Giant Mid-Autumn lanterns revive Vietnamese folk tale in Ho Chi Minh City

Surrounding it are other oversized lantern figures, including a crab, bear, tiger, bee, and fox, all inspired by the Vietnamese folk tale The Toad Sues Heaven.

The handmade installation has drawn families, children, and young visitors to the historic communal house, where traditional materials and folk stories are being presented in a contemporary way.

The figures are made from bamboo strips and do paper, a traditional Vietnamese material commonly used in handicrafts.

Ton Bao Minh, a member of Tang The Culture Lab, said the group chooses a different theme for the Mid-Autumn display each year.

This year, the team turned to The Toad Sues Heaven, a folk tale about a toad leading a group of animals to Heaven to ask for rain during a severe drought.

Minh said the idea was partly inspired by recent extreme weather.

“2025 was a difficult year with storms, floods, and prolonged heat, while hot weather continued into 2026. That inspired us to think of The Toad Sues Heaven,” he said.

According to Minh, the entire installation took around 80 days and nights to complete, from developing the concept to crafting and assembling the lanterns.

Their large scale has proved especially popular with children and young visitors, while older guests tend to spend more time examining the materials and craftsmanship.

Pham Nguyen Thanh Khoa, who visited with his wife and children, said he regularly takes his family to traditional Mid-Autumn spaces so his children can better understand the festival experienced by earlier generations.

“I want my children to feel what Mid-Autumn Festival was like in the past and imagine what it was like for their parents to grow up with do-paper lanterns,” he said.

Nguyen Duy Hai, a resident of Binh Thanh Ward, said the display gave him a sense of nostalgia and offered a quieter setting to enjoy traditional culture.

“I really enjoy the atmosphere here. It feels like a place that preserves the beauty of Vietnamese culture without being as crowded and hectic as many other places,” Hai said.

Another visitor, Chi Cuong from Tan Hung Ward, said he had visited in previous years and found this year’s display larger and more distinctive in its presentation.

The exhibition, titled “Coc Coc Tung Tung,” is jointly organized by Khoi Dang Tac Khi and Tang The Culture Lab.

Guided presentations are held at scheduled times each day to help visitors learn more about the folk tale and the meaning behind the lantern figures, according to Bao Minh.

The display runs from August 20 to October 11.

It is open from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm on weekdays and from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm on weekends.

By placing giant handcrafted lanterns inside a historic communal house, the organizers hope to give younger visitors a more accessible way to experience Vietnamese folk culture during the Mid-Autumn Festival.