Thousands of people gathered in Cho Lon to watch the Tet Nguyen Tieu parade.

Tet Nguyen Tieu (also known as Tiet Thuong Nguyen, Tiet Hoa Dang…) is one of the traditional festivals that has existed for a long time. On this day, Vietnamese and Chinese people often go to pagodas to pray for a year of peace and prosperity.

The Lantern Festival in Cho Lon Area (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City) in 2025 has many activities, taking place throughout the full moon of January, most concentrated in Chinese assembly halls.

The most anticipated part of the festival for locals and tourists is the street parade. The parade starts at 4:30 p.m. and lasts until 6:30 p.m. with the participation of 1,000 extras from Chinese guild halls and lion-lion-dragon troupes from three districts: 5, 6 and 11.

As every year, on the full moon day of the first lunar month (Tet Nguyen Tieu), in Cho Lon area (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City), there is a bustling festival of performances and parades.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Nearly 1,000 extras from guilds and organizations participated.

Leading the parade was the Eight Immortals team on stilts.

To be able to walk on stilts, these amateur actors must practice and have many years of experience participating in festivals.

The parade route goes through Hai Thuong Lan Ong - Chau Van Liem - Lao Tu - Luong Nhu Hoc - Nguyen Trai - Tran Xuan Hoa, Tran Hung Dao streets and ends at the District 5 Cultural - Sports Center. This is an activity that attracts many people and tourists to watch and experience every Lantern Festival in Ho Chi Minh City every year. At around 3 p.m., thousands of people were waiting for the parade along both sides of the streets in an excited mood. When the parade started, many people were happy and held their phones to film.

Foreigners surprised by the art parade in the 2025 Lantern Festival

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh (residing in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City) said that she had been at Luong Nhu Hoc Street since 2 p.m. to wait. This year, she, her husband, and children came to watch the performance and go to the pagoda on the 15th day of the first lunar month.

"I find this activity meaningful, imbued with the cultural identity of Cho Lon. I hope I will come here again next year to watch the parade," Ms. Thanh shared.

Behind are child actors, students from elementary schools in District 5.

Although it was not yet time for the parade, thousands of people were already present along the streets, "reserving places" waiting for the procession to pass by.

Some people came to the group's gathering place to take souvenir photos during the Lantern Festival.

At around 5:00 p.m., the parade went to Chau Van Liem Street and then turned onto Lao Tu Street.

People jostle to park and get the best photo of this parade

Zhang Jie (25 years old), an actress who has participated in this festival for 10 years, said that this is the festival season she looks forward to the most in the year. "Because every year I get to dress up and perform only once, then I have to wait until the next year. This year I dressed up as Tau Quoc Cuu, a character in the Eight Immortals, a mythical character of China," Zhang Jie said.

Khit added that when she parades, she has to wear many layers of clothes and walk on stilts for many hours. Therefore, before performing, she has to practice walking on stilts for a long time, along with putting on makeup for more than 2 hours.

Meanwhile, the lion-dragon troupes received the attention of many locals and tourists. The representative of Nhon Nghia Duong lion-dragon troupe said that this year, they brought to the festival a pair of silver-gold dragons and a pair of red-gold lions. The purpose is to bring good luck, wealth and prosperity to everyone in the new year.

Mr. Dao Duy Long, Long Nhi Duong lion - unicorn - dragon troupe said that this year they will bring to the festival a 7-color dragon. With the main color being pink from head to tail, the other colors are decorated as scales to add a modern, fresh look compared to previous years.