Lying some 4km from Dalat City, Thai Phien village was known as a remote mountainous area and the hunting place of King Bao Dai from 1945 to 1954.
Lying some 4km from Dalat City, Thai Phien village was known as a remote mountainous area and the hunting place of King Bao Dai from 1945 to 1954.
However, the village is now home to sophisticated modern technologies, which allow the growth of artichoke tea and many other different kinds of vegetables and flowers.
Around 40 Vietnamese households repatriated from Xieng khuang, Laos, to live in Dalat in 1954 and decided to settle in the area.
They planted fruits, vegetables and varieties of flowers in the initial period and began to grow flowers of French origin, such as gladiolus, red daisy, and rose. Thanks to favourable weather and soil conditions, flowers developed strongly and became a key production sector in Thai Phien.
In 1975 due to economic difficulties, local people shrank flower growing areas to cultivate potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, vegetables and peas to improve their living conditions. However, they still kept growing traditional flowers.
The flower growing industry has once again thrived since 1985.
In addition to traditional flowers, many new varieties of flowers, including Japanese daisy and carnations, have been imported and crossbred.
Local people have also grown daisies of Indonesian origin, which are favoured in the local markets.
From above, Thai Phien looks like an industrial zone with a number of plastic houses. When night falls, the village turns into a charming “light city” with thousands of dotted light bulbs.
After fifty years of development, Thai Phien now boasts 1,100 households which grow flowers across 436 hectares.
Flower output has reached 300 million branches, 90 percent of which are different kinds of daisy.
Local people are active in applying new technologies and importing new varieties in order to increase quality and productivity. People in Thai Phien village hope that they will not only continue to improve their high-tech production line but also turn the village into a tourist destination.
