Troops garrisoned on platform DK1 are jubilantly celebrating the traditional lunar New Year (Tet) festival, with gifts sent from the mainland, including a pot of kumquat from Hung Yen province (in the photo).
A pot of orchids has been sent from Da Lat city, a famous land for orchid farming in Vietnam, to make the Tet celebration there more joyful.
With gifts sent from the mainland, the troops there make Bánh Chưng (square shaped glutinous rice cake) – an indispensable dish of Vietnamese people during the Tet festival.
The cake is wrapped in green Dong leaves that are available for harvesting a couple of weeks ahead of the Tet holiday.
The soldiers are very excited about making the square cake.
The troops are trimming a pot of yellow apricot blossom which is believed to bring happiness and good luck in the new year.
The decoration of the ancestral altar receives great care from the troops.
Careful preparations for the Tet celebration helps trooper Vo Sy An Nguyen relieve homesickness.
Though the Tet atmosphere is in full swing on the DK1 platform, troops there do not forget their duty ò firmly defending the sovereignty of the territory.