The city’s residents began to enjoy the New Year’s holidays. With a range of exciting events to kick off the New Year, the city’s main streets resurrect their lively atmosphere.
Anticipated festivities on New Year’s Eve
Stunning fireworks are the most anticipated event in Ho Chi Minh City. They will light up the night sky of the city twice on New Year’s Eve, welcoming 2024.
Among these, a long-range fireworks show will be launched from Thu Duc City’s Thu Thiem tunnel, which crosses the Saigon River. A low-range fireworks show will also be held in District 11’s Dam Sen Cultural Park.
The New Year’s Eve fireworks show is scheduled to run from 00:00 to 00:15 on January 1, 2024, for a duration of 15 minutes.
For New Year’s Eve celebrations and fireworks, cars will not be allowed on ten downtown HCMC streets starting on Sunday afternoon, according to the transport department.
The firework displays are scheduled to run for fifteen minutes on January 1, 2024, from midnight to 0:15 a.m. at two locations: the Dam Sen cultural park in District 11 and the start of the Saigon River tunnel in Thu Duc City.
Entera Countdown 2024, the annual New Year’s Eve countdown party in HCMC, will take place at Nguyen Hue Walking Street in District 1 on December 30-31. Notable singers like Toc Tien, Binz, Soobin, Karik, Rhymastic, GDucky, Phuong Ly, and others will be performing.
On December 31, Thu Duc City will host the Luxury Countdown Party 2024, which will feature well-known musicians like Ha Anh Tuan, Dong Nhi, Duong Hoang Yen, the Chillies band, Grey D, Phao, and more.
Additionally, on the evenings of December 31, 2023, and January 1, 2024, a variety of cultural events celebrating the New Year will be held in Thu Duc City and its surrounding districts, the HCMC Youth Cultural House, universities, colleges, dorms, industrial parks, and processing zones.
Additionally, a countdown ceremony will take place on Sunday night at District 1’s Nguyen Hue walking street.
Vehicles will not be allowed from 3 p.m. on Sunday until 1 a.m. on Monday in the Nguyen Hue section from Le Thanh Ton to Ton Duc Thang in order to prevent traffic congestion.
Additionally, from 8 p.m. on Sunday until 1 a.m. on Monday, they will not be allowed to travel on a few downtown routes, which include parts of Le Loi, Dong Khoi, Ton Duc Thang, Nguyen Tat Thanh, and Ham Nghi.
Sections of Hai Trieu, Ly Tu Trong, Le Thanh Ton, Dong Du, and Mac Thi Buoi are among the other streets where automobiles are prohibited.
Additionally, cars won’t be permitted on the roads that encircle Me Linh Square and the Ba Son and Khanh Hoi bridges.
On December 31, a unique art exchange with the theme “Brilliant Vietnam” will welcome the New Year 2024 at the HCMC Book Street. Several professionals and authors in the publishing sector will be attending.
unique art initiatives at museums and theaters
HCMC’s public and private museums will be open for business during the 2024 New Year’s holiday.
Nearly 200 objects and more than 50 images chronicling the history of Saigon ceramics and surrounding regions like Bien Hoa in Dong Nai Province and Lai Thieu in Binh Duong Province are on display at the HCMC Museum.
As the Lunar New Year 2024, also known as the Year of the Dragon, draws closer, the HCMC Museum of History opened an exhibition on December 25 featuring one hundred antiques featuring images of dragons. “Long Van Khanh Hoi – Dragon Images in Vietnamese Culture” is an event that features 100 antiques from the Ly to Nguyen Dynasties (11th to early 20th century) that have been gathered by the museum and private collectors. The images of dragons are prevalent in daily life, religious beliefs, architecture, and the royal court.
Highlights of the exhibition include artifacts from the Nguyen Dynasty (1802–1945), including books made of gold and jade, seals, ceramics, and royal robes.
At the HCMC Ao Dai Museum, guests can also participate in folk games, savor regional cuisine, and listen to Don Ca Tai Tu Nam Bo, or Southern amateur music; at the city’s Fine Arts Museum, they can view paintings depicting their homeland, most likely by Uyen Huy, Huynh Khac Thao, Pham The Trung, and Che Hoa.
The Fito Museum is another place where people can learn about traditional Vietnamese medicine. It has over 3,000 rare and valuable exhibits related to traditional Vietnamese medicine, as well as a collection of Han-Nom books on traditional oriental medicine, including priceless works by Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac, who is considered to be the father of Vietnamese traditional medicine, and Great Physician and Zen Master Tue Tinh.
Children in the city now have new entertainment options thanks to the Phuong Nam Art Theater, which has introduced water puppetry at the HCMC History Museum in District 1 and circus-themed plays at Gia Dinh Park in Go Vap District.
During the national holiday, cinemas will screen three Vietnamese films, namely “Ke An Hon” (A Soul Reaper), “Quy Cau” (Devil Dog), and “Tren ban nhau, duoi ban muu” (Bang Bang girls); in addition to foreign films, including Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Death Whisperer (also referred to as Tee Yod), a Thai supernatural horror film, and Migration, an American animated adventure comedy film.