

Each show lasts up to 50 minutes where you will get to witness the traditional art of Ho Chi Minh City with the puppets performing on the water surface beautifully managed by the puppeteers. One of them is the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre known to attract both national and international visitors. Ho Chi Minh, the largest city and one of the most beautiful places to visit in Vietnam has several puppet theatres.

Ever since then, water puppetry has evolved in many ways but it is still very much the same in its essence. The puppet masters would keep their feet deep inside the muddy water and manipulate the puppets with their fingers along the strings on a stage built around the fields. Water puppetry served as an entertainment source for the rice farmers of Vietnam in the olden days.

Read all available cruise tours here History and Evolution of Water Puppetry There is also a show of fireworks making the night skies colourful and the entire scenery completely breathtaking and giving an amazing night at Vietnam. In addition to music, the use of light plays a significant role as well to highlight the dramatic parts making the performance even more interesting. The gestures of the puppets are very expressive and the music is executed perfectly in sync with the story and the singers even shout words of encouragement to which the puppets react sharply. Even though the language of delivery is Vietnamese, it is not hard to understand what is being conveyed on stage. The performances are enhanced by the use of music created with instruments like cymbals, drums, horns, single-stringed guitars, etc. The puppets are portrayed in many creative ways like boys riding on buffalos and dragons appearing suddenly from underwater.

Water puppetry provides a great source of entertainment for both the young ones and elders alike and is a very unique thing to do in Vietnam. Water puppetry originated from North Vietnam in the 11th century, from the Red River Delta is one of the many traditions that are very close to the hearts of Vietnamese people back when Vietnam witnessed a lengthy period of peace and prosperity after the year 1010, people were motivated to relax more and organize festivals and performances that would later become the country’s traditions. Water Puppetry in Vietnam Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons History and Evolution of Water Puppetry.
