From the beginning of the eighth lunar month, a series of historical sites and cultural venues in Ha Noi’s Old Quarter have been illuminated with colourful decorations as part of the “Luu Trang Pho Co 2026” cultural programme. The focal point of this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival is the Cultural and Arts Centre at 22 Hang Buom Street, which is hosting the “Luu Trang” exhibition.
Visitors, especially children, can see almost all of the most beautiful Mid-Autumn Festival toys which were once enjoyed by Vietnamese children in the past, now “brought back to life”. Particularly prominent are large lanterns shaped like crabs, prawns, and butterflies, along with an entire school of carp.
When the city lights come on, the entire system of Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns is illuminated, making the space even more sparkling and vibrant. Alongside them are traditional Mid-Autumn Festival trays and various toys, including paper mandarins, stick-fighting figures, and paper horses. This year, some mascots that frequently appear at historical and cultural sites, such as elephants, horses, and dragon-horses, have also been “transformed” into unique and delicate toys for children.
The Old Quarter Cultural Exchange Centre (50 Dao Duy Tu Street), meanwhile, “tells” a different story about the Mid-Autumn Festival. Rotating lanterns, star-shaped lanterns and water-puppet figures become the central “characters”, introducing the origins and significance of the Mid-Autumn Festival — a festival associated with the wet-rice agricultural culture. Meanwhile, the Heritage House (87 Ma May Street) takes visitors back to the family space of old Ha Noi through the “Welcoming the Moon” exhibition.
Running throughout the programme is a series of experiential activities, such as making mooncakes, lanterns, star-shaped lanterns, toys, and traditional handicraft products. Pham Ngoc Mai, a pupil at Hoan Kiem Primary School in Hoan Kiem Ward, Ha Noi, shared: “I still celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with my family and at school, but when I came to the Old Quarter Cultural Exchange Centre, I learned more about the origins and significance of Mid-Autumn Festival customs, and I also got to make toys by myself, which was great fun.”
Ngo Thi Thuy Duong, head of the management board of Hoan Kiem Lake and Ha Noi Old Quarter, said: “The venues hosting different activities are connected into a common journey, helping the public gradually explore the different cultural layers of the Mid-Autumn Festival. This also provides a way for the Management Board of Hoan Kiem Lake and Ha Noi Old Quarter to connect tangible heritage with intangible heritage, artisans with the community, and traditional knowledge with contemporary creativity, so that heritage values can be accessed through forms that are close to life today.”
This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival space has been expanded from the traditional Hang Ma Mid-Autumn market and the main entrance area of Dong Xuan Market to pedestrian streets, the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake, and cultural heritage sites across the ward. Residents and visitors can explore and shop for Mid-Autumn Festival toys, traditional products, mooncakes, and OCOP products, as well as experience folk culture.
The beauty of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Old Quarter this year is being created not only by long-standing artisans but also with the contribution of the young creative community. Artisans, artists, researchers, and young creators are all contributing to bringing traditional Mid-Autumn Festival toys back into everyday life through products displayed at the Cultural and Arts Centre at 22 Hang Buom Street, with the participation of brands such as Thong Dong, The Annam, and Cua Na.
One notable example is the “Khoa Bang Trong Trang” toy set, inspired by the paper mandarin and stick-fighting figure toys. The “Pha Co Trong Trang” set recreates the traditional five-fruit tray using familiar materials such as rattan, bamboo strips, papier-mache, and coloured paper.
Artist Nam Chi of the Thong Dong brand has brought a collection of elephant and horse toys, with names such as Bach Ma Cart, Hong Ma, Hac Ma, and Hac Tuong.
He said that his goal, like that of many other artisans and artists, is not to restore the past exactly as it was, but rather to continue the vitality of heritage in contemporary life. The products are developed on the basis of research into traditional cultural values and are then redesigned and creatively reimagined to become toys suited to children today.
