HO CHI MINH CITY – In the workshop of Mr. Van Tong’s Tet flower street mascot, district 12, a pair of tigers over 3m tall stand on either side to greet guests.

For more than half a month, artisan Van Tong’s workshop (District 12) has been busy completing the tiger models – the mascot of the Lunar New Year will be displayed at Nguyen Hue flower street (District 1).

The highlight is the tiger model at the welcome gate, which has reached 60% of the design progress. “This year, the mascot of the welcome gate is no longer a family reunion image like every year. The tiger pair is also not in the center position, but has been moved to the sides, emphasizing the habit of living and working independently of the tiger. this species,” said Mr. Tong, while giving a tour of the workshop.

The pair of tigers over 3 m high and 7 m long have been made by nearly a dozen workers since 10 days. The tiger’s head is gradually taking shape, waiting to draw textures.

Each tiger is assembled from 65 pieces of pvc foam pima, weighing more than 200 kg. According to the factory owner, when brought to the flower street, the tigers will be cut in half for easy transportation before being reassembled.

Mr. Tong said, in addition to the pair of tigers at the welcome gate, the highlight of this year’s flower street is the model of “Lord of the Forest” 4.6 m high, more than 10 m long. This tiger is doing 50% of the progress, has a steel frame and a harmonious combination of tempered glass, mica and moss, creating the effect of a tiger.

The other half of the mascot is being assembled by workers.

Outside the yard is making another tiger 3.5 m high, 8 m long with a characteristic striped pattern and heroic appearance, about 60% done. When the frame is completed, this tiger will be glued with gravel on the outside.

This is the first year gravel was chosen as the material to represent the mascot for the flower road. According to the artisan, the pebbles are carefully selected in terms of size, shape and color to create the characteristic striped pattern and appearance of the tiger.

Danh Trong Hau is repainting the frame before gluing gravel outside for the tiger. “This is my 6th year participating in making the mascot for Nguyen Hue flower street. I am very happy that the group’s work is visited by many tourists at the beginning of the year,” Hau said.

In another corner of the workshop, Ms. Bui Tran Ngoc Huong crafted tigers with foam, sanded, glued fabric and painted before being decorated by painters. “In the steps of making a mascot, basic shaping is very important, it requires skill and sophistication because each mascot shows a different appearance. Each one takes 2 to 4 hours,” the girl said. 18 years old said.

Styrofoam tigers of all sizes and shapes wait for decorative painting after painting. This year, the flower street has more than 20 large tigers in addition to many small mascot models or stylized pictures…

Mr. Tong’s workshop also made many other miniatures for the flower street like children dressed in Tet clothes.

The stylized Spring 2022 inscription is also being completed at the workshop.

This year’s flower street will be open to serve the needs of spring travel and enjoyment of residents and visitors from 19:00 on January 29 to 5:00 p.m. on February 4, 2022 (ie, from December 27 to the 4th of the Lunar New Year). Construction time from January 13, 2022 to 16:00 on January 29, 2022 (ie from December 11 to 27). This is the 19th year Tet flower street is held. Photo: Saigontourist

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