Thousands of Chinese-Vietnamese living in Ho Chi Minh City visited Buddhist temples and participated in colorful street processions in droves on Tuesday to celebrate the Lantern Festival, marking the final day of Lunar New Year celebrations in Chinese tradition.

The Lantern Festival, also known as ‘Tet Nguyen Tieu’ in Vietnam, is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar calendar, which marks the first full moon in a lunar year.

It is a festival of great significance in China and other countries in the East Asian cultural sphere, including Vietnam.

On Tuesday, thousands of Ho Chi Minh City residents who are of Chinese descent went out to the streets of District 5, which houses one of Vietnam’s largest Chinese-Vietnamese communities, to celebrate the Lantern Festival.

Many flocked to visit pagodas and Buddhist temples to pray for a good year while others joined street processions to observe the occasion.

Colorful street performances of dragon and lion dances were cheered on by a crowd of audiences on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street in District 5.

Some festival goers dressed up as fictional characters in classic Chinese novels such as ‘Journey to the West,’ creating a festive ambience.

A dragon and lion dance in Ho Chi Minh City during the Lantern Festival on February 19, 2019. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

Festival goers dress up as characters in the classic Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’ during the Lantern Festival celebration in Ho Chi Minh City on February 19, 2019. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

People join a street procession during the Lantern Festival celebration in Ho Chi Minh City on February 19, 2019. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

People offer incense and prayers at a Buddhist temple in Ho Chi Minh City during the Lantern Festival on February 19, 2019. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

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