Da Lat gears up for bloom boom

The Central Highlands resort city of Da Lat , already famous as the City of Flowers , is now the City of Flower Festivals.
The city will welcome 2012 with millions of colourful flowers as the latest edition of the biennial Flower Festival gets underway on New Year's Eve.
The five-day festival will honour those who grow and sell flowers by presenting them to the public in a floral parade and awarding a slew of prizes. The festival will feature 21 cultural activities including flower exhibitions and music and dance performances that more than 1,000 artists will participate in.
An estimated 300,000 visitors including foreigners are expected to attend the festival, according to Truong Van Thu, vice chairman of the People's Committee of Lam Dong province.
The opening ceremony of the festival, called Da Lat Flowers – the World of Colours on Dec. 31, will have a special display of around 120,000 tulip branches as well as flower species specific to Da Lat.
Meanwhile, thousands of species of flowers from Da Lat and other localities nationwide as well as other countries will be on display at different locations in the city.
Around the Xuan Huong Lake that is located in the heart of the city, several stands will present flowers most commonly grown in Da Lat.
Among the more prominent flower displays of the festival are: a Space for Da Lat Flowers around the Xuan Huong Lake ; a Slope of Cherries on Le Dai Hanh street; a Wild Flower Hill at the Da Lat Flower Park; and a Carpet of Wild Flowers at the Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Park.
The opening ceremony and the festival's main events will be telecast live, organisers said.
Apart from the magnificent floral displays, a scientific seminar on flowers and a trade and tourism exhibition will be organised.
The exhibition stalls will present the goods and services of both domestic and foreign companies.