It is easy to see beehives along National Highway 4C. The minimum distance among the cages is around at least two metres.
When mint flowers bloom, beekeepers start relocating bees from lowland areas to highland rocky areas. Bees can fly several kilometres to collect nectar.
Each queen bee often lives for 6-8 months and worker bees last just 45 days. At the end of the season, bees are relocated to areas which are abundant with flowers for beekeeping like Tuyen Quang, Hung Yen and others.
According to Nguyen Anh Van from Dong Van District, her family has raised bees for many years. Currently, the family has 1,500 beehives. These days, they are busy with the honey harvest. Each litre of honey is sold at VND500,000-800,000.
The cold weather has badly affected bee development, while mint plants have decreased. This has made it more difficult for honey production.
The honey quality depends on mint flowers, climate and bee raising skills.
