More than 10,000 visitors flocked to the first day of the annual Southern Fruit Festival in Suoi Tien Tourist Park on Tuesday, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.
Visitors hailing mostly from HCM City and neighbouring cities and provinces turned up at the festival which coincided with International Children's Day.
The highlight of the festival is a floating fruit market selling more than 150 varieties of fruit at prices 20 to 40 per cent lower than the market price.
Boats are loaded with fruits from well-known brands including Hoang Gia pomelo (Vinh Long province), Tan Trieu pomelo (Bien Hoa city), Hoang Hau dragon fruit (Long An province), Luc Ngan lychee (Bac Giang province), Cai Mon durian (Ben Tre province) and Vinh Kim guava (Tien Giang province).
Also on display is a fruit collection including a 50kg-waxy pumpkin, 4kg pomelo, black tomatoes, violet mango, violet corn and violet longan.
Organisers said they received 600 pieces of craft fruit artwork and items from 1,000 farmer households from 21 cities and provinces.
The floating fruit market will run until late August.
The festival started in 2004 and has become a popular cultural tourism event honouring the southern region in particular.
