More than 700 people paraded at the Quan Thanh De Quan Whale Festival

At 8:00 a.m., at Nghia An Assembly Hall (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City), thousands of Chinese people in Ho Chi Minh City were present to participate in the Quan Cong festival, also known as the Ong Nghinh Quan Quan Thanh De Quan Festival, parading around the Cho Lon area.

According to folk beliefs, January 13 is the day Quan Thanh De Quan (Quan Cong) appears to help good people and destroy evil people, eliminating harm to the people. Nghia An Assembly Hall has a tradition of worshiping Quan Cong, so this is one of the most important holidays of the year of the Assembly Hall, besides the Lantern Festival which takes place on January 15. The statue of Quan Cong will be carried on a palanquin around Cho Lon area for people to worship. The statue is nearly 1 meter high, placed on a gold-painted chair, and is hundreds of years old.

The festival had the participation of more than 700 people with the formation including the Big Gong team opening the way; the parade of elementary school students; famous lion and dragon troupes in Ho Chi Minh City; Trieu Quan ancient gong music team, Tieu Hoi Quan Nghia An flag team; Gods wooden board team; horse dance team; Bat Tien congratulatory group; and finally the Quan Thanh De Quan palanquin procession team,...

According to Mr. Tran Vu - Head of Nghia An Association, this is the third year the ceremony has been held on a large scale, with a parade in Cho Lon area. The ceremony was held a day earlier because we hope everyone can attend and enjoy the weekend.

The festival is more lively with people dressed as fairies.

The girls dressed in traditional Chinese costumes.

This year, the parade passed through the following streets: Nguyen Trai - Tan Da - Tran Hung Dao - Chau Van Liem - Hai Thuong Lan Ong - Phung Hung - Do Ngoc Thanh - Nguyen Trai - Chau Van Liem - Lao Tu - Luong Nhu Hoc and returned to Nghia An Assembly Hall.

The Chinese community has 5 languages, so the parade will pass through 5 Assembly Halls symbolizing the solidarity of the whole community. This is also an opportunity for Teochew people in Ho Chi Minh City to gather, express their remembrance of their homeland and honor the traditional cultural values of the Chinese people in a foreign land.

Adults and children came out to see the procession pass by. All the people in the Cho Lon area happily welcomed the Ong palanquin procession, creating a very bustling atmosphere before the Lantern Festival.

The Quan Thanh De Quan Whale Festival is held with the wish to pray for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather, a prosperous and happy life for every family and a peaceful and prosperous society.

One of the people who followed the parade from start to finish, Ms. An Nhi happily said: "It's been three years in a row that I've attended the Festival. I feel very proud and happy when I see people rushing outside, joyfully welcoming each time the parade passes by."

During the hot midday sun, some people temporarily put aside their work to stand by the roadside waiting for the procession to carry the Ong. Some people also brought incense and clasped their hands in prayer each time the procession passed by.

"I put my work aside to come here and wait for the procession carrying the statue of Ong to pass by. Quan Thanh De Quan is like a very sacred saint to the Chinese community. Because I can't go to the temple to burn incense, I'm here waiting," said Ms. Thanh Hoa (65 years old).

Many foreign tourists visiting Cho Lon area were also excited, taking out their phones to record the parade.

At 10am, the statue of Quan Thanh De Quan was brought back to Nghia An Assembly Hall. Many people came to burn incense, pray and ask for luck. This activity is part of a series of events celebrating the Nguyen Tieu festival of At Ty 2025.

The social customs and beliefs of the Chinese Lantern Festival are a series of unique festivals at the beginning of the new spring, recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage.

The Chinese people live in many places across the country, but the largest population is in Ho Chi Minh City, with about 400,000 people. They are concentrated in districts 5, 6, 8, 10 and 11.

Cultural and artistic activities are organized to contribute to preserving and promoting cultural values, spiritual values, humanity, solidarity between Vietnamese and Chinese people, enriching the cultural life of the people of Ho Chi Minh City.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/doi-song/hon-700-nguoi-dieu-hanh-tai-le-hoi-nghinh-ong-quan-thanh-de-quan-tuan-du-20250209133107189.htm