Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival 2017 at Thang Long Imperial Citadel

(VNF) - A traditional Mid-Autumn Festival featuring many useful and interesting activities for children, in particular, a school education programme which helps young kids to understand more about mid-autumn festivals of the past through documented works of the French researchers Henri Oger and Albert Kahn Museum, will be hosted in Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

Lion dance. (Photo: Thang Long – Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre)

With a view to giving visitors and children in particular interesting yet rewarding experience, the Thang Long-Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre has worked closely with the folk artisans to organise an event called “Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival of 2017”, featuring many traditional cultural activities imbued with the national identities so as to contribute to the conservation of the intangible cultural heritage of Thang Long – Hanoi.

In the spacious open area of the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, children with have a chance to enjoy puppetry shows, lion dances performed respectively by the puppeteers of Te Tieu guild and the lion dancers of Trieu Khuc village.

Various traditional folk games are also revived for children to partake in the celebration (included carrying rice across a bamboo bridge [gánh lúa qua cầu], see-saw, boomerang, wooden horse, sack race [bao bố], tug of war [kéo co], stick-and-ball [chơi chuyền], clay crackers [pháo đất], board game [ô ăn quan], blindfolded drummer [bịt mắt đánh trống]).

Apart from indulging in various types of entertainment, children will also have a chance to watch the artisans making traditional toys and moon cakes. They will be shown how to produce these products on their own as well as to experience the art of making masks, star-shaped lanterns, cylindrical lanterns, Buddhist monk lanterns, rabbit lanterns, glutinous rice figurine [tò he], paper doctors [tiến sĩ giấy] and the stick-and-moon man. They will also be trying their hands on the ceramicware of Bat Trang, creating animals and items from clay.

Based on drawings by Henri Oger and precious documentary photos owned by Albert Kahn Museum in France, a space displaying toys typical of mid-autumn festival of early 20^th century will be restored. The space is filled with stalls displaying traditional toys normally associated with mid-autumn festivals.

Children will also have a chance to experience the traditional games and craft making process. (Photo: Thang Long – Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre)

Artisans who will be taking part include the family of Mrs. Dinh Thi Tu Anh who makes moon cakes well-known with Phuong Soat Bakery on Hang Duong Street; the family of Mr. Hoang Ba Nhat who makes masks in Thuan Thanh – Bac Ninh Province; the family of Mr. Vu Van Sinh who makes revolving lanterns in Thanh Oai – Hanoi; the family of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tuyen who makes paper doctors in Van Canh – Hanoi; the family of Mr. Do Van Ky who makes rabbit and Buddhist monk lanterns in Thuong Tin – Hanoi; the family of Mr. Luong Manh Hai from the pottery village of Bat Trang – Hanoi; Mr. Dang Van Tien who makes glutinous rice figurines among others.

The event will take place from September 28^th to October 4^th at 19 Hoang Dieu Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.

Ticket for adult costs VND 30,000/person/tour. Each ticket for Vietnamese students (15 years old or above) and old people (60 or above) cost VND 15,000. Children under the age of 15 and people who were of meritorious service to the country during the war are exempt from tickets./.

VNF