Tết Đinh Mùi 2027 in Ho Chi Minh City: flower street, festivals and what to know

When the first boats loaded with cúc mâm xôi chrysanthemums tie up at the wharves and the frames for the zodiac mascots start going up on Nguyễn Huệ Street, Saigonese know that Tết is near. Tết Đinh Mùi 2027 will arrive to that familiar rhythm: the flower street, the book street, the spring flower festival, canal-side flower markets, New Year's Eve fireworks and the first mornings of the year fragrant with incense smoke at pagodas and assembly halls.

When is Tết Đinh Mùi 2027?

By the lunar calendar, the first day of Tết Đinh Mùi falls on Saturday, 6 February 2027. It is the Year of the Goat (Mùi) in the 12-animal zodiac, following the Bính Ngọ year of 2026. The twelfth lunar month (tháng Chạp) of the Bính Ngọ year has only 29 days, so New Year's Eve (giao thừa) is Friday evening, 5 February 2027 (the 29th of the twelfth month), and the year turns over at midnight, in the early hours of 6 February.

The Tết holiday has been confirmed: under Notice No. 11483/TB-BNV of 9 October 2026 from the Ministry of Home Affairs, officials, civil servants and public employees get 7 consecutive days off, from Thursday, 4 February 2027 (the 28th of the twelfth month) through Wednesday, 10 February 2027 (the 5th day of the first lunar month). Businesses set their own schedules. The full moon of the first lunar month (Rằm tháng Giêng) in the Đinh Mùi year falls on Saturday, 20 February 2027.

For reference, the first day of Tết Bính Ngọ 2026 was 17 February 2026, and most of the major events in the city centre ran from around the 25th to the 28th of the twelfth month until the 5th or 6th day of Tết. At the time of writing (November 2026), the city has not yet announced a detailed plan for the 2027 Tết season; the information below is based on the 2026 season and will be updated by Visit HCMC once the official schedule is released.

Nguyễn Huệ Flower Street and the Tết Book Street

Nguyễn Huệ Flower Street

First held in 2004, the Nguyễn Huệ Flower Street is the city's most familiar spring outing. The highlight each year is the cluster of zodiac mascots, so the 2027 Tết season will most likely belong to the goats, although the exact designs are still to be announced by the organisers.

For Tết Bính Ngọ 2026, the flower street, organised by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, was open from 19:15 on 15 February to 21:00 on 22 February 2026 (the 28th of the twelfth month to the 6th day of Tết) under the theme "Xuân hội tụ: Vững bước vươn mình" ("Spring Converges: Rising with Steady Steps"). For the first time, the flower street came in two versions: by day a space of flowers under the spring sun, by night a festival of light with projection mapping. The mascot "Nhất mã thong dong" ("The Carefree Horse"), nearly 7 m tall, was woven from bamboo, and also for the first time the flower street was staged simultaneously in three places: Nguyễn Huệ pedestrian street (Sài Gòn Ward), Thủ Dầu Một Ward and Vũng Tàu Ward.

Tết Book Street

Right next to the flower street, the Tết Book Street Festival is where families choose their first books of the year and meet authors. The 2026 season was the 16th year the city has held a book street for Tết, running from 15 to 22 February 2026 with its main axis on Lê Lợi Street (Sài Gòn Ward), plus two sites in Bình Dương Ward and Vũng Tàu Ward. According to the organisers' report as cited by Văn Hóa newspaper, the festival welcomed around 1.12 million visits and sold nearly 84,000 books.

Spring flower festival, flower markets and the "on the wharf, off the boats" market

Tao Đàn Spring Flower Festival

If the flower street is for strolling and taking photos, the Spring Flower Festival at Tao Đàn Park (Bến Thành Ward) is the place for lovers of ornamental plants. The 2026 edition was the 46th, held from 12 to 22 February 2026 across 9.6 ha of grounds, with the opening at Gate 1 on Trương Định Street. You will find yellow apricot blossom (mai vàng), orchids, bonsai, driftwood art and large landscape displays themed on the zodiac animal. The festival charges admission, and ticket prices for the 2027 season will be announced together with the plan.

