Lunar Day-One and Full-Moon Temple Visits in Hanoi: What Reports Say About Roads and Parking

Reports from Hanoi describe large crowds at temples on lunar full-moon days (the 15th of the lunar month) and, in one report, on day-one of the last lunar month (the 1st), and they also cover traffic control and parking near the temples, not only the crowds inside the grounds. This page sets out what eight dated reports say about Hanoi temples on lunar full-moon days and day-one. The bulk of the coverage is from the Lunar New Year season, so each section says, where a report names one, whether it covers Tet, the first full moon of the year or another lunar day. Hours, prices and road arrangements change, so confirm them before leaving.

What day-one and full-moon day mean here

VOV English (3 March 2026) equates the first full-moon day of the Lunar New Year with the 15th day of the first lunar month, and this page uses day-one for the 1st of a lunar month and full-moon day for the 15th. None of the pages lists upcoming day-one or full-moon dates, so check a lunar calendar before choosing a day.

Two reports concern lunar days outside Tet. Tuoi Tre (1 March 2026) says Phuc Khanh Pagoda (chùa Phúc Khánh) holds a ceremony at 20h (8 p.m.) on the 8th, 15th and 18th of each lunar month; this is a newspaper’s report, not an announcement from the pagoda, so confirm the time with the pagoda. VOV’s report on the first day of the last lunar month (tháng Chạp), which gives 6/1 (6 January) in its text and an update stamp of 25/09/2019, says thousands went to Tay Ho Temple (Phủ Tây Hồ) that day for the year-end thanksgiving ritual (lễ tạ cuối năm) and cites local residents who put that month’s peak days at the 1st and the 15th.

What the first full moon of 2026 looked like

Two outlets covered 3 March 2026, the full moon of the first lunar month; the two Tuoi Tre rows look back at earlier years. 3 March is a festival date, so read the reports as a high-crowd reference, not an ordinary month.

Roads: what Tay Ho ward arranged for Tet 2026

Lao Dong Thu Do (21 February 2026) reports that Tay Ho ward’s authorities planned for the Tet 2026 peak with traffic diversion from a distance, free parking and staff at key junctions and temple entrances. Photo captions show ward police directing traffic on Xuan Dieu Street and on Dang Thai Mai Street, which leads into Tay Ho Temple. It also quotes a Cau Giay ward resident who saw a clear parking lot and guides, and no jostling as in earlier years.

The article covers Tet 2026 and does not say whether the arrangements apply on a plain day-one or full-moon day. For wider background on holiday traffic, a separate page is titled Riding in Hanoi During Tet: Traffic Changes and a Backup Travel Plan.

Parking: price rules, posted prices and free lots

According to the government e-newspaper Báo Điện tử Chính phủ (16 October 2026), the Hanoi People’s Committee issued Decision 5794/QĐ-UBND on 15 October 2026 for parking at points that temporarily use roadway or pavement and were funded from the state budget. For bicycles and motorbikes the page lists 10,000 VND per daytime turn, 15,000 VND per night turn and 25,000 VND for day and night, on the restricted core-urban streets and the other streets alike. It adds that the decision does not mean one price applies to every parking point in Hanoi, and it names no temple parking point, although the restricted core-urban streets it lists include Quán Sứ street.

ANTV, the television channel of the Public Security force, reported on 1 February 2025, at the start of spring, that inter-agency teams inspected parking operators near Quan Su Pagoda, where cashless payment was in use, and that Quan Thanh Temple (đền Quán Thánh) showed a posted price of 5,000 VND per motorbike. The page says Hanoi police advise visitors to park only where a price is posted and to avoid spontaneous parking points, and it lists motorbike prices of 5,000-8,000 VND per turn, given as day and night prices respectively, a range that predates the 2026 decision.

An earlier ANTV report (22 February 2024) says that at the start of spring not a few spontaneous parking points charged 3-4 times the price of ordinary days, while at Ha Pagoda (chùa Hà) in Dich Vong ward the ward youth union ran free parking from the night of 30 Tet, which the report says would last until the full moon of the first month, with up to 8,000-9,000 vehicle turns on the busiest days.

A separate page, Hanoi Motorbike Parking: Tickets, Payment and Collection Checklist, is the place to look for a checklist on tickets, payment and collection.

Time of day: what the reports allow

VOV English has large numbers at Tran Quoc Pagoda and Tay Ho Temple by 9 a.m. on 3 March 2026 and a flow that intensified toward noon. Dtinews adds lunch-break visitors at midday. VOV’s report on the first day of the last lunar month says Tay Ho Temple was packed from early morning to evening. Tuoi Tre’s 20h Phuc Khanh ceremony is a schedule, not a crowd count. Taken together, the reports describe crowds from early morning into the evening on the dates they cover, and none names a quiet window on a day-one or full-moon day. For planning a departure around city rush hours, a separate page is titled Choosing a Motorbike Departure Time in Hanoi: A Rush-Hour Worksheet.

A short planning checklist (general guidance)

• Check the lunar date on a calendar.
• Confirm opening hours and ceremony times with the temple itself, by phone or an official page; the reports give no opening hours for ordinary lunar days.
• Pick the parking arrangement before leaving; the police advice reported by ANTV is to use points that post a price.
• Allow time for slow movement on the approach, as Dtinews describes at Tay Ho Temple.
• Keep a second option, such as another temple or another day, in case the approach is slow.

What the pages leave out

• Opening hours: no page gives an official, dated opening time for any temple on an ordinary lunar day.
• Ordinary months: the free lots, remote diversion and youth-union parking are described for the Tet season, and Ha Pagoda’s youth-union scheme was reported to run until the first full moon; no page says they apply on other lunar days.
• Delays and distances: apart from Tuoi Tre’s line that people once queued for a kilometre at Quan Su Pagoda on the first full moon, no queue lengths, walking distances or travel times, and none for an ordinary lunar day.
• Prices: the October 2026 decision covers only budget-funded points that temporarily use roadway or pavement, and no page says which temple parking points are covered; the 2025 figures (5,000-8,000 VND) and the 2026 daytime figure (10,000 VND) are for different dates, and neither page reconciles them.
• Dates: VOV’s page on the first day of the last lunar month gives 6 January and the Mậu Tuất year but shows an update stamp of 25/09/2019 and does not state the Gregorian year of the visit. No page lists upcoming day-one or full-moon dates.
• Weather and daylight are not covered, and no page addresses rented motorbikes; rental questions are for the shop.

Sources checked

• VOV English: first full moon at Hanoi temples (3 March 2026)
• Dtinews: Tay Ho Temple and Tran Quoc Pagoda (3 March 2026)
• Tuoi Tre: Hanoi temples at the first full moon (1 March 2026)
• Lao Dong Thu Do: Tay Ho ward at Tet (21 February 2026)
• ANTV: parking prices at spiritual sites (1 February 2025)
• ANTV: free parking at Ha Pagoda (22 February 2024)
• Government e-newspaper: new parking prices (16 October 2026)
• VOV: Tay Ho Temple on the first day of the last lunar month

Thuê xe máy Nguyễn Hà is open 09:00–21:00 daily at Ngõ 5 Nguyễn Văn Cừ, Bồ Đề, Long Biên, Hà Nội (near Gia Lâm bus station). Phone: 0334 699 969.