Hanoi steps into Spring through the view of ancient gate
The ceremonial reopening, held in the days leading up to Lunar New Year, turned a familiar street corner into a moment of passage where memory, ritual and the promise of spring briefly converged.
THE HANOI TIMES —The first drumbeats echoed through Quan Chuong Gate at dawn resonates from one of Hanoi’s last surviving city gates and a rare architectural remnant of the ancient Thang Long Citadel, now modern-day Hanoi.
The ceremony, part of the “Vietnamese Tet - Street Tet” program for the Year of the Horse 2026, marked a symbolic reopening of the gate, an invitation for spring to return to the thousand-year-old capital of Vietnam.
Residents and visitors gathered beneath the weathered brick arch, drawn by a ritual that once signaled the city’s rhythms. Photos: Phan Anh/Hanoimoi
The ceremonial opening at Quan Chuong Gate is reenacted, signaling that Tet is at the city’s doorstep.
The announcement of the arrival of spring to town.
Dressed in traditional attire, the procession moves through Quan Chuong Gate, carrying prayers into the heart of ancient Thang Long.
Fifteen horses led the way, their steady, muscular strides recalling the cavalry of Dai Viet and evoking the martial spirit that once defined the imperial city. Photo: NLD
Children pulled wooden horses modeled after early 20th-century Hanoi toys, a small but evocative detail that stirred memories of a simpler era. Photo: NLD
Participants in traditional dress carry offerings through the gate, blending folk belief with the rhythms of the Old Quarter.
Moving through streets, the procession connected past and present in motion.
Smiles cut through the cold morning drizzle as residents and visitors gather to watch the ceremony unfold.
Then, Hanoi welcomes the Lunar New Year with renewed hope for peace, happiness and prosperity.
