[In Pictures] Hang Ma Street ablaze with traditional colours ahead of Mid-Autumn Festival
Amid Ha Noi’s autumn days and pleasant weather, Hang Ma Street is once again bustling, adorned in a vibrant array of colours in preparation for the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. With just two weeks to go until the Mid-Autumn Festival, the street has become busier than usual, attracting large numbers of residents and visitors.
The Hoan Kiem Ward People’s Committee has erected an eye-catching gateway to welcome residents coming to shop, sightsee, and enjoy themselves on Hang Ma Street. (Photo: HA NHUNG)
When it comes to the Mid-Autumn Festival, many seek to take a stroll along the familiar Hang Ma Street at least once. As soon as they arrive, they are greeted by a dazzling array of yellow, red, pink, and blue colours filling shops throughout the street.
Despite the abundance of toys in various styles, including imported products, traditional toys have gradually regained their place and strengthened their position in the market in recent years. This shows that, regardless of the era, traditional folk cultural values and time-honoured customs continue to attract public interest and affection, proving their enduring value.
Children accompanied by their parents on a stroll along Hang Ma Street are drawn to lion heads and paper masks.Each shop displays a wide variety of traditional lanterns in different shapes, including lanterns, rotating lanterns, and carp-shaped lanterns.Star-shaped lanterns, an indispensable toy for the Mid-Autumn Festival, can be easily found everywhere, from roadside stalls to large shops.
The street glows with the vibrant colours of red and blue cellophane, hues closely associated with traditional Mid-Autumn toys. (Photo: HA NHUNG)Phuong Ha, a resident of Ba Dinh Ward, was taking the opportunity to shop for decorations for her daughter’s classroom ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival. She said: “There are more products this year than in previous years, and prices have remained stable compared with last year, so I find it quite easy to choose. One particularly notable thing is that there are far more folk and traditional toys, and buyers, including young people, are showing a strong preference for traditional toys. I am very happy to see that young people appreciate these traditional cultural values so much.”The vibrant atmosphere of Hang Ma Street also attracts large numbers of young people who come to take photographs. Many hope to capture images that preserve the beauty of traditional folk culture in a traditional Mid-Autumn setting.Tourists show interest in folk toys such as traditional drums.
In recent years, handmade flour figurines have attracted considerable interest from visitors. Featuring a rich variety of forms, from lion heads and trays of five-fruit offerings to pig figurines, these products are meticulously handcrafted to recreate the traditional Mid-Autumn lantern procession of the past. They are all closely associated with a joyful and bountiful Mid-Autumn Festival.Master artisan Dang Van Hau, who makes handmade flour figurines, said: “Today, thanks to new technologies, flour figurines are more durable and can be preserved for longer. Combined with techniques passed down from previous generations, each work has its own ‘soul’ while retaining the essence of traditional craftsmanship. This is what I want to convey through my creations.”A lion head model recreated by artisan Dang Van Hau based on a design of a Mid-Autumn lion head from 1920.More young people taking an interest in traditional Mid-Autumn toys
Although the peak of the festival season has yet to arrive, Hang Ma Street has already attracted residents and international visitors who come to shop and enjoy themselves.
Alongside the revival of traditional folk toys, the street appears to be evolving from merely a place of trade and commerce into a familiar gathering place whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches.
The Co Loa Special National Relic Site in Dong Anh Commune, Ha Noi, comprises an extensive system of ancient ramparts and moats, archaeological sites and artefacts, as well as monuments, customs, and practices associated with traditional beliefs.
