70m long lantern recreating Hoi An ancient town wins first prize in international lantern competition

(Dan Tri) - The work "Sacred Soul of Vietnam" by a group of authors from Hoi An (Vietnam) was named in the highest position in the Ocean International Lantern Festival competition on the evening of January 18.

On the evening of January 18, the "Oriental Light Festival" contest - the first international lantern festival in Vietnam opened at Ocean Park (Van Giang district, Hung Yen), attracting a large number of visitors.

The festival showcased the 15 best works of the final round with giant, intricately designed light clusters from five countries including China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

The 70m long lantern work "Sacred Soul of Vietnam" recreating Hoi An ancient town won the highest prize.

Among strong competitors, the 70m long work "Sacred Soul of Vietnam" by the host team Vietnam - Hoi An Craft - was named the top prize, thereby receiving a prize worth 50,000 USD. This work also holds the record for the largest lantern in Vietnam at the present time.

In addition, Vietnam also had two other teams win prizes. The lantern work "Long Phuong Sum Vay" won third prize and "Lac Long Quan Tro Ve" won consolation prize. This shows the honor for the lantern design techniques and ideas of the teams from the host country.

Commenting on the work that won the highest prize of this year's competition, Ms. Chen Jia, Director of Culture - Yuyuan INC, a member of Fosun Group (China), and also a member of the Jury, highly appreciated the Hoi An artisans for breathing the soul of Vietnam's long-standing culture and history into the work.

Along with that, the group of authors used the art of light to convey love and pride in national history as well as honor traditional Vietnamese culture.

The festival also attracts many unique works from countries such as China, Japan...

"We appreciate the work Soul of Vietnam because it shows the creativity of the artisans when using environmentally friendly materials, the coconut shell, to create an artistic masterpiece.

With this special material, during the day, even when the lights are off, it is still a complete work of art. At night, when lit up, it becomes a sculpture, with delicate carvings, giving viewers two completely different experiences," Ms. Chen Jia shared.

According to this person, the jury members have been exposed to many creative methods in the world of lantern art, but the breakthrough in the way Vietnamese artisans have witnessed is the first time. This is what touched the hearts of the judges.

Sharing about the work "Sacred Soul of Vietnam" which won the highest prize, Mr. Vo Hoang, a member of the Hoi An Craft team, said that this is an opportunity for artisans like him to bring lantern products made of paper from water coconut shells so that international friends can learn more about the unique traditional art of Vietnam.

Also a member of the jury, Mr. Sato Kenichi, President of the Amori City Nebuda Festival Association and President of the Aomori City Tourism & Convention Association (Japan), assessed that this is a very large festival with the participation of 5 countries, all of which have the art of making lanterns.

Tourists enjoy taking pictures with the lantern artwork.

"In addition, this is also an event imbued with the traditional culture of the ethnic groups, vividly expressed through the works and conveyed to the youth. What is special here is that each artist in each country still retains its own unique features, expressing the national identity of their country but still learning from each other. The importance of preserving national identity is the most important thing," Mr. Kenichi emphasized.

In addition to the lighting works, Ocean City also offers a series of spring destinations with the Ocean Spring Fair, which includes 3 main spring fair chains with more than 250 booths.

Starting with the Spring Festival 2025 (January 18 - January 26) with the theme "Bringing Tet home - Happy Tet" at K-Town, gathering 116 booths of ornamental plants, cuisine, Tet gifts, handicrafts, specialties of 40 provinces and cities...

The Giang Vo Spring Market, a familiar market for Hanoians, will return with a version of "4,000-year Tet, Tet of 5 kingdoms", including 172 stalls. Of which, 136 stalls will be open for 58 days from January 18 to March 16 with a variety of products from all regions of Vietnam and stalls introducing cuisine and festivals from China, Japan, India, Korea, Türkiye, and Sri Lanka.

Visitors' journey to discover culinary quintessence is also extended with the international barbecue festival at Sake barbecue village, with the participation of international culinary experts.

The 2025 Oriental Light Festival lasts from January 18 to March 16 at Ocean City, co-organized by Vinhomes and Sunny Vietnam.

For the first time, millions of Hanoians and tourists experienced the spring festival for 58 days, with 580 unique activities.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/den-long-dai-70m-tai-hien-pho-co-hoi-an-dat-giai-nhat-cuoc-thi-den-long-quoc-te-20250119134618548.htm