The star-shaped white blossoms of Hanoi's milkwood trees have inspired songwriters and lovers, but city authorities began cutting them back on Friday after an outcry from residents over their "overpowering" fragrance.
The Vietnamese capital boasts more than 14,400 alstonia scholaris, tall evergreens that shade the streets in summer and in autumn produce flowers that fill the air with a heady scent.
For many residents, it is too much.
"The smell is so overpowering that it becomes unpleasant, especially when the weather is hot," Hanoi resident Tran Trung Phong told AFP.
The 56-year-old said he keeps his doors and windows shut and suffers from headaches and breathing difficulties as his four-storey home comes "under direct attack" from dozens of trees nearby.
"If it were up to me, I would replace them all," he said.
His complaint is similar to those made across social networks and reported in state-run media in recent days, prompting Hanoi authorities to take action.
On Friday, they began a drive to prune up to 1,000 trees along 13 streets with the aim of reducing their intense fragrance.
The trees are common across much of Asia.
In Vietnam, where they are known as "hoa sua", they are evoked in nostalgic or romantic songs and poems about Hanoi.
But a poll conducted by state-controlled online newspaper VnExpress found 80 percent of respondents supported removing or relocating the trees.
"Only those who don't live near these trees find them romantic with a pleasant fragrance. Try it for just one day, you will hate it forever," wrote Thanh Luong on Facebook.
She said her bedroom is located about 100 meters (328 feet) away from two trees, adding: "It's torture."
The evergreens, which reach more than 10 metres tall, are synonymous with Hanoi -- so much so that they have been planted in areas of central and southern Vietnam as a way to import some of the capital's charm.
For local resident Lan Huong, they are key to the city's identity, and also provide a welcome flash of nature in polluted streets.
"Hoa sua is the signature for Hanoi. Everyone knows and accepts that as a fact," she said.
"Isn't breathing in the scent of flowers far more pleasant than inhaling smokes from bikes and cars?"
In a statement on Thursday, city authorities said the trees were a "signature feature of autumn in Hanoi, contributing to the city's distinct urban identity".
But they acknowledged the smell "negatively impacts the health and daily lives of residents, as well as the overall quality of the living environment".
They said they will consider whether they can "relocate some of these trees to more suitable locations and replace them with other types of greenery".
In 2019, around 100 hoa sua trees were relocated to the city's outskirts. But a similar plan in 2023 to shift away 80 from a main street failed due to objections from locals, state media reported.
"I feel sorry.. for hoa sua being denounced at this autumn trial," wrote Loi Phan Mai in a Facebook post that drew thousands of positive reactions.
"It is easy to cut down a tree, but how does one go about cutting down a memory... How could a hoa sua tree possibly be guilty?"
tmh/ar/lga
