Reviving forgotten animal lanterns for Mid-Autumn Festival

ROARING TWENTIES: A shop selling animal lanterns for the Mid-Autumn festival in 1920s. Photo courtesy by the Albert Kahn Museum, Archives of the Planet

A team of young architects revives the art of crafting traditional animal lanterns from the 1920s by studying old photographs. Founder Nguyễn Thị Kim Thủy, 32, shares her journey with Culture - Vulture.

What inspired you to revive the old animal lanterns? When did you make your first lantern, and can you explain the meaning behind your company’s name?

My family doesn’t have a lantern-making tradition, but I was captivated when I first saw the old lanterns. I thought it would be a great loss to let this traditional craft disappear. The name "Khởi Đăng Tác Khí" means "starting with lanterns." We hope to spark patriotism and preserve our cultural values through this craft.

When I discovered these lanterns were made over 100 years ago, I was amazed. I thought, “Wow, we had such a unique craft that faded with time.” Modernity moved too fast, and we didn’t get the chance to appreciate it. With our lanterns, we hope to reignite a shared pride in Việt Nam’s cultural heritage.

How has the public responded to your exhibition in Hồ Chí Minh City? Any plans to bring it to Hà Nội?

The response has been incredible. We welcomed 2,300 visitors, and tickets sold out even before the exhibition closed on September 20. People were even asking if they could buy returned tickets There’s been a lot of enthusiasm, with many expressing joy that young people are committed to preserving traditional values.

We’re still a small workshop, but with sponsorship, we’d love to bring our exhibition to Hà Nội. It’s time-consuming to craft each lantern—building the frames, covering them with coloured paper, and focusing on every detail. The price reflects the labour involved, but our customers understand the value of preserving this ancient craft and are willing to support it.

GOLDEN DAYS OF OLD: Nguyễn thị Kim Thủy shows her son the giant Dragon Carp Lantern. Photo courtesy of KĐTK

Have you seen the crab lantern from the French museum’s collection? Which animal lantern is the hardest to make, and how many have you crafted so far?

We haven’t had the chance to see the crab lantern in France. The dragon lantern is definitely the hardest to make—it’s intricate and requires a lot of skill. So far, we’ve recreated the dragon carp, dragon, butterfly, and crab lanterns. But these are just a small part of what our ancestors made, including flower, fruit, and grasshopper lanterns. Our ambition is to recreate as many as possible to bring back the beauty of the Mid-Autumn Festival of the past.

We also want to create new designs based on images from Vietnamese culture that haven’t been turned into lanterns yet.

What’s your background, and who are your clients?

My husband and I both graduated from the University of Architecture in Hồ Chí Minh City, specialising in interior design. Our team includes students from design, landscaping, and engineering. Recreating these lanterns was challenging because there weren’t many master artisans left to guide us. It took a lot of trial and error to build lanterns that reflect the characteristics of the animals in a lifelike way. Training our team to meet these high standards has been a long process.

Our clients are diverse. Some are families buying special gifts, while others are businesses ordering lanterns for public displays, like at Union Square on Đồng Khởi Street and various downtown cafés.

FROM TIMES PAST: Giant Dragon head entourage during Mid-Autumn festival in Tonkin, the north of Việt Nam today. Photo courtesy by the Albert Kahn Museum, Archives of the Planet

Have you thought about showcasing your lanterns in a larger size for the Mid-Autumn Festival parades in Tuyên Quang Province?

Yes, I’ve heard about the Tuyên Quang parades, but similar events also happen in places like Bảo Lộc and Đơn Dương in Lâm Đồng Province. In Sài Gòn, though, the traffic doesn’t make it ideal for a large lantern parade. I’d love to bring our lanterns to parades across the country, but it’s more practical to start with smaller efforts. My dream is for Hồ Chí Minh City to have its own joyful parade with giant lanterns, just like other provinces. VNS