Water Puppet Show

Puppetry is a traditional art form closely connected with the long-standing spiritual life of the Vietnamese people. There are many kinds of puppet-shows in all the corners of the country, with different kinds of puppets. However, puppetry art has been developed and diversified, as well as popularized, mostly in the northern midland areas, and the plains of Vietnam.

The word "roi" (puppetry) has become part of the proper name applied to villages, to pagodas and even to ponds. Examples include puppetry villages at Y Yen and Nam Dinh Province; as well as puppetry pagodas at Phu Xuyen and Ha Tay province.

At present, Bi Pagoda (Nam Dinh Province) and Keo Pagoda (Ha Tay province) still preserves puppetry theatres which were built on the surface of the ponds in front of Communal Houses centuries ago, and have survived until the present day in several places such as Thay Pagoda (Ha Tay province) and Giong Temple (Hanoi).

Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre in Hanoi has introduced this traditional art of Vietnam to other countries and attended International Art Festivals in Asia, Europe, Australia, and Latin America. Vietnamese water puppetry shows are warmly welcomed and highly appreciated wherever they are staged.

In Saigon, tourists not only can see water puppets show in History Museum but also at the Golden Dragon Water Puppetry Theatre inside of Tao Dan Park.