Socialist Republic of Vietnam

After setting eyes on the exquisite cymbidium orchids in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat almost 15 years ago, a Buddhist monk was inspired to create an orchid kingdom.

Buddhist Monk Thich Hue Dang started collecting cymbidium orchids in the late 1980’s when the mania for them began to subside and growers were selling them off.

Ten years later, Monk Thich Hue Dang was the owner of the largest and most beautiful cymbidium orchid farm in the city, thus gaining the love and respect of local growers as well as orchid lovers across the country.

The Buddhist monk’s orchid farm lies in a deep valley close to Tuyen Lam Lake and covers an area of over one hectare, including several fabulous terraced gardens perching on the hillside.

The cymbidium orchid blooms between January and February during Tet, the Lunar New Year, which is the most important holiday in the Asian calendar. This is the time the Buddhist monk’s orchids boast their beauty at numerous flower festivals.

“An estimated 3,000 cymbidium orchids will be for sale in Ho Chi Minh City this Tet holiday,” the orchid hybridizer said.

A studious monk

The monk’s success can be attributed to his hard work and especially his ardent thirst for knowledge.

Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan, chairman of the Da Lat Orchid Association, is quoted as saying, “Monk Thich Hue Dang’s success is due to his meticulous research, hard work and perseverance. His 60,000 orchids remain intact while other orchid farms in the city are ravaged by pests and diseases.”

The monk’s unappeasable curiosity of orchids has evolved into a respectable passion for acquiring knowledge and experience.

For three consecutive years from 1994 to 1997, the elderly monk frequently traveled to Ho Chi Minh City to attend courses offered by the HCMC University of Agriculture and Forestry.

In addition, he has frequent discussions with experts in the field and is more than willing to share his invaluable experience with any orchid grower.

Also, to meet the rising public demand for certain desirable orchid species and at the same time preserve rare orchid varieties, the monk spent more than twelve years experimenting with in vitro orchid cultivation, he said.

His successful experiment was instrumental in deterring several kinds of wild orchids in Vietnam from extinction, stressed the chairman of the Da Lat Orchid Association. His orchid farm has become the chief source for the supply of seedlings to other orchid growers in the city, he added.

Ambitious plan to turn Da Lat into an orchid kingdom

During an interview with Thanh Nien newspaper, the monk unveiled his ambitious plan to turn his hometown into a kingdom of orchids, which he said would help bring prosperity to the Central Highlands city.

The monk just returned from the World Orchid Conference in Italy at the invitation of the World Orchid Association, he reported.

“I gained a lot of invaluable knowledge about orchid cultivation at the conference,” he said. “Also, I took some time to visit four European countries where orchid exports are thriving to learn more about techniques of preservation and packaging,” he added.

The European trip, which he said was a veritable eye-opener, convinced him that Da Lat’s orchids are a potential major export industry.

“Da Lat is home to many of the world's most exotic cymbidium orchids, sought by orchid lovers all over the world. Yet we have done little to develop this situation to our advantage,” he said.

“Favorable weather conditions coupled with low production costs give Da Lat’s orchid growers a distinct edge,” he highlighted. “Orchid exports can generate huge revenues for the city,” he asserted.

To awaken the sleeping beauty of Da Lat’s orchid cultivation to the full realization of its export potential, Monk Hue Dang has just launched a new orchid export company in the picturesque city of Da Lat.

He is presently calling on Lam Dong provincial authorities to lease his company 10 hectares of farmland for the expansion of orchid production.

Reported by Lam Vien – Translated by Tran Phong
Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 05 December, 2004, 13:35:03 (GMT+7)
Copyright Thanh Nien News