Tourists flock to Moc Chau, "competing" to pick the first plums of the season, both sour and expensive.

Although there is still more than a month until the plum season in Moc Chau (Son La) officially ripens, many tourists have come to the garden to "hunt" for the first plums of the season, experience picking and check-in under the lush green trees.

Ms. Hoang Thi Quy, owner of Mung Hanh plum garden in Cho Long Hamlet, Moc Chau Farm Town, said that on weekends, the garden welcomes hundreds of visitors. Most of the visitors are looking to buy early-season plums, even though these plums are much more sour and astringent than the plums in season.

"The price of early-season plums is also very high, ranging from 100,000-130,000 VND/kg in the garden, but my family sells everything we pick. This price is 2-2.5 times higher than the main season. On weekends, only customers who come early and are lucky will have plums to buy as gifts," said Ms. Quy.

According to Ms. Quy, her family's plum garden has 150 ancient plum trees (32 years old), planted on an area of ​​7,000 square meters. At the beginning of the season, the family only harvested about 10 kg per day.

"Early ripe plums are very rare, we have to "strain our necks and eyes" to find them. However, many tourists enjoy this activity. Even though it takes them an hour to find only 10-15 plums, they are happy and excited," said Ms. Quy.

Mr. Lo Xuan Duc, owner of a 2-hectare plum garden in Moc Chau, said that this year, due to the weather, the number of plums is less than last year. It is expected that by the upcoming April 30 holiday, Moc Chau plums will be fully ripe to serve guests.

According to households that have grown plums for many years, in order to harvest off-season plums (early or late ripening compared to the main season), in addition to factors such as climate and soil, the care process also has a great influence. Compared to main-season plums, off-season plums are easier to sell and have higher prices. Therefore, any family that has a lot of off-season plums this year is happy because of the good harvest and good prices.

The entrance fee to visit the plum garden and take photos is 20,000 - 50,000 VND/person, depending on the garden. Visitors can rent costumes of Thai, Mong ethnic groups... to take photos.

At the end of March, Moc Chau has cool, pleasant weather. Compared to the plum season, this time the number of visitors is not too crowded, taking photos, experiencing plum picking or enjoying Moc Chau specialties will be more convenient.

Many families also choose this time to go to plum gardens to camp and breathe fresh air.