Sunlight becomes less blistering, a cool wind begins to blow in, and yellow leaves are scattered on the street. Autumn has come to Hanoi!
Hanoi’s autumn is famous for green sticky rice, the special aroma of milk flowers and for its typical yellow daisy. It is also considered the season of romance, of literature, and of memories past. Perhaps that is why autumn is our favorite season.
Spring in Hanoi comes in with drizzle and warm weather after a long, cold winter. Then the blazing summer brings in the gentle purple of Giant Crape-myrtle on many streets around the city. The proceeding cold, dry winter is warmed up by the many weddings celebrated throughout the season. Meanwhile, autumn exhibits a unique feature that people adore inexplicably.
Autumn makes Hanoi even more beautiful! Waking around Hanoi at dawn in the cool autumn air, tourists will see many bicycles carrying white and yellow daisies from the outskirts to sell inside the city. There are many kinds of flowers in Hanoi’s autumn; they are purchased by various means from simple vendor’s bicycles to mobile trolleys. At a street corner on Ba Trieu-Nguyen Du Street, there are some flower trolleys right on the pavement, and we just need to drop by to get some. Actually, buying flowers in that way is 
becoming a pleasure familiar to many Hanoians.
When autumn comes to Hanoi, sunlight is scattered on the streets, cool wind begins to blow, the sky is brilliant blue, and trees quiver in the light breeze. In this season, walking around Sword Lake is truly a pleasure to release us from the stress and worry of life. Around Sword Lake in autumn, the scenery is really spectacular with luxuriant trees, the charming The Huc Bridge, and the ancient Turtle Tower. Regardless of the coty’s bustling daily life, Sword Lake still reserves its own taciturn beauty drawing many tourists and residents into sightseeing around it every autumn.
Meanwhile, autumn on West Lake possesses a special charm due to the immense lake surface and the shady Thanh Nien Street nearby. Maybe due to its romantic scenery, West Lake has been the prime locale for young couples for hundreds of years. The best time to contemplate West Lake might be on an autumn morning. You can walk leisurely on Thanh Nien Street to visit Quan Thanh Temple and Tran Quoc Pagoda, and then sit silently on a rocky outcropping to see the lake in the morning fog. You’ll feel the vapor dissolving in the air and an extremely fresh environment all around.
Milk flower is another typical aspect of Hanoi’s autumn. Hanoians have become familiar with its milky-white color and fresh perfume every autumn. Milk flowers are planted along many streets in Hanoi and the ancient ones are mostly gathered on Quan Thanh, Quang Trung and Nguyen Du Streets. The perfume of these flowers is especially intense from the sunset till late at night. If you wander on Hanoi’s streets in October, you will go into ecstasy because of this perfume, and feel a mysterious fresh vitality from deep inside.
Moreover, Hanoi’s autumn seems to always remind people of the famous specialty called “Com” (green sticky rice) of Vong village. It is an especially delicious gift of Hanoi, made of tender glutinous rice. There are “com” cakes and “com” porridges throughout the entire year, yet we must wait until autumn to taste the flavor of green sticky rice. When autumn comes, there are many street vendors selling green sticky rice on almost every street of Hanoi. And the picture of Hanoi would be incomplete if there weren’t this kind of green glutinous rice grabbed in lotus leaves.
Autumn on the ancient streets of Hanoi is just like a sudden moment reminding people of their longing memories. Therefore, in the eyes of Hanoinans, autumn is beautiful but blue!
