A view of Tuyên Quang City during the Thành Tuyên Festival 2025. Photo mytuyenquang.vn

TUYÊN QUANG — Thành Tuyên Festival 2026 will offer visitors great experiences and a memory of one of Việt Nam's largest annual Mid-Autumn Festivals.

Scheduled for September 19-25, the event will feature a broad range of cultural, sports and tourism activities, headlined by a citywide parade of giant Mid-Autumn lanterns.

The festival marks an effort to preserve and promote traditional cultural values, showcase the land and people of Tuyên Quang and introduce local products, destinations, and tourism potential to domestic and international visitors.

A major highlight will be the Thành Tuyên Festival Night 2026 programme, which includes traditional mid-autumn lion and dragon dances, gift presentations to 100 disadvantaged children and students, and a special artistic performance titled Shimmering Full Moon Festival Night on September 20 at Nguyễn Tất Thành Square.

Of the nearly 130 entries in a festival float competition of giant lanterns, 40 of the best will be chosen to participate in the parade.

The unique lanterns, which are crafted by local residents, have long been a signature of the Thành Tuyên Festival. They also clearly demonstrate the community's central role in preserving, promoting and spreading cultural values, according to the organisers.

Đỗ Hùng Đức, vice chairman of Tuyên Quang People's Committee, said a distinctive feature that gives the Thành Tuyên Festival its vitality is that the people are simultaneously the central participants, the creators and the direct beneficiaries of the festival.

The week-long event will include a wide variety of activities.

A giant dragon-shaped lantern on parade in 2025. Photo mytuyenquang.vn

The Fair of Agricultural Production and Craft Villages will be held to introduce the province's specialty products and traditional crafts to wider communities, strengthening connections between production, trade and tourism.

A Beer and Cuisine Festival will feature 30 booths of Tuyên Quang's most popular food and drinks, including beer.

In sports, the Tuyên Quang Marathon 2026 and Tuyên Quang Off-road Challenge are expected to draw a large number of participants from many cities and provinces.

Participants will gain the opportunity to discover Tuyên Quang's unique cultural heritage, friendly people and majestic natural landscapes as part of the local government's goal to promote their tourism industry.

Đức said that the festival is not merely a cultural and recreational event, but a tourism product for Tuyên Quang, boasting a brand and reach of national significance that helps to establish the locality as an attractive destination for both domestic and international tourists.

Sơn Tây's full moon celebration

For visitors who can't travel to Tuyên Quang, Hà Nội's Sơn Tây Ancient Citadel - Đoài Region Mid-Autumn Festival is a good choice.

The local authority started the festival in late August, but most activities will continue until September 26.

Since it began, the pedestrian zone, the square and the area surrounding the citadel approximately 40km west of central Hà Nội have been decorated with Mid-Autumn Festival colours.

Local residents also produce giant lanterns for a parade at the Full Moon Festival and Sơn Tây Ancient Citadel Mid-Autumn Festival on the night of September 25.

According to Hà Ngọc Quân, vice chairman of the Sơn Tây Ward People's Committee, the most significant feature of this year's festival is the participation of the entire community. Each lantern tells a unique story, reflecting the characteristics, identity and cultural values ​​associated with its respective residential group.

A bunny-shaped lantern made by the people of Sơn Tây Ward in Hà Nội for the Mid-Autumn Festival 2026. Photo daidoanket.vn

“Beyond giving children a fun space to celebrate, building these lanterns together instils hometown pride and brings back fond childhood memories. When residents craft these models with their own hands, they actively help keep our cultural heritage alive,” he said.

On September 19, an artistic programme titled Moonlit Night in the Ancient Village will be held at the Đường Lâm, the first ancient village in Việt Nam to be designated a national historical relic.

It will offer a traditional Mid-Autumn Festival atmosphere within this heritage site, where age-old cultural values ​​are brought to life.

During the Sơn Tây Festival, locals and visitors can also take part in workshops making star-shaped lanterns, crafting tò he (traditional dough figurines) and making mooncakes, alongside folk games and Mid-Autumn Festival-themed photo opportunities. — VNS