500 Chinese people in Ho Chi Minh City dress up and parade before the Lantern Festival

A group of people dressed as fairies, God of Wealth, soldiers... parade and carry the statue of Guan Yu around Cho Lon area, January 13.

The Quan Cong festival called Nguyen Tieu Nghinh Ong Quan Thanh De Quan tours around Cho Lon area, morning of February 22.

Nghia An Assembly Hall worships Quan Thanh De Quan (Quan Cong) - a loyal and heroic figure of the Three Kingdoms period. Every year, the assembly hall has two biggest festivals: the Lantern Festival and Quan Cong's death anniversary on the 13th of January and the 24th of June of the lunar calendar. According to beliefs, these are Quan Cong's birthday and sainthood, so they are the two most important ceremonies.

Mr. Tran Vu, Head of the Association, said that in previous years, the festival was only held on a small scale, without a parade. For the past two years, the street parade has been held to preserve and develop the traditional cultural festival of the Chinese community in Saigon.

The activity is part of a series of events celebrating the 2024 Nguyen Tieu Festival. The Nguyen Tieu Festival, also known as the Thuong Nguyen Festival, is held on the 15th day of the first lunar month, and is an occasion for people to pray for peace, ward off bad luck, and hope for a peaceful year.

Departing at 8am from Nghia An Assembly Hall on Nguyen Trai Street, the parade passed through Tan Da - Tran Hung Dao - Phung Hung - Hai Thuong Lan Ong - Do Ngoc Thach - Nguyen Trai - Chau Van Liem - Lao Tu - Luong Nhu Hoc streets and returned to the starting point.

The statue of Guan Yu was carried for nearly 5 km for people to worship. The statue is about 1 meter high, sitting on a gilded chair, and is hundreds of years old.

According to the head of the guild, the procession of the statue of Quan Thanh De Quan has the meaning of praying for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather, a happy and prosperous life for every family, and a prosperous society.

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Leading the parade were lion and dragon dance troupes. The highlight was a dragon nearly 70 meters long that required 27 people to dance. At crossroads, residential areas, pagodas, and assembly halls, the troupes stopped to perform lion and dragon dances for the people.

At the Wenling Assembly Hall on Laozi Street, the lion dance groups stopped to dance for about 3 minutes. The parade route passed through Chinese temples and assembly halls with the meaning of connecting and creating community solidarity.

Following behind was a group of young men dressed as the red hare - Guan Yu's war horse.

The procession becomes more lively with the participation of people transformed into fairies, demons, God of Wealth, dragon kings, traditional music bands, trumpet and drum teams...

Wearing traditional Chinese costumes, for the second year in a row, Huong Lan joined the flag and banner carrying team. "I am very happy to be part of the parade, helping people understand more about Chinese customs," said the 27-year-old girl.

People on both sides of the road rushed out to welcome the procession. Many carried incense sticks and clasped their hands in prayer as the statue of Guan Yu passed by.

Police, militia, and civil defense forces assisted in regulating traffic, reminding people not to spill onto the streets, creating space for the procession to pass.

Mrs. Nhu Loan, 56 years old (right corner), excitedly recorded the scene of the procession passing by. "For the Chinese, Quan Cong is considered a saint. After the parade, I will go to the temple to burn incense for him, hoping for good luck in the new year," she said.

Many people touch the lion dances, fairies, and God of Wealth, hoping for a new year of wealth and health.

At 9:30 a.m., the statue of Quan Thanh De Quan was brought back to Nghia An Assembly Hall.

Many people burned incense, prayed, and asked for luck after the statue of Quan Cong was placed back on the altar in the assembly hall.

Nghia An Assembly Hall, also known as Ong Pagoda and Quan De Temple, is an assembly hall of the Chaozhou and Hakka people who came to live in Vietnam, built around the beginning of the 19th century.

According to the 2019 census, there are about 750,000 Chinese people living in Vietnam, of which more than 500,000 are in Ho Chi Minh City. The Chinese in the city are concentrated in districts 5, 6, 8, 10 and 11.

Quynh Tran - Vnexpress.net

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