in 1986 in Hoa Binh province. He was detained for four months in an investigation over the fraudulent act of selling mutant orchids, appropriating about VND2 billion.

In December 2020, the Tan Son district Police prosecuted and detained Bui Van Diep, 24, Dinh Van Do, 21, and Dinh Van Su, 31, from Hoa BInh province for swindling and appropriating citizens’ assets.

The three men had separated real mutant orchid flowers and attached them to normal orchid plants with glue and sold them as mutant orchids. They had appropriated VND1 billion by the time they were discovered.

More recently, on January 14, the Yen Thuy district Police detained Ta Thi Suoi Van, 29, and prosecuted her for selling counterfeit mutant orchids via social networks.

Van admitted that she had sold orchids that were not really ‘mutant’. Within one month, Van had earned VND4.6 billion from selling counterfeit orchids.

Lt. Gen. Nguyen Hai Trung, Director of Hanoi Police, on April 13 confirmed that the city’s agencies had received many complaints related to the trading of counterfeit mutant orchids.

Meanwhile, State Bank of Vietnam’s Hoa Binh Branch told commercial banks to tighten control over loans related to mutant orchids.

What do scientists say?

The Vietnam Seed Association affirmed that mutant orchids have not been recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as an orchid species for official circulation in the market.

Tran Duy Quy, former director of the Institute of Agricultural Genetics, said there are about 35,000 orchid species in the world, including over 1,000 in Vietnam. Mutant orchids are very rare.

He said that the transactions of orchids valued at tens of billion of dong are “abnormal”. He said that people who have deep knowledge about orchids and planting techniques are aware of the difficulties in mutant orchid care and multiplication.

Regarding the value of mutant orchids, Dang Van Dong, deputy director of the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute, said there has been no scientific research affirming the medicinal effects or other uses of the plant.

In other words, the inflated prices of mutant orchids is just based on growers’ personal sense of beauty and rarity.

In many cases, the mutant orchids that people see in reality or in images are not genetic variations, but are just genetic recombinations.

La Thanh

It was a weekend morning when anime fan Minh Trang traveled to Ho Chi Chi Minh City from neighboring Binh Duong Province to attend the seventh Japan Vietnam Festival.

“I learned about the festival from a friend,” Trang told Tuoi Tre News .

“I love Japanese culture so I decided to come here.”

Trang was accompanied by her friend, Khang, who freestyled his anime-inspired outfit.

The duo has drawn the attention of the event goers, with several jumping to ask for photos with them.

Besides Trang and Khang, a number of cosplay fans also showed up with their favorite characters’ outfits at the fest jointly held by Japan and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.

The festival taking place at 23/9 Park in District 1 on April 17 and 18 gathered around 100 booths, aming to introduce the two countries’ tourism, local specialties, cuisine, culture, education, and technology.

Grilled foods are seen at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

One of the crowded booths was the baseball area where visitors could try playing the sport which is popular in Japan with the instruction from Japanese coaches, as well as buying baseball-inspired souvenirs.

A woman tries playing baseball while others stand around to watch at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

Another highlight of the event was the main stage which showcased performances of Vietnamese and Japanese artists, from traditional folk music to modern pop songs.

The seventh Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi MinH City had been postponed for several times before being able to take place in April due to COVID-19.

Speaking through a livestreamed video, Takebe Tsutomu, representative for the festival’s organizing board from the Japanese side, expressed his gratitude to see the event happen thanks to the constant effort of the Vietnamese and Japanese governments as well as relevant agencies.

He also expressed his hope that the fest would create a better future for the two countries of Vietnam and Japan.

Meanwhile, Vo Van Hoan, vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, took the stage to affirm the strong bond between Japan and Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, referring to Japan as “one of the close and sustainable partners” of the southern metropolis.

“People in Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular have always cherished Japan,” he stated.

“Following the success of previous festivals, this year’s event will continue to promote Japanese cultural specialties so that Vietnamese and foreigners living in Ho Chi Minh City could experience them as if they were in Japan.”

The first Japan Vietnam festival was organized in Ho Chi Minh City in 2013.

Staff pose for a photo at a booth selling Hello Kitty products at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

A young woman dons Japanese yukata and poses for a photo at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

People line up to do a survey by the Japan National Tourism Organization and exchange gifts at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

A paper flower displays a wish for ‘everyone to feel peace, happiness, and joy, as well as for the COVID-19 epidemic to be over’ hung on a wishing tree in front of a booth at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

Paper craft products are displayed at a booth at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

Japan’s famous snack ‘takoyaki,’ or octopus balls, are shown at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

Booths showcase foods and other types of product at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

Vietnamese ao dai (traditional long gowns) are displayed at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

Festival goers visit a booth selling products made from lotus at the Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on April 17, 2021. Photo: Dong Nguyen / Tuoi Tre News

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An ocean of passengers continued flooding Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday morning, crowding the security screening area, ahead of a national holiday.

The crowding was attributed to the rising demand for travel as Vietnam is about to commemorate the death of the Hung Kings, considered the founding fathers of the country, on Wednesday.

The airport’s current infrastructure fails to handle a large numbers of passengers at the same time.

From the very early morning, the security screening area, located on the airport’s first floor, was overcrowded with thousands of passengers queuing up for procedures including medical declaration, as a COVID-19 control protocol.

This situation has gone on for several days at the airport, with long queues of passengers inching forward in fatigue.

Such passenger congestion has happened not only in the screening area but also in some check-in counters of airlines, for many passengers had yet to complete their medical declaration.

Many passengers who were first-time flyers or who did not master how to make medical declaration nearly missed their flights.

Nguyen Khanh Hung, a 57-year-old passenger from Binh Duong Province, just outside Ho Chi Minh City, who checked in for a flight to Thanh Hoa Province in north-central Vietnam, said it took him a lot of time to fill out health declaration forms because of his old age and his ignorance of technological applications.

“Staff here have aided me enthusiastically,” Hung said.

“It took me two hours to complete all procedures from medical declaration to security screening, as there were so many passengers.”

By noon on Sunday, the security screening stalls were still crammed with waiting passengers.

An airport employee requires passengers to present their medical declaration forms before allowing them to access check-in counters at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, April 18, 2021. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Some passengers nearly miss their flights due to a long wait at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, April 18, 2021. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Passengers crowd the security screening area of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, April 18, 2021. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A tired little child stands among the waiting passengers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, April 18, 2021. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Passengers crowd the security screening area of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, April 18, 2021. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Passengers wait for airport staff to call their names at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, April 18, 2021. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Passengers crowd the entrance to the security screening area of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, April 18, 2021. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Some elderly people and children feel tired due to a long wait at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, April 18, 2021. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A passenger sits in the queue at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, April 18, 2021. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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