Hoi An Lantern Festival – Travel tips and things to do
Hoi An Lantern Festival (or Hoi An full moon festival) is celebrated on the full moon days of the lunar month or traditional Tet. Lights in all houses, bars and restaurants are all off. The whole neighborhood is engulfed in the light of the full moon and the lanterns. On the streets, vehicles are temporarily banned, only for pedestrians.
Visiting Hoi An on the night of the full moon tourists can feel as if they were living in the urban space of a busy international trading port during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Hoi An lantern festival is full of magical colors of an ancient town.
A Longstanding Traditional Festival – Hoi An Lantern Festival
The program “Full moon night of the old town” was first organized in 1998 by the ancient town of Hoi An. The context is the early years of the twentieth century. Over the past 15 years, on the night of 14th lunar month, Hoi An Ancient Town becomes beautiful again in the magical light of lanterns.
Every year, the largest Hoi An lantern festival is held around the time of traditional New Year, which lasts throughout the time near the end of December until the end of January of the lunar calendar. This is considered a typical feature in the tourism culture of Hoi An, which attracts great number of locals and tourists everywhere.
On the roads along the Hoai River in the old town such as Tran Phu, Le Loi, Bach Dang, Nguyen Thai Hoc, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai … From 17h to 22h the means of transport temporarily stopped circulating. Turn off the electricity in all houses, shops and restaurants. The whole neighborhood was engulfed in the light of the full moon and thousands of lanterns were lit.
Activities to participate
You seem to enter a completely different world. The old town is bustling with music, chess competitions, folk games, and other activities like dropping flower lanterns, playing cards, etc.. When other major holidays coincide with the full moon night, there will be added activities such as costume dance, lion dance, Duong bay poem, etc.
In the performance area “Full moon night of the old town”, the old-fashioned atmosphere and the cultural pleasures of the folk festivals are vividly recreated by the people of Hoi Street.
Or encounter the shops of noodles Quang, Cao Lau, tea, toilet that Phu is located along the road side by side with the bright oil lamp. Shops selling drinking water along the river to the melodious songs, playing huts or reciting poetry, responding to bustling an area.
Dropping flower lanterns on Hoai river
At the banks of the Hoai River, visitors can buy light-colored lanterns and drop it on the Hoai River, which turns a whole section of river into sparkling lights in the night. It is thought that the lights will bring good luck to the family and loved ones.
At Tet, nowhere in Hoi An shimmering like the Nguyen Phuc Chu street, which is located along the romantic Hoai River. This is a place where tourists stop to admire the beauty of Hoi An. And this is the venue for the famous Hoi An lantern festival. The lanterns and works of art made from lanterns are decorated along the path, with different shapes.
The beauty of the old town seems to stand out more in the night with the mossy roofs and spectacular roads under the moonlight. Although there is no electricity, the modern streets in Hoi An are not stale. On the contrary, it gives tourists a sense of tranquility to live in the old space.
When is the most beautiful time to release lanterns in Hoi An?
Visiting Hoi An at night any day you can drop the lantern to the Hoai river. To have the sparkling lights, visitors can easily buy from street vendors locating along the banks of the Hoai River in the city center. From only 10,000 dong, you can have 3 lovely light bulbs in your hand. Or more interesting, you can also make your own lights from hard colored cardboard sheets and start to experience the feeling of dropping the lanterns on the Hoai River.
However, the ideal is still to drop the lighthouse on Hoai River on the full moon day, the 1st and the 7th every week. On these days, the roads around Co Hoi Street will be cleared of vehicles, the people of Hoi An organize the release of lanterns very early from around 16h. Then at about 6pm, Hoi An at night has absolutely no electric lights, the quiet space is lit by colorful lanterns on the street and the gentle light of the lanterns under the river, which looks magical, virtual, brilliant and extremely romantic.
Experiencing Hoi An at night with the exciting double feeling by dropping lanterns from a boat
Dropping lanterns from the shore has been an interesting experience for visitors coming to Hoi An at night. Dropping lanterns from the boat is an experience that duplicates that feeling you will not find in any other tourist destination. Just step down to Bach Dang wharf, the awaiting boatmen with gentle smiles will take you on the Hoai River to admire the panoramic view of the old town in the night, and to inhale the fresh air from the sea. You then can release the lanterns into the poetic Hoai River while enjoying fascinating stories about Hoi An from the boatman himself.
The simple flower lanterns, which are well-designed by artisans in the old town, are elegant from materials to patterns and colors. These lanterns reflect deeply the traditional cultural values of the old town.
Separated from the bustling streets of Hoi An at night, you will feel more peaceful when sitting on the boat and watching the lanterns floating in the river. Sometimes they are in clusters, and sometimes they are in a split way, creating beautiful and irresistible streaks of light on the romantic Hoai river. Just that much is enough for you to fall in love with it and will remember forever.
So what do you expect more for a great trip? Please contact us – Asia Master Tours for guidance, advice and get the most preferential price when you, your family and friends are going to enjoy Hoi An city.
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