These days, the street selling Mid-Autumn lanterns on Luong Nhu Hoc Street (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City) has become more sparkling than ever because of the colors radiating from thousands of lanterns, attracting a large number of people to come here to visit, shop and take photos. It is known that lanterns have been sold on Luong Nhu Hoc Street for more than 50 years, becoming a memory of many people. Therefore, every Mid-Autumn Festival, this place becomes an attractive destination not only for children, tourists but also for people in Ho Chi Minh City.
Coming to the lantern street, visitors can easily come across stalls with full colors.
In addition to being an office worker, Phan Thanh Dat (24 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) also has a passion for photography. He has just taken a photo series about the bustling atmosphere on the lantern street.
Thanh Dat shared: "According to my observations, this year the lantern street has more shops, the types are also more diverse, the familiar types of glossy paper lanterns now have new shapes such as cartoon characters, animals following the current trend. In addition, this year there are also some stylized, modern lanterns such as rabbit lanterns, very cute ducklings, these are also hot items on social networks recently. In terms of price, this year is not much different from last year, the products are very affordable for buyers, the products are also diverse so the buying and selling atmosphere is very bustling".
We can see a variety of lanterns with different patterns.
From the end of July to the beginning of August of the lunar calendar, Luong Nhu Hoc Street begins to bustle with many items for the Mid-Autumn Festival. What is special here is the diversity and impression of the lanterns. You can come around this time to immerse yourself in the Mid-Autumn Festival atmosphere of Saigon. During the day, the street has the ancient beauty of a time, but when night falls, this place becomes bustling with the presence of adults and children coming to visit and shop.
Luong Nhu Hoc Street is home to a long-standing Chinese community, and they have developed a unique craft of making handmade lanterns. According to Chinese tradition, lanterns are not only used to create a bustling festival atmosphere but also a symbol of reunion. Besides being used to light up or create a joyful atmosphere for festivals at night, Chinese lanterns also have symbolic meanings. Royal lanterns often appear in weddings, symbolizing happiness and reunion. In contrast, white bamboo lanterns are often seen in funerals, expressing regret and sadness.
The colors are as vibrant as the heat of the approaching holiday season.
Sharing with Travellive, Thanh Dat said that visitors to the lantern street, in addition to families taking their children shopping, there are also young people and adults coming to take photos to check in, or buy gifts for friends and relatives. It seems that playing with lanterns is no longer a game for children, but adults also enjoy this very unique folk game.
On the street, the brilliant red and yellow of the lanterns and the laughter of visitors add to the excitement of the upcoming festival season. Perhaps for the people of Ho Chi Minh City, visiting the lantern street has become a tradition every August full moon season, like a beautiful cultural feature of many generations of people here.
The familiar star lantern of many generations of Vietnamese people.
In addition, here also sells lion heads with many different shapes and sizes.
"Every year, near the Mid-Autumn Festival, I spend time here to visit, take pictures and buy some of my favorite items. This year, I went early but the atmosphere was already very crowded and bustling. When the street lights up, everything becomes brilliant and sparkling. I feel like I've entered a fairy tale world, like I've returned to my childhood with traditional lanterns: star lanterns, butterfly lanterns, swan lanterns, carp lanterns, all the very familiar types of lanterns that have appeared in the nursery rhymes that I've heard by heart all my childhood.
Walking around each booth, although crowded, visitors were very orderly, giving way to each other, the sellers were also friendly and welcoming, not soliciting or forcing customers to buy, the uncles and aunts also guided young people to take pictures, choose beautiful angles, in general everyone was very cute and close. Seeing families taking children to buy lanterns reminded me of my childhood, as well as feeling the warm, family atmosphere every Mid-Autumn Festival", Thanh Dat confided.
A Chinese cultural feature of candied hawthorn.
Another style of Mid-Autumn lantern.
Coming to the lantern street, in addition to admiring the colorful lanterns, visitors can also "enjoy" the atmosphere of the festival season that only happens once a year. Luong Nhu Hoc lantern street is like a witness to childhood, adorning itself with old but solid memories, so that anyone who comes here can also see and enjoy the flavors, sounds, and colors of childhood. Besides, this is also considered a unique tourist destination, and any visitor who visits Ho Chi Minh City during the Mid-Autumn Festival will also want to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of District 5 lantern street.
For Thanh Dat, the lantern street is a typical cultural symbol of Chinatown - Cho Lon in Ho Chi Minh City. The hobby of playing with lanterns is also a beautiful traditional culture from ancient times, very worthy of being preserved and passed down to future generations.
"Thanks to the lantern street, domestic and foreign tourists will remember Saigon more. Currently, I see that only Hang Ma Street (Hanoi) and Luong Nhu Hoc Street (Ho Chi Minh City) are two typical lantern streets. I think other places should also develop this model so that people have another place to have fun, entertainment, and shopping every Mid-Autumn Festival, as well as a way to preserve and promote this traditional cultural beauty," Thanh Dat confided.
Rabbit lantern - "hot trend" of this year.
Many young people come here to visit, take pictures and check in.
