Crowds flood Hoi An ancient town on Lunar New Year’s Day

By late afternoon, traffic heading into the town was congested, with private cars and tourist buses causing bottlenecks at several gateways.

Inside the old town, visitors packed major streets such as Bach Dang, Tran Phu, Nguyen Thai Hoc, and Le Loi, with foot traffic so dense that people had to move slowly through the crowds.

Popular attractions including the Japanese Covered Bridge and Phuc Kien Assembly Hall were crowded with tour groups and families.

Restaurants, cafés, and street food stalls also reported heavy customer flow throughout the day.

Tran Duong, a visitor from Hanoi, said his family chose to celebrate Tet with a cross-country trip.

“After spending time in Da Nang, we came to Hoi An this afternoon.

“I didn’t expect the ancient town to be this crowded, like a festival,” he shared.

Parking lots quickly filled up, with fees rising from the usual VND30,000 (US$1.15) to VND50,000 ($2) per car.

The influx of visitors is expected to continue in the coming days as Hoi An hosts a series of festive activities, including the Tra Que vegetable village’s Cau Bong Festival on the seventh day of the first lunar month to pray for good weather and a bumper crop, the Kim Bong carpentry village festival on the 11th and 12th, and the Cam Nam sticky corn festival.