Hanoi youth dressed in traditional ao dai take Tet photos months in advance

Many young people in the capital Hanoi wear Ao Dai and take Tet-themed photos on the streets very early.

The Year of the Horse comes in mid-February 2026, but for more than a month now, the atmosphere of celebrating Tet has been evident in many central areas of Hanoi . At prominent locations such as Hoan Kiem Lake, the Opera House, and the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam relic site, many young people wear Ao Dai, carrying accessories such as apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, and conical hats to take colorful Tet photos.

Hoan Kiem Lake on November 30th was crowded with young people taking photos in ao dai (Photo: Duong Quang Thuc).

Thu Hang (born 2006), from Thanh Hoa, currently a student at the University of Commerce, said that she will return to her hometown for Tet so she has to quickly prepare to take Tet photos many months in advance to have a set of Tet photos with the capital's scenery.

Thu Hang chose Hoan Kiem Lake as the location for her photo shoot because it is a popular spot for young people to take photos. Although the location is often crowded with people and lacks space for taking photos, Thu Hang believes that it is the crowdedness that creates a sense of joy and harmony in the general atmosphere. Hang invited her group of friends to plan their outfits, accessories, makeup, and spend a whole day taking photos.

“The weather is not too cold at this time so we can wear ao dai comfortably. I am trying to take a set of photos in ao dai every year before Tet,” Thu Hang said.

Thu Hang (far left) and her friend took a photo at Hoan Kiem Lake on December 2 (Photo: NVCC)

To get a satisfactory photo set, young people do not hesitate to spend millions of dong to choose suitable costumes and prepare full accessories and professional photography services, with a team to accompany them.

Thao Nguyen (born in 1999), a photography enthusiast, waited for a sunny day in Hanoi to take a set of Tet photos. Nguyen woke up early at 5:30 am to do her hair and makeup for 3 hours. She brought two ao dai with different styles to change. The total cost from costumes, accessories to hiring a photographer to help take photos was about 5 million VND.

Learning from previous Tet seasons, when Tet is near, everyone is busy with family and extra work, making the photo shoot rushed and not neat. This year, Thao Nguyen proactively booked the photo shoot service early to be able to comfortably choose carefully the outfit, accessories, as well as have more time for post-production editing, right on Tet holiday, staying at home will still have beautiful and sparkling Tet photos to receive "like storms" from friends.

“I love traditional beauty and especially the ao dai. When taking Tet photos, I don’t mind spending money to have beautiful moments and preserve memories,” Thao Nguyen shared.

Not only girls, many boys are also enthusiastic about taking photos, even more "picky" in preparing costumes and photo locations.

Quoc Manh (born 2001) shared that to prepare for the Tet photo shoot, he spent 2 weeks planning and surveying photo shoot areas that fit the schedule of his group of friends, choosing ao dai with similar designs and colors and preparing creative poses. Quoc Manh started the photo shoot in September.

Quoc Manh (right) and his friend went to take Tet photos since September (Photo: NVCC)

As a photographer in Hanoi, Tran Quang Khai (born 2003) shared that the end of the year is the busiest time for photographers. This year, many customers start taking Tet photos from September, the busiest time falls from late November to December. There were times when there were so many customers booking services, he had to refuse some customers and only accepted 4 photo sessions/day.

The price for each photo shoot ranges from 1-2 million VND depending on the customer's request and the cost can be up to 5 million VND for photo shoots with higher requirements on space and background. Although the workload is dense at the end of the year, Khai still diligently accepts photo shoots because his income during this period is double compared to normal.

"There are days when I work continuously from 6am to 10pm. Taking pictures of young people wearing Ao Dai and holding apricot and peach blossom branches makes me feel very happy and excited as if Tet is coming," Khai shared.

Giang Pham

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/gioi-tre-ha-noi-xung-xinh-ao-dai-di-chup-anh-tet-truoc-nhieu-thang-ar990625.html