I’ve got that feeling once my feet touch the ground of Hanoi.

Whenever returning to Hanoi, the very first thing I would do is to wander Hoan Kiem Lake - a heart of the capital. Under the final winter spell, the green of Hoan Kiem Lake gives a weird vibe. Old Banyan, Dracontomelon tree, Flamboyant in the water with reflection. In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible spring scent, spreading along the lake, from the green grass on the mound in the middle of the lake, where the majestic Turtle Tower tells the story of heroic and elegant Hanoi.

Nature has endowed Hanoi with its own unique characteristics, each season has its own look and beauty. While Autumn leaves hazy and morning breeze, Winter is a dark outcast cloud of lights. Then suddenly a whip of scent that is full of springful covers all of 36 streets. Stores in Hang Ma street shimmers with red paper pendants, hung full of home decorations for spring. Motorbikes full of flowers on Phan Dinh Phung street seem to carry all four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter…

Seasonal change. The Red river looks like a dream! I recall a cold winter morning, standing on the Long Bien Bridge and eyeing from the green banana garden, to Gia Lam, the riverside, pensive in the thin mist. The bridge makes a distinctive sound every time the traffic rushes over it, which I call the echoes of history…

Winter - the last season of the year, it paves the way for spring - a celebration of life, colour, and the joy of new beginnings. From afar, people head to WestLake talking about the preparation for Tet holiday, prune daffodil bulbs, buy oản cake (truncated-cone-shaped cake) to worship ancestors, go to pagodas, go to Nhat Tan to buy peach blossom trees so that in early spring the flowers will bloom brightly in a corner of the house...