Which flower will be Vietnam’s national flower?

A workshop organized in Hanoi recently, attended by officials and experts from many ministries and agencies, to set the standards to choose Vietnam’s national flower.
Lotus, yellow apricot, peach blossom or….?
In many countries, flowers have become national symbols. If one mentions “the land of cherry blossom,” “the country of roses,” or “the country of tulips,” everyone would know immediately that he talks about Japan, Bulgaria or the Netherlands.
Some neighboring countries of Vietnam have their national flowers: Laos with champa flower, Malaysia with rose-mallow, the Philippines with jasmine. Meanwhile, Cuba chose butterfly jasmine, Canada has a maple leaf, Cambodia selected rice and Australia is known by the kangaroo.
In 2006, fashion designer Minh Hanh used the lotus as patterns on ao dai for chiefs of states who attended the APEC Summit in Hanoi. Many people think of the lotus as the national flower of Vietnam.
Until now agencies have not officially discussed Vietnam’s national flower. This issue is also very hot on online forums. People suggested many kinds of flowers like lotus, yellow apricot, peach blossom, bamboo, rice, etc.
Lotus is considered to show many characteristics of the Vietnamese. This flower appeared early in Vietnamese art and archaeologists have unearthed fossils of lotuses at the Thang Long royal citadel. However, India already chose the lotus as its national flower.
Expert opinions
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports set up the Steering Board and Compilation Committee of Vietnam’s National Flower Scheme in April 2010. The steering board has four members and the compilation board has 10 members, who are experts from related agencies.
At a workshop in June, Ministry of Foreign Affairs official emphasized the need to have national flower to advertise Vietnam to the world.
Vi Kien Thanh, chief of the Art – Photography and Exhibition Department under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports, stated that the compilation committee set standards and suggested some kinds of flowers as national flowers. According to Thanh, the national flower must be a symbol for cultural diversity of Vietnamese ethnic groups.
More workshops will be held in Vietnam, Da Nang and HCM City, attracting experts, researchers and scientists. The selection of national power will be also opened for the people’s opinions.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will make the final decision based on the opinions of experts and the public, and then submit it to the Government for approval. The Ministry plans to finish this task in 2010.
At present, the lotus is the brightest candidate.