Giant lanterns ‘float’ through streets in Vietnamese province ahead of Mid-Autumn Festival
Tuesday, September 10, 2019, 12:48 GMT+7
As Mid-Autumn Festival is around the corner, people traveling on some streets in the northern Vietnamese province of Tuyen Quang at night can now spot luminous lanterns in stunning designs and mammoth sizes moving on the roadways.
It has been a tradition for residential areas in the provincial capital of Tuyen Quang to create a gigantic lantern for their respective neighborhoods for public display on Mid-Autumn Festival.
The festival, or Tet Trung thu, is observed in Vietnam on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month every year.
Mid-Autumn Festival, falling on September 13 this year, is considered a special occasion for family reunions, where family members habitually get together, make offerings to their ancestors and delightedly enjoy mooncakes over fragrant tea while admiring the full moon.
Meanwhile, kids typically hang around with their well-lit lanterns, chanting traditional moon-welcoming songs, and playing traditional games.
But in Tuyen Quang, in the run-up to the festive day, the colossal lanterns of local residents will be brightly lit and put on special vehicles, which travel across streets in the area.
From afar, the colorful lanterns, in the shapes of such animals as dragons, elephants or rhinos, look as if they 'floated' on the streets.
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| Children are taken to the streets to watch giant lanterns on display in the northern province of Tuyen Quang. Photo: Vu Tuan / Tuoi Tre |
The tradition of making giant lanterns began about a decade ago when some families in the city’s Tan Quang Ward made lanterns for their children to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival.
The practice was then emulated by other neighborhoods, inspiring local authorities to organize a competition of making lanterns among them.
More and more beautiful and significant lanterns have since been brought to existence.
Over the years, gigantic lanterns marching the streets at night has become a signature image of Tuyen Quang ahead of Mid-Autumn Festival.
On the prime night of this year’s celebration on September 13, some 70 mammoth lanterns will be showcased in a ceremony held by the city’s authorities.
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| A giraffe-shaped lantern is on display on a street in the northern province of Tuyen Quang. Photo: Vu Tuan / Tuoi Tre |
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| Children are taken to the streets to watch giant lanterns on display in the northern province of Tuyen Quang. Photo: Vu Tuan / Tuoi Tre |
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| A dragon-shaped lantern is on display on a street in the northern province of Tuyen Quang. Photo: Vu Tuan / Tuoi Tre |
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| A chicken-shaped lantern is on display on a street in the northern province of Tuyen Quang. Photo: Vu Tuan / Tuoi Tre |
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| A dragon-shaped lantern is on display on a street in the northern province of Tuyen Quang. Photo: Vu Tuan / Tuoi Tre |
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| A dragon-shaped lantern is on display on a street in the northern province of Tuyen Quang. Photo: Vu Tuan / Tuoi Tre |
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| A rhino-shaped lantern is on display on a street in the northern province of Tuyen Quang. Photo: Vu Tuan / Tuoi Tre |
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