Hoi An Ancient Town hosts Mid-Autumn Festival to 25 September
Published on 09/27/2026 at 16:49 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
The Mid-Autumn Festival reached Hoi An Ancient Town (Ph? c? H?i An) from 22 to 25 September 2026, bringing cultural activities into the heritage streets and museums of Hoi An, Vietnam. The programme combined a Thien Cau display, lantern-making, traditional games and evening performances across the old town.
Mid-Autumn Festival filled Hoi An streets from 22 September
The programme was presented by the Da Nang City Tourism Information Portal as part of the city’s 2026 Mid-Autumn celebrations. At the Museum of Folk Culture on 33 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, a photo exhibition and display dedicated to the Thien Cau dance ran from 22 to 25 September.
The same venue offered lantern-making, paper-mask decoration and introductions to traditional games including o an quan, clay-pot breaking and stilt walking. On 23 and 25 September, the Museum of Sa Huynh Culture on 149 Tran Phu Street hosted the Music and Moonlight programme at 7pm, with folk songs, children’s rhymes and traditional instruments, as set out in the official festival programme.
Hoi An Ancient Town Night linked living heritage to history
The central evening was Hoi An Ancient Town Night on 24 September 2026, when the streets became a setting for a recreation of early twentieth-century local life. The programme ran from 6.30pm to 9pm and included poetry recitals, classical Vietnamese theatre, folk singing, traditional martial arts, Chinese chess, folk games, bai choi and calligraphy.
This arrangement connected the festival’s family activities with the town’s historic urban fabric. Visitors could move from craft activities in the museums to performances in the old streets, rather than experiencing the celebration in a separate event enclosure.
UNESCO describes Hoi An Ancient Town as a well-preserved South-East Asian trading port dating from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century. Its inscribed property covers 30 hectares and includes 1,107 timber-frame buildings, narrow pedestrian streets, a market, a ferry quay and religious buildings, according to the UNESCO description of the town.
Why the September festival mattered in this historic town
The festival programme used several parts of the heritage site that reflect its continuing community life. The museums supplied indoor spaces for craft and interpretation, while the streets provided the setting for music, games and the 24 September performance programme.
That mix is significant because the World Heritage property is not only a collection of preserved façades. UNESCO records that the town remains occupied and functions as a commercial centre, with its traditional street plan and wooden buildings still forming the setting for everyday activity.
Visiting Hoi An Ancient Town: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- The Mid-Autumn Festival ran from 22 to 25 September 2026. The Thien Cau display and related activities were at the Museum of Folk Culture, 33 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.
- Hoi An Ancient Town Night took place on 24 September 2026 from 6.30pm to 9pm, with performances, games and calligraphy in the old town setting.
- The heritage site is in central Vietnam, near the mouth of the Thu Bon River. Its streets include narrow pedestrian lanes and tightly arranged historic buildings.
- UNESCO identifies 1,107 timber-frame buildings within the 30-hectare inscribed property, so visitors encounter a compact historic townscape rather than one isolated monument.
- Vietnam’s official language is Vietnamese and its national currency is the Vietnamese dong.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Hoi An Ancient Town
When did the Mid-Autumn Festival take place at Hoi An Ancient Town?
The programme ran from 22 to 25 September 2026, with museum activities, performances and traditional games.
What is Hoi An Ancient Town?
It is a UNESCO-listed South-East Asian trading port dating from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, with 1,107 timber-frame buildings within the inscribed property.
Where is Hoi An Ancient Town and how do you get there?
It is in central Vietnam near the mouth of the Thu Bon River, in Hoi An. The historic area is arranged around narrow pedestrian streets and river-facing buildings.
