Mid-Autumn festival «Hải trình ánh trăng» (Moonlight Sea Voyage)

   Thousands of lanterns lit at the same moment beside the sea, and in the middle of the square a set of marine mascots over 4 m tall: a swiftlet, a dolphin, a lionfish, a sea turtle, a whale and a seahorse. Mid-Autumn in Nha Trang this year is built around the sea and the islands rather than the usual template.

   The festival is organised by the Khánh Hòa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism with partner agencies and companies. It is the first large scale Mid-Autumn festival the province has staged. The organisers are also preparing lanterns to give away to residents and visitors.

   Where to look and what for:

   — the giant mascot zone tied to the Four Bays Sea Voyage theme: the swiftlet as guide, dolphin and lionfish for vitality, sea turtle for endurance, whale for the strength of the ocean, seahorse telling the story of the untouched Vĩnh Hy ecosystem
— the lantern lighting programme, with visitors encouraged to bring their own
— creative workshop stalls, folk games and an arts programme
— bài chòi singing, meetings with tuồng theatre characters, appearances by the moon lady and the man in the moon, and lion and dragon dancing
— 16 April square in Đông Hải ward: a lantern decorating contest, performances and lion and dragon dancing

   The festival also has a charitable side through the Moon Sends a Dream programme: the organisers hand out thousands of exercise books to pupils in difficult circumstances, with a focus on children in the province's island communes.

   Tết Trung thu falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. In Vietnam it is a children's festival: lantern processions, a shared tray of food under the moon, baked and sticky mooncakes, and the two folk figures every child knows, the lady of the moon and the man who holds a banyan tree.

   The bài chòi on the programme is not decoration. This central Vietnamese art, which combines singing, improvisation and a card game played from bamboo huts, was inscribed by the United Nations cultural organisation on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2017.

   A geographical detail worth knowing: 16 April square sits in Đông Hải ward, on land of the former province of Ninh Thuận that was merged into Khánh Hòa in 2025, so this year's festival covers both ends of the new province.

   If you are in the seaside city for the eighth month full moon, bring a lantern and head for the square.