Tourists visiting the city of Hoi An in central Vietnam on these early April days find themselves lost in thousands of mouth-watering mulberries in the warm summer breeze.

Mulberry trees are widely grown in many regions across Vietnam for multiple purposes from collecting their leaves to feed silkworms to harvesting their fruits for food.

The mulberry season in Hoi An starts in the middle of November or late March, bringing along the fresh and juicy taste of summer to the resort city.

Mulberries are rich in protein and other nutrients that can help prevent cancer, aging, liver diseases and bacterial infections.

Beside the medical use, a combination of sweet-and-sour mulberries mixed with ice and syrup is definitely a refreshing treat for everyone, especially ladies.

There used to be many orchards growing this typical summer fruit in Hoi An, but the city’s growing tourism industry in recent years has led to people cutting down mulberry trees for development of tourist services.

Le Van Chinh, a resident in Hoi An’s famous mulberry-growing ward of Cam Chau, owns a plantation of 50 mulberry trees, which is one of the area’s largest mulberry orchards that remain until this day.

After each year’s harvest, Chinh’s family can make a profit of up to VND20 million (US$869) out of 40 kilograms of freshly-picked mulberries.

Le Van Chinh picks ripe mulberries from a tree in Hoi An City, central Vietnam. Photo: Tan Luc / Tuoi Tre

A close-up of a mulberry grown in Hoi An City, Vietnam. Photo: Tan Luc / Tuoi Tre

When mulberries ripen, they slowly turn black. Photo: Tan Luc / Tuoi Tre

Le Van Chinh’s son holds a basket of freshly-picked mulberries in excitement. Photo: Tan Luc / Tuoi Tre

Fresh mulberries are in season in Hoi An City, Vietnam. Photo: Tan Luc / Tuoi Tre.

Young mulberries are red in color and taste a little sour . Photo: Tan Luc / Tuoi Tre

A summer treat of juicy mulberries mixed with ice and syrup. Photo: Tan Luc / Tuoi Tre

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