The trees have not flowered as expected while the festival is only one week away.
Da Lat's Prunus cerasoides cherry trees in a file photo. Photo by VnExpress/Huynh Tuan Da Lat, a popular resort town in the Central Highlands, has decided to cancel its highly-anticipated cherry blossom festival due to unfavorable weather conditions. Officials said the town's Prunus cerasoides cherry trees did not flower as expected because this winter has not been cold enough. Local authorities feared that visitors would be disappointed, so they decided to cancel the event, scheduled to take place next week around the Tuyen Lam Lake, according to media reports. Tourists who have already booked tours and hotels for the festival should be refunded if they wish to, officials said. Around this time in previous years tens of thousands of the cherry trees were in full bloom with pinkish white flowers, creating dreamlike scenes across the town, especially along the lakeside drive around the Tuyen Lam.
