Brand positioning for Hoi An lanterns
DNO - The Hoi An lantern, based in Da Nang City, becomes Vietnam’s brand representative at the International Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival 2026 in Hong Kong (China) from September 17 to 27.
This carnival, bringing together over 3,000 lanterns from 20 countries and territories around the world, is a beautiful chance to showcase the Hoi An lantern, a product that was born during the trading history and long-standing cultural life of the Hoi An heritage, to international audiences.
A heritage story
According to the Hoi An Center for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation, lanterns have been widely used in this ancient town for centuries.
Historical records dating back to the 18th century indicate that the villages of Hoi An, Minh Huong and Cam Pho decorated their streets with lanterns and flowers.
The lantern floating night was formed and designed for special occasions, such as the Lunar New Year holiday, the Lantern Festival (Nguyen Tieu) and the Mid-Autumn Festival, as well as during visits by royal members and high-ranking officials from the former Quang Nam administrative headquarters.
Mr. Tran Van An, a Hoi An cultural researcher believes that Hoi An, an international trading port in the past, made it easy to enrich local values. The import of different countries' lantern styles and techniques created favorable conditions for the Hoi An lantern-making craft to develop in a diverse way.
The extensive exchange of crafting techniques among Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese and Western people gave Hoi An lanterns their distinctive hallmark. Vietnamese people specialized in making traditional lanterns with bamboo frames, covered with paper in the shapes of "banh u" (leaf-wrapped sticky rice dumpling), stars, and carp.
Meanwhile, the Chinese and Minh Huong people specialized in wooden-framed and revolving lanterns, which are decorated with Chinese characters, auspicious motifs, or the names of clans, trading houses and assembly halls. The French people left behind in Hoi An some lanterns made of porcelain and aluminum, with lantern bodies of colored glass.
Lantern, "a cultural ambassador"
The Hoi An Lantern Festival has established itself as a globally recognized brand. It has been named as one of Vietnam's 7 most spectacular festivals by Wanderlust.
Beyond being handicrafts or decorative items, Hoi An lanterns have become "ambassadors," paving the way for the heritage site to connect with the world through the languages of creativity and cultural exchanges.
Alongside the International Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival in Hong Kong (China), Hoi An’s lanterns had already "shone" in other countries.
In Wernigerode, Hoi An's first German sister city, the lantern festivals have repeatedly transformed historic European streets into spaces for East Asian cultural exchange.
As early as 2013, thousands of Hoi An lanterns illuminated Wernigerode’s pedestrian area. In 2019, artisans from Hoi An came to Wernigerode to demonstrate their lantern-making techniques.
By 2023, Wernigerode hosted its third Hoi An Lantern Festival to mark the tenth anniversary of the friendship between the two cities.
In Japan, the lantern story is introduced in a different way. In early September, Hoi An was promoted in Kanagawa through a display of approximately 1,000 lanterns at the Yokohama Bay Quarter. Hoi An’s festivals in Japan have been regularly associated with these lantern displays.
Hoi An was designated as a member of the Creative Cities Network in the field of crafts and folk art in 2023 by UNESCO. This has created further opportunities for lanterns to serve as a flagship product to tell the story of the creative city.
Mr. Van Ba Son, Deputy Director of the Da Nang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, noted that Hoi An lanterns are now present at several festivals, cultural diplomacy events, public spaces and handicraft markets abroad. It opens a promising avenue for the cultural industry.
Hoi An will host the first-ever International Lantern Festival. The event themed "Hoi An-Colors of Heritage" will take place from December 3 to 6, 2026, at Hoai River Square, An Hoi Sculpture Garden, along the Hoai River, and across various streets in the ancient town.
The festival takes place to coincide with the 27th anniversary of UNESCO's recognition of Hoi An Ancient Town as a World Cultural Heritage Site.