Story: Nguyen Truong Quy
Photos: Mai Anh Tu

Each time Hanoi shifts from one season to the next, a wistful feeling fills the air – perhaps because every season invites people to step outside and rediscover the countless shades of life that color this timeless city.

Spring in ancient Thang Long has always been filled with festive cheer, from temple fairs in the Old Quarter to thousand-year-old pagodas steeped in history. Festivals in the capital are grand spectacles, blending the lively urban spirit of Ke Cho with solemn rituals honoring dynasties and deities who once safeguarded the nation. The Perfume Pagoda Festival, Giong Festival, Hai Ba Trung Temple Festival, and Dong Da Mound Festival are just a few of more than 400 spring celebrations held across Hanoi. One of the city’s most unforgettable pastimes is to stroll through flower markets or suburban flower villages where peach blossoms, kumquats, gladiolus, and violets bloom beneath the light spring drizzle.

Grapefruit flowers bloom in late spring

With summer, Hanoi transforms from the gentle white of lilies to the fiery red of flamboyant trees, the soft violet of cascading crape myrtle, and the delicate fragrance of lotus blossoms rising from tranquil ponds – later steeped to scent cups of pure, refined tea. The tart flavor of pickled dracontomelon, gathered from the tree-lined streets that shade the capital’s loveliest avenues, evokes the nostalgia of student days. To experience Hanoi in summer is to wander toward the vast, glimmering waters of Suoi Hai and Dong Mo Lakes at the foot of Ba Vi Mountain, these lands steeped in the ancient legends of the Doai region.

Long Bien Bridge on a summer’s morning

Autumn drifts gently through the streets, carried by cool breezes and the shifting rhythm of sun and rain. Along Hang Ma and Hang Buom, the city glows with the Mid-Autumn Festival, while street vendors balance trays of green rice wrapped in lotus leaves through the narrow lanes, their fragrance “sweet on small hands.” To spend the autumn in Hanoi is to linger in the heady scent of milk flowers or to follow the breeze off the Red River to Co Loa Citadel and the traditional pottery village of Bat Trang.

Suoi Hai Lake in early autumn

Winter, as young Hanoians like to say, is when “the city dresses up.” As the northeast monsoon sweeps in, people bundle up in warm coats, gather as church bells chime, or find inspiration in art galleries and museums. It’s also the season when Hanoi’s cuisine shines – a time of steaming bowls, sizzling dishes, and cozy late-night meals that could fill a book with their variety.

Young buds in early spring

In all four seasons, Hanoi is as vibrant and ever-changing as a grand performance, where every visitor, knowingly or not, becomes part of its creative flow. As time keeps spinning, the city remains steadfast, moving in harmony with the seasons. This winter, let Heritage Guide lead you into the living rhythm of Hanoi.