Lam Vien Square

Wide and open, Lâm Viên Square looks straight out over Xuân Hương Lake. It is one of the largest public spaces in Da Lat. The square stands on Trần Quốc Toản Street and covers more than 72,000 square meters. From here the eye travels across the green water to two unusual structures.

Before the square existed, this ground was the Lâm Viên Training Ground, a sports park built in 1953 under French rule. Its French name was Cercle Sportif. The sports ground lasted for several decades. Then Lâm Đồng province decided to rebuild it as a major city square. The project broke ground in 2009, with a planned budget of 681 billion dong.

The name Lâm Viên has a reason behind it. In 2011 the Da Lat city council approved it, and the city government's written proposal explained why. The name belongs to the Lâm Viên plateau, also called Lang Biang. Da Lat sits on that plateau. The square was also designed with its main face turned north, toward the Lang Biang range. So when you stand here and look out at the lake, the range is behind you. The design is meant to recall that link between the city and its mountain.

Now look at the two structures. The larger one, 18.26 meters tall, is the art palace. The smaller one, 15 meters tall, is a coffee shop. Architect Trần Văn Dũng drew up the architectural plan for the project. He said that both took their inspiration from images typical of Da Lat and Lâm Đồng. These were the wild sunflower, the rose bud and the artichoke flower. They are stylized, symbolic designs, not copies of one particular flower. Seen that way, the two structures are architectural sketches of highland flowers and produce, not lifelike pictures.

The square is not only a place for a daily walk. It is also the largest venue for city events in Da Lat. The Da Lat Flower Festival, usually held late in the year, uses this square for its opening and its closing. The 10th festival, at the end of 2024, took place right here. On those occasions the stage, the sound system and the lighting are all gathered on the square.

When the festival ends, the square goes back to the daily rhythm of the people of Da Lat. In the early morning, they exercise along the shore of Xuân Hương Lake. At dusk, groups of children run between the two tall flower shapes. At night, lights reflect on the still surface of the water. The two shapes stand under the highland sky, one 18.26 meters tall and one 15 meters tall, like a symbol of a city that always blooms.