At 8:00 a.m., at Nghia An Assembly Hall (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City), thousands of Chinese people in Ho Chi Minh City were present to participate in the Quan Cong festival, also known as the Nghinh Ong Quan Thanh De Quan Festival, which paraded around the Cho Lon area.
According to folk beliefs, January 13 is the day when Quan Thanh De Quan (Quan Cong) appeared to help good people and destroy evil people, eliminating harm to the people. Nghia An Assembly Hall has a tradition of worshiping Quan Cong, so this is one of the most important holidays of the year of the Assembly Hall, besides the Lantern Festival which takes place on January 15. The statue of Quan Cong will be carried around Cho Lon area for people to worship. The statue is nearly 1 meter high, sitting on a gold-painted chair, and is hundreds of years old.
The festival had the participation of more than 700 people with the formation including the Big Gong team opening the way; the parade of elementary school students; famous lion and dragon troupes in Ho Chi Minh City; the Trieu Quan ancient gong music team, the Tieu Hoi Quan Nghia An flag team; the wooden board team of the Gods; the horse dance team; the Bat Tien congratulatory group; and finally the Quan Thanh De Quan palanquin procession team,...
According to Mr. Tran Vu - Head of Nghia An Association, this is the third year the Ceremony has been held on a large scale, with a parade in Cho Lon area. The Ceremony was held a day earlier because we wanted everyone to be able to attend and enjoy the weekend.
The festival is made more lively by people dressing up as fairies.
The girls are dressed in traditional Chinese costumes.
This year, the parade passed through the following streets: Nguyen Trai - Tan Da - Tran Hung Dao - Chau Van Liem - Hai Thuong Lan Ong - Phung Hung - Do Ngoc Thanh - Nguyen Trai - Chau Van Liem - Lao Tu - Luong Nhu Hoc and returned to Nghia An Assembly Hall.
The Chinese community has 5 languages, so the parade will pass through 5 Assembly Halls symbolizing the unity of the whole community. This is also an opportunity for Teochew people in Ho Chi Minh City to gather, express their remembrance of their homeland and honor the traditional cultural values of the Chinese people in a foreign land.
Adults and children took to the streets to see the parade pass by. All the people in the Cho Lon area happily welcomed the Ong palanquin procession, creating an extremely bustling atmosphere before the Lantern Festival.
The festival of Nghinh Ong Quan Thanh De Quan's tour is held with the wish to pray for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather, a prosperous and happy life for every family and a peaceful and prosperous society.
One of the people who followed the parade from start to finish, Ms. An Nhi happily said: "It's been three years in a row that I've attended the Festival. I feel very proud and happy when I see people rushing outside, joyfully welcoming each time the parade passes by."
At noon, when the sun was scorching hot, some people temporarily stopped their work to stand by the roadside waiting for the procession to welcome the Lord. Some people even brought incense and clasped their hands in prayer each time the procession passed by.
"I put my work aside to come here and wait for the procession carrying the statue of Ong to pass by. Quan Thanh De Quan is like a very sacred saint to the Chinese community. Because I can't go to the temple to burn incense, I'm here waiting," said Ms. Thanh Hoa (65 years old).
Many foreign tourists visiting Cho Lon area were also excited, taking out their phones to record the parade.
At 10am, the statue of Quan Thanh De Quan was brought back to Nghia An Assembly Hall. Many people came to burn incense, pray and ask for luck. This activity is part of a series of events celebrating the Nguyen Tieu At Ty 2025 festival.
The social customs and beliefs of the Chinese Lantern Festival are a series of unique festivals at the beginning of the new spring, recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage.
The Chinese people live in many places across the country, but the largest population is in Ho Chi Minh City, with about 400,000 people. They are concentrated in districts 5, 6, 8, 10 and 11.
Cultural and artistic activities are organized to contribute to preserving and promoting cultural values, spiritual values, humanity, solidarity between Vietnamese and Chinese people, enriching the cultural life of the people of Ho Chi Minh City.
Dantri.com.vn
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