Just the latest example of people ruining the very the beauty of a spot that drew them for its beauty.
Tuoi Tre reports that local residents of Ngõ 5, Tu Hoa Street in Tay Ho District have become annoyed with youths flocking to a lakeside spot to take photos, only to leave piles of trash behind.
The location has become Instagram-famous thanks to the white walls leading to the lake, as well as the white buildings of the Intercontinental Hanoi Westlake that sit on the water. Residents, however, now have to deal with noisy groups of visitors who don't clean up after themselves.
Phuong Lan, who lives in the alley, told the newspaper: "We cannot prohibit them from coming here to take photos, but they have turned this place into a noisy place with plastic cups, bags and bottles scattered everywhere. I chose to live here because I enjoy taking in some fresh air from the lake but every time I go out for a walk, I step on trash."
The news source's reporters found that youths gather in the late afternoon as the sun begins to set over the huge body of water, and many bring packaged food and drinks with them. One Instagrammer said of the public littering: "This is a public place. Sanitation workers will clean it up."
However, another resident said locals regularly do the tidying up. "We often have to clean the place or we won't have a space to sit for fishing, but no matter how much effort we exert on the cleaning, the litter keeps on coming," 65 year-old Hai shared. "They [the visitors] dress up for their own beauty, but do not care about the beauty of the area."
