What is Tết Trung Thu?
Tết Trung Thu is Vietnam's Mid-Autumn Festival, and it belongs above all to children. It lands on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, the harvest full moon, the point in a traditionally agricultural year when the fields were in and parents finally had time to celebrate with their kids. That origin still shapes the mood: this is a warm, family-facing festival of lanterns, sweets and play rather than a solemn rite. (Do not confuse it with Tết Nguyên Đán, the lunar new year.)
Two moon legends sit at its heart. One is Cuội, a man who grabbed hold of a magical banyan tree and was carried up to the moon; children parade lanterns on festival night to light his way back to earth. The other is Hằng Nga, the Moon Lady, who is said to have drunk an elixir of immortality and floated up to live on the moon with a jade rabbit; her story stands for family reunion and hope. Even the carp-shaped lanterns carry a tale: a carp spirit was said to prey on people on Mid-Autumn night until a wise man taught villagers to carry carp lanterns to frighten it off.
The festival tastes like bánh trung thu, mooncakes in two classic styles: the soft, sticky bánh dẻo and the baked, wheat-crusted bánh nướng. They are placed on ancestral altars before families feast outdoors in the moonlight. And it sounds like múa lân, the lion dance: shops, hotels and families hire troupes to perform for luck, from acrobatic, fire-breathing teams to gangs of kids drumming their way down the lanes.
Hoi An is the classic place to witness it because the town already lives by lantern light. On the night before the full moon every lunar month, homes and businesses in the Old Town switch off their electric lights and the streets glow with silk lanterns. Mid-Autumn simply turns that habit up to full volume.
Children parade their lanterns to light the way home for Cuội, the man stranded on the moon.
Hoi An's Old Town by the river, where the Mid-Autumn lanterns go up
Photo by Nguyen Duc Loi / flickr · CC BY 2.0
What to expect
The rhythm here is a build-up to a single luminous night rather than a string of equal days. Hoi An's city program has typically run across the 12th to 15th lunar days, with the full-moon night on the 15th. The order below follows the last official program (2025), so check the city's announcements for your year.
The week before
Lanterns go up
Shopfronts fill with star, carp, butterfly and rabbit lanterns, and mooncakes stack up in every bakery. Lion-dance troupes rehearse and the first candle-lit boats appear on the Hoài river. It is the calmest time to arrive and scout.
The 13th and 14th lunar days
The town fills
In 2025 the official program opened with a Full Moon Festival Night of lion, deity and dragon performances at Hoi An Park, a folk-song "Music and Moon" space on Bạch Đằng street, and an "Ancient Town Night" that recreated old Hoi An by lantern light. The most acrobatic lion teams, some breathing fire, work streets like Phan Chau Trinh while amateur kids' troupes weave through the lanes.
The full-moon night
Peak Mid-Autumn
The main event, the 15th of the eighth lunar month. A lantern procession set off through the historic quarter at 5:30 pm in 2025, drums are everywhere, and the river glows with floating hoa đăng lanterns set adrift for a wish. Families share mooncakes outdoors under the fullest moon of the year.
Planning your trip
Getting there
Hoi An has no airport of its own. Fly into Da Nang International, about 27 km away, then take a taxi or transfer of roughly 45 minutes. Private transfers start around 250,000 VND, and shared shuttles run about 120,000 to 250,000 VND per person. Once in town, leave the vehicle behind: the Old Town core is pedestrian-only in the evening, so walking from your hotel is the way to reach the lantern streets. Vietnam's other famous Mid-Autumn scenes are Hanoi's Hàng Mã street and, in the south, Ho Chi Minh City's Chinatown. If you are in Hong Kong instead, the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance runs on the same Mid-Autumn nights.
Where to stay
Most Old Town stays are just across the water, on An Hoi islet or in Cam Nam, where the lantern streets are a short walk away. Vietnam's tourism site advises booking at least two months ahead for the festival, and hotels near the Old Town fill early, so book as soon as your dates are firm.
What it costs
The street program is free to wander, but Hoi An's Old Town has an entry ticket that was set at 120,000 VND for foreign visitors in 2023 (check the current price and what it covers). Extras are small: tour listings put a roughly 20-minute lantern boat ride, with a floating lantern, at about US$8 to 11 per adult, and mooncakes range from about 40,000 VND to 500,000 VND depending on the filling and the box. Your real spending is on flights and hotels in festival week.
Go like you know
- Stay in Hoi An, ideally on An Hoi or Cam Nam: a short walk beats a long festival-night traffic jam every time.
- Buy a floating hoa đăng from a vendor and set it on the Hoài river; it is the single most photogenic thing you can do here.
- Try both mooncakes: the chewy, cool bánh dẻo and the rich baked bánh nướng. Locals eat them outdoors under the moon, so join them.
- Chase the good lion dances on streets like Phan Chau Trinh, where the professional, fire-breathing múa lân teams perform rather than the kids' troupes.
- Missed the exact date? Hoi An goes lantern-only on the night before every full moon, so a lantern-lit evening is never far off.
Frequently asked questions
When is Tết Trung Thu?
It falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, the harvest full moon, usually in September or early October. Hoi An's program has typically run across the 12th to 15th lunar days. The dates box on this page shows this year's and next year's dates, which are converted from the lunar calendar, so confirm with local announcements before booking.
Is it only celebrated in Hoi An?
No. It is a nationwide festival. Hanoi's Hàng Mã street in the Old Quarter is the other famous scene, its shopfronts packed for weeks with star, carp and rabbit lanterns and lion heads, and Ho Chi Minh City's Chinatown celebrates too. Hoi An is simply the most atmospheric by lantern light.
Do I need tickets?
Not for the festival itself: the lantern-lit streets, lion dances and the moon are free to enjoy. But Hoi An's Old Town has a separate entry ticket for visitors, and extras such as a lantern boat ride are paid. Check the current ticket rules on arrival, since prices and tiers have changed in recent years.