Tết flower markets in the parks

For Tết 2026, the city held Tết flower markets in three parks: 23/9 Park (Bến Thành Ward), Lê Văn Tám Park (Tân Định Ward) and Gia Định Park (Hạnh Thông Ward and Đức Nhuận Ward), from 10 February until 12:30 on 16 February 2026 (the 23rd to the 29th of the twelfth month). To pick out the best pots of mai and chrysanthemums, go early.

Bình Đông Wharf: the "on the wharf, off the boats" flower market

Along the Tàu Hủ and Bến Nghé canal, boats carrying flowers from the Mekong Delta tie up at Bình Đông wharf, creating an "on the wharf, off the boats" market of a kind the city has rarely managed to keep. In 2026, the "Trên bến dưới thuyền" spring flower market in the area of Nguyễn Văn Của Street and Bình Đông Street (Phú Định Ward) ran from 2 to 15 February 2026 with nearly 400 stalls, along with a street of ông đồ calligraphers, bánh tét wrapping and đờn ca tài tử music performed on the boats. It is at its loveliest in the late afternoon, when the flower boats line up one after another on the water.

New Year's Eve: fireworks, pagodas and assembly halls

On New Year's Eve of Tết Bính Ngọ 2026, Ho Chi Minh City set off fireworks at 17 sites for 15 minutes, from 0:00 to 0:15 on 17 February 2026. The four high-altitude sites were the Sài Gòn River tunnel entrance area (An Khánh Ward), the new city centre (Bình Dương Ward), Tam Thắng Square (Vũng Tàu Ward) and the Bà Rịa park square. The thirteen low-altitude sites stretched from the Saigon Marina IFC tower (Sài Gòn Ward) and Đầm Sen Cultural Park to Pier 914 (Côn Đảo Special Zone). The list of sites for the night of 5 February 2027 will be announced in the city's Tết plan.

After the fireworks, many Saigonese like to visit a pagoda or temple to pray at the start of the year. Places that draw crowds during Tết include the Jade Emperor Pagoda (chùa Ngọc Hoàng, Tân Định Ward), Vĩnh Nghiêm Pagoda (Xuân Hòa Ward) and the cluster of Chinese pagodas and assembly halls in Chợ Lớn, such as the Tuệ Thành Assembly Hall (Bà Thiên Hậu Temple) on Nguyễn Trãi Street. In Chợ Lớn the festive mood usually lasts until the full moon of the first lunar month, with lion dances, lantern processions and Nguyên Tiêu (Lantern Festival) rites at the assembly halls. When visiting places of worship, dress modestly and keep a close eye on your belongings.

Getting around and Tết travel notes

• Metro Line 1 is the easiest option for reaching the centre: the Opera House (Nhà hát Thành phố) and Bến Thành stations are right by the flower street and book street. During Tết 2026, the Bến Thành to Suối Tiên line was free on the 29th of the twelfth month and the first day of Tết, running from 5:00 to 23:00, with extra trips from 0:34 on New Year's Eve to clear the fireworks crowds. The 2027 Tết schedule will be announced by the operator.
• Buses run a reduced service around New Year's Eve: during Tết 2026, most routes finished at 12:00 on the 29th of the twelfth month and ran only from 8:00 to 17:00 on the first day of Tết. Check the timetable before you set out.
• Road closures and traffic jams: the flower street and book street area and many roads around the centre are usually subject to diversions and time-based vehicle bans during the festival season, and tend to get congested in the evenings and on New Year's Eve. If you ride a motorbike, leave it at a car park a little way out of the centre and walk in.
• Opening hours: many small shops and family-run eateries close from the afternoon of the 29th of the twelfth month until the 3rd or 4th day of Tết; shopping malls, café chains and large entertainment venues usually stay open but may change their hours. Museums and historic sites have their own Tết schedules, so call or check their official websites before you go.

Tết in Ho Chi Minh City has a rhythm of its own: bustling in the centre in the days before the holiday, then unhurried and strangely quiet on the morning of the first day. Follow Visit HCMC for the official schedules of the flower street, the book street and the Tết Đinh Mùi 2027 festivals, along with ideas for eating, drinking and exploring this spring.