Hoi An Lantern Print

Lanterns have become one of the most recognisable details of Hội An, the old trading town on Vietnam’s central coast. Between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, Hội An was an international port where Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and later European merchants exchanged goods and ideas. Lantern-making became part of that layered trading culture.

The tradition is still visible throughout the old town, where fabric lanterns hang outside shops, restaurants and historic houses. On the fourteenth day of each lunar month, Hội An’s lantern festival reduces electric lighting so candle-lit lanterns become the main source of colour through the streets. That continuing everyday use is why the lantern works as more than a generic Asian decoration; it is specifically tied to the identity of Hội An.