Phu Dinh Lantern Street Bustles, but Vendors Are Still Waiting for Buyers

Phu Dinh Lantern Street is glowing with Mid-Autumn Festival colors, but the crowds are not translating into strong sales. On September 5, stalls on Phu Dinh Street and Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street in Cholon displayed lanterns, toys and decorative models in a wide range of designs.

The streets looked lively, yet many vendors said business remained slow. Dang Thi Ngoc Cam, who has sold Mid-Autumn toys on Phu Dinh Street for about 10 years, said current purchasing power stood at only around 40% of its pre-pandemic level.

The visitors have changed, too. Young people now make up much of the crowd, coming to see the displays, take photos and check in ahead of the festival. Small lanterns priced at about 10,000 to 20,000 dong sell better because they fit visitors’ budgets and make inexpensive souvenirs for photos.

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This is affordable merchandise. Young people buy it as a souvenir and use it to take check-in photos on the street.

Larger lanterns have become harder to sell. Orders from cafes, restaurants and eateries for decorative designs shaped like fish, airplanes and roosters have declined. Vendors now avoid stocking many large models and instead make or bring them in only after receiving an order. As Cam put it, many venues buy only a few lanterns that are currently trending, mainly to add some festive atmosphere.

Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who has run a lantern business on the street for more than 10 years, said her family began displaying its goods at the start of the seventh lunar month. The shop added new online-trend designs, including rabbit and lion lanterns, as well as smaller models for different budgets. Even so, she said sales had remained ordinary rather than as lively as expected.

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These days, cafes mainly buy a few lanterns that are trending, just to add some atmosphere.