Hoi An lanterns

Each lantern made in Hoi An is a piece of true artwork

Street life appears and disappears in the flickering light from thousands of lanterns. Hoi An is in the middle of its 'Night of the Ancient  Town' festival. Tourists and locals mingle to enjoy the ambience of the old days. Few have time to think of those who have spent days and nights to make the lanterns in time for the festival.

Each lantern is the fruit of a lot of hard, skillful labour. The process begins with making the bamboo frame of the lantern. First, strips of bamboo are carefully whittled. By immersing them in a salt solution for ten to fifteen days for boiling them for five minutes, they are softened. Then they are gently bent into the desired shape to make the frame of the lantern. After the frame is completed, it is covered with a special kind of cloth that does not slacken easily. Next, the hardest part, painting the decorations. Painter Van Cong Ly, aged 75, says, "A good painter should be able to make the lantern have a soul of its own." One has to see a lantern to appreciate fully what Mr Ly says. Each lantern is a piece of true artwork. The lanterns are colourful, and they come in all shapes: gourd, oval and chilli. Their size also varies. The shape, size and decoration of a lantern partly depend on what it will be used for. A lantern for worship is spherical and decorated with the name of the owner's family in Chinese Han and Vietnamese Nom scripts. A lantern for the Vietnamese Lunar New Year has on it the words 'Happiness, Wealth and Longevity' and the paintings of apricot branches and cranes. Lanterns that are hung in the front veranda often bear parallel sentences.

Since lanterns represent an integral part of Hoi An's life, visitors like to buy them as souvenirs, to be lighted back at home whenever they feel nostalgic for the ancient town.