Children's programme «Đêm hội trăng rằm, thắp sáng ước mơ thiếu nhi Tuyên Quang»

   Children in the far north of Tuyên Quang province no longer have to travel 150 kilometres south to join the country's biggest lantern season: the province gives them an evening of their own in Hà Giang, the former provincial capital that the 2025 merger turned into phường Hà Giang 1. The name of the programme promises to light up the dreams of the province's children, and it is built for families first.

   The evening runs as part of Lễ hội Thành Tuyên 2026, the province-wide festival held from 19 to 25 September and widely described in Vietnam as the country's largest Mid-Autumn celebration. It grew out of a neighbourhood habit: residential blocks first rolled their home-made illuminated floats onto the streets in 2004, and the festival was raised to provincial status in 2014. It now holds three Vietnamese Guinness records — for the Mid-Autumn night with the most large lantern models, for the largest Mid-Autumn offering tray and for the largest pair of rotating đèn kéo quân lanterns.

   The essentials:

• — the organiser is Tỉnh đoàn Tuyên Quang, the provincial committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union
• — the official plan lists Quảng trường 26/3 as one of the festival's two central spaces, the other being Quảng trường Nguyễn Tất Thành
• — the headline night of the festival, «Lung linh đêm hội trăng rằm», with its parade of the forty best lantern models, runs separately on 20 September in phường Minh Xuân
• — Rằm tháng 8, the eighth lunar full moon, falls on 25 September this year, the closing day of the festival week

   The evening is built around a young audience: the provincial portal describes it as a programme that brings a cheerful, lively atmosphere and helps make Mid-Autumn warm and meaningful for children and residents. For adults it offers the same September lantern picture that draws visitors to Tuyên Quang, without the crowds of the main stage. And if you are heading further north towards the Đồng Văn karst plateau, it is a reason to stay in town for one more evening.

   One caveat matters more than the rest: this is not the venue of the main programme. Quảng trường 26/3 sits in phường Hà Giang 1, roughly 150 km north of the festival hub in phường Minh Xuân. You cannot reach both in a single evening, so plan the route in advance.

   Worth knowing. The provincial plan infographic marks the date as provisional (dự kiến), so it may still shift before 19 September. No start time is given in the plan or in provincial press reports, so we do not state one: check the organiser's latest announcements before you set out. Nothing has been said about an entrance fee or registration either.

   If September takes you to northern Vietnam, keep one evening for the children: the festival week of the province opens on the same day.