Under the skillful hands of young craftsperson, simple watermelons are turn into stunning centerpieces with just one simple but sharp paring knife. Watermelons carved with letters, words and images are favourited by visitors at the annual Tet Flower Market.

In these days leading up to Tet, the bustling trading atmosphere has been recorded a watermelon stall owned by Mr Pham Huu Cuong, 28, from Quang Nam Province's Dien Ban Town. More than 200 watermelons sourced from Ho Chi Minh City have been carved with the image of 'than tai' (God of Luck) and mascots, as per the request from buyers.

Watermelons selected for carving must have dark green skin and round shape in order to ensure the high quality and aesthetics of the work.

To create such eye-catching carvings in the watermelons, the craftspersons draw an outline on the watermelon shells with pen, and then use their carving tools to form shapes.

The carving requires craftspersons to be meticulous and have high accuracy skills

It takes craftspersons from 30 minutes to one hour to carve a watermelon depending on the level of sophistication

In particular, it takes craftspersons about one hour to carve flowers or mascots on a watermelon, and only 30 minutes to carve calligraphy letters

The price of a hand-carved watermelon is ranging between 250,000 VND and 350,000 VND, whilst laser machine- carved watermelons are on sale at the prices of between 200,000 VND and 250,000 VND each.

After being carved, watermelons can be displayed for up to 20 days

Carved watermelons are often used to give to business partners, customers, relatives and friends as Tet gifts, or decorate the ancestral altar during Tet holiday.

Carved watermelons are very attractive to buyers at the Tet Flower Market 2020

By XUAN SON - Translated by MAI DUNG