A family of 13 people, 3 generations brought banh chung on the train to celebrate Tet.

On the last train of the year of the Dragon, arriving at Hanoi station, many families, instead of celebrating Tet at home, chose to bring banh chung and gio lua on the train to celebrate New Year's Eve.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Ha, 43 years old ( Bac Giang City) said that according to tradition, every year his family celebrates Tet at home. This year, the extended family of 13 people, 3 generations, the oldest is 70 years old, the youngest is 9 years old, chose to celebrate Tet in an unprecedented way - that is, welcoming New Year's Eve on a train.

“Taking advantage of the Tet holiday, we decided to take the train to Quy Nhon together. My family brought banh chung, gio lua… In general, whatever is available during Tet, my family chose that to celebrate the Lunar New Year,” Mr. Ha shared.

Nguyen Ngoc Ha's family of 13, 3 generations, check in for the train across New Year's Eve. Photo: N. Huyen

Unable to hide her excitement, Nguyen Ngoc Anh (4th year student, University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University, Hanoi) said that the first time she took a train was when she was in 2nd grade.

“Therefore, this time I am extremely excited to take the train on a very special occasion, New Year’s Eve. Moreover, I am extremely excited to go with my family members,” Ngoc Anh said.

Nguyen Ngoc Thuy Linh, 17 years old, hopes not to miss the fireworks display even when traveling by train. Her whole family chose to travel during Tet by train with the hope that grandparents can enjoy their old age, and the younger generation can fully enjoy their childhood before growing up. Parents will also feel the connection when traveling with generations.

Artist Phan Thi Minh Bach participates in painting on the last train of the year. Photo: N. Huyen

Not only do many families choose to travel on the train on New Year's Eve. On the last train of the year, there is also a very special presence - the families of the artists who participated in creating the spring train.

Painter Phan Thi Minh Bach happily said that in March 2024, for the first time, a group of more than 20 Vietnamese painters participated in painting on the hulls of ships the image of "Hue - Da Nang Heritage Journey", in just 3 days, many vivid scenes of the heritage of these two provinces were shown.

This is an idea that has been implemented for nearly a month now, the group of artists continues to paint on the body of the train with 2 community compartments with the theme of Spring Train. To continue the inspiration of paintings on the train, the last train on New Year's Eve departing at 22:22 will have 12 artists on board the train across Vietnam during Tet to create.

Passengers leisurely board the train for a spring tour. Photo: N. Huyen

Among these 12 artists, many brought their children along, such as artist Dao Tuan, who "shared" one child with his wife to take care of, and he himself brought one son along. There was a female artist whose family was small, who brought both her children on board.

While busy composing and taking care of their children, the artists feel very happy to be able to share with the community. This will be the motivation for them to strive to create at least 100 paintings to display at Hanoi station on the 6th day of Tet after completing the trip.

Sharing more about the first New Year's Eve train organized at a community station, Mr. Dang Sy Manh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Railways Corporation, said that as usual, the Corporation still organizes trains running all night on New Year's Eve to serve the travel needs of people.

“Capturing the travel trend of people and many families every time Tet comes and spring comes - wanting to travel and experience, therefore, this year the Corporation organizes a train trip through the night of New Year's Eve with community stations to bring unique cultural features and entertainment activities to serve passengers boarding the train during Tet.

With these trains, we do not put profit as the top priority, this is to serve the people traveling. Because many years, there are passengers who miss the way or due to many circumstances they cannot return during the peak days so they choose to go on New Year's Eve.

Mr. Dang Sy Manh shared with reporters. Photo: N. Huyen

And this year, we want to bring passengers Tet experiences. In particular, we want to show passengers a flexible railway industry serving the community by bringing cultural features, folk games, traditional Tet activities onto the train...

Not only on the train but also at the station, the railway industry is moving towards the train being the segment of experiential tourism, and the station being the destination. During peak occasions such as Tet and holidays, the railway industry always organizes practical activities both at the station and on the train. Along the way, beautiful routes are also renovated for tourists to see, admire, and check-in," Mr. Pham Sy Manh informed.

It is known that on the 29th of Tet, there were 22 trains running, including 17 Thong Nhat trains and 5 local trains. On New Year's Eve alone, there were 10 trains running. Specifically, the Thong Nhat SE1 train from Hanoi station had a total of 430 passengers, of which 113 passengers boarded from Hanoi station. Train SE4 departed from Saigon station with a total of 995 passengers boarding and alighting throughout the journey.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/gia-dinh-13-nguoi-3-the-he-mang-banh-chung-len-tau-an-tet-2367249.html