Serpent mascots coming to life for Nguyen Hue Flower Street

The giant snake models for Nguyen Hue Flower Street are nearing completion at a workshop owned by Van Tong in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 12. These creations will be showcased on Nguyen Hue Walking Street in the heart of the city during the annual flower street event, celebrating the upcoming Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake.

Standing before the snake heads, Tong (pictured) said around 80% of the project has been completed after one month of work.

“In a few days, all components of the mascots will be transported to the flower street for final assembly,” he said.

The two snakes, named Ngan Ty (female, L) and Kim Ty (male), measure 25 meters and 42 meters in length, respectively. Their intertwined forms create a base over 11 meters wide, with the height from the flower bed to the top of their heads exceeding six meters.

The bodies of Ngan Ty and Kim Ty are adorned with 2,700–3,600 hand-attached scales, complemented by LED lights running along their undersides. Before the components are transported to the flower street, workers carefully retouch and repaint every detail of the snake pair.

“As the main mascots of the flower street, nearly 30 workers are focused on perfecting their every detail,” said Nguyen Thuy, 46, while painting the snakes’ bodies.

Inside the workshop, the bodies and tails of Kim Ty and Ngan Ty are in the final stages of completion. Each mascot is divided into nine sections to facilitate crafting and transportation.

Workers use bamboo, rattan, and reflective plastic to craft the scales, creating a shimmering “gold” and “silver” effect.

Smaller snake models are being made from foam.

This year, the workshop is also creating two robot mascots for another section of Nguyen Hue Flower Street, which are about 70% complete.

Robotic arms are also utilized during the crafting process to ensure precision and efficiency in shaping the mascots.

This year’s Nguyen Hue Flower Street will feature approximately 90 snake mascots in various styles and sizes.

The flower street is divided into three sections: Unity, Transformation, and Development, symbolizing Vietnam’s historical journey.

The Nguyen Hue Flower Street will be open to the public from 7:00 p.m. on Jan. 27, two days before the Lunar New Year, to 9:00 p.m. on Feb. 2 (the 5th day of the Lunar New Year).

Now in its 22nd year, the flower street has become a cultural hallmark of Ho Chi Minh City during the Tet holiday. The previous edition attracted over 1.2 million visitors, including many foreigners.