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Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater

Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater

Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater
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About
Generations ago, Vietnamese puppeteers performed for their rural communities in waist-deep water, bringing to life legends and stories about their region. Water puppetry theaters like Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater continue that tradition into the modern day and are a fun, family-friendly way to experience a hallmark of traditional Vietnamese culture.water puppet show, which is closely associated with the spiritual life of Vietnamese people, especially in the countryside. The show’s chosen stage is the surface of a water pool. The puppeteers present their clever skills in managing puppets by long bamboo rods and string mechanism under the surface. A traditional Vietnamese orchestra is an excellent music accompaniment. The puppets depict the story from the songs during the show, which reflects the peaceful life of the Vietnamese countryside, so it is not too difficult to understand it.
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C$21.74
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  • 767-767
    Oslo, Norway164 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent, very interesting
    Very interesting performance, well worth the visit. Ticket price 300,000. Show times at 5pm and 6:30pm. They do allocate you fixed seating, about which they did not inform. If you want a better seat perhaps try to sort that at the time of ticket purchase.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written December 10, 2023
  • Erin S
    5 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great show, less than optimal viewing conditions
    The show itself was very entertaining, at least what I could see of it. In Australia almost all performances have a no recording policy and I now appreciate why... Watched at least 20% of the show through the phone cameras of audience members in front of us who videoed almost every scene. Would also advise against bringing children <5 if they are likely to be bored and make it other people’s problem. Puppeteers and musicians were extremely talented, just wish we could’ve immersed ourselves better.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written December 16, 2023
  • W L
    4 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Must see
    This is a wonderful show in Saigon and we really enjoyed this. Water puppet is a traditional Vietnamese form of entertainment. Hard work for the actors, they controlled the puppets in water. Recommendable destination.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written December 25, 2023
  • mrc282
    World9,471 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    water puppet joy
    the water puppet show originates from northern vietnam originally, but as it has become almost symbolic with the country, you can watch it in almost every major city these days. i went onsite to the box office to buy a ticket, but was told it is sold out 4 days in advance. went home and got online and saw a ticket is still available on klook, so i quickly grab one. i believe the show tickets on klook are tickets resold by travel agency who bought them in bulk from box office, so there will be slight upcharge (20,000 VND). the ticket price is 300,000 VND if purchase direct from box office keep in mind that the front rows (rows A, B, C, D) and center section (seat number 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) will experience some risk of water splashing during the performance. imo, the best seating are center section, but in the rows after that, so rows E, F, G, and beyond if you have an online voucher like i do (e.g., from klook), you can go a little earlier before the show begin to try to secure good seating, but you are limited to swapping tickets with another traveling party of the same size (e.g., party of two can swap tickets with another group of party of two). you are not allowed to randomly choose seat the entire performance is narrated in vietnamese, but it is possible to grasp the story even without understanding the language
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written January 3, 2024
  • Tarmum
    London, United Kingdom641 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Ruined by selfish use of videos
    This was a wonderful show. Quite unique and entertaining and 45 mins was just about right. BUT experience was totally ruined by large numbers of people blocking views of others by video recording on their phones. Totally unnecessary and rude. Sadly staff made no attempt to stop this. It’s an ancient tradition ruined by modern technology. Quite a few people left during the show. No idea why. Maybe they expected something different? Couldn’t stand the blocked views. Either way this is a lovely way to enjoy a traditional show. BUT PUT YOUR PHoNES AWAY!
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written February 21, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles1,667 reviews
Excellent
706
Very good
643
Average
227
Poor
52
Terrible
39

These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.

Joel K
Vancouver, Canada3,732 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
Water puppetry has been going since 1200 years BCE in Vietnam. The stories that the puppets tell are many - farm life, harvesting rice, battles on the sea. Half of the puppeteers body is underwater behind a set. They operate the puppets with poles under the water. A very interesting and creative show.
Written April 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

DGGmo
London, UK392 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed my trip to this theatre to see the traditional Water Puppets show. It is walking distance (10 mins) from the War Remnants museum and was a great pick-me-up after four hours learning about the terrible events and impact of the American War.

There are a couple of showings each day - at 5 and 6pm when I visited but probably subject to change, and you can buy your ticket direct at the box office (cash only).

The show lasted about 35 minutes and was in Vietnamese, with the singers playing the instruments too. An ancient art in Vietnam, the stories are easy to follow and very entertaining.
Written October 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Davethepubsinger
Tenerife, Spain266 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2021
My wife and I were staying in a hotel near by in Feb2020 and obtained our tickets by going to the box office the day before the performance. We paid £10 for our tickets. We were allocated seats in the third row. On arrival we were greeted by ushers dressed in traditional silk tunics who escorted us to our seats. The theatre quickly filled up, but it was annoying that they let people in after the performance had started. The shows are performed entirely in Vietnamese but the plots are easy to understand. There was a programme given out with printed explanatory notes in English. An orchestra was positioned either side of the stage and played traditional instruments to accompany the puppets dancing across the water stage. The shows recount Vietnamese folk tales, legends, and significant seasonal events, like the celebration of the rice harvest, which were depicted in a humorous fashion.
The Puppets are an amazing variety of weird and wonderful creatures, animals and even insects which dance in the water. We found the theatre to be clean and cool. The show was excellently choreographed and lasted about an hour. It was well worth the money and I would recommend it for all ages.
Written June 21, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mrc282
World9,471 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Solo
the water puppet show originates from northern vietnam originally, but as it has become almost symbolic with the country, you can watch it in almost every major city these days.

i went onsite to the box office to buy a ticket, but was told it is sold out 4 days in advance. went home and got online and saw a ticket is still available on klook, so i quickly grab one. i believe the show tickets on klook are tickets resold by travel agency who bought them in bulk from box office, so there will be slight upcharge (20,000 VND). the ticket price is 300,000 VND if purchase direct from box office

keep in mind that the front rows (rows A, B, C, D) and center section (seat number 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) will experience some risk of water splashing during the performance. imo, the best seating are center section, but in the rows after that, so rows E, F, G, and beyond

if you have an online voucher like i do (e.g., from klook), you can go a little earlier before the show begin to try to secure good seating, but you are limited to swapping tickets with another traveling party of the same size (e.g., party of two can swap tickets with another group of party of two). you are not allowed to randomly choose seat

the entire performance is narrated in vietnamese, but it is possible to grasp the story even without understanding the language

Written January 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Karin P
Potchefstroom, South Africa49 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
It is so important that cultural treasures like this theatre form, get preserved and appreciated. Especially when they remain entertaining. The puppet show is skillful and clever, with an enthusiastic and authentic cast who keep visitors entertained despite language barriers. This is a must-do for cultural tourists to the city and any theatre enthusiast.
Written February 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Seth L
Colorado Springs, CO140 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Solo
I heard about water puppets from the tourism guides and videos I consumed, so I decided to go with my buddy to watch a show, and I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised. Water puppets are a traditional Vietnamese form of entertainment where puppeteers control their puppets using underwater poles. I though they were controlled by robots at first, but when I realized that it was all manual labor, I was impressed by how well they maintained the illusion. About the show itself, it was all in Vietnamese, but the stories were pretty easy to follow, the performances were very funny, and the traditional music gave the performances a nice folkloric flair. Even from simply watching one of the performances, I felt I leanred a lot about the traditional Vietnamese culture. Do me a favor; do not leave Vietnam until you've gone to at least one performance!
Written February 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Utepil
Vuorela, Finland366 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
Tradional Vietnamese culture. "Not seeing water puppet show, not seeing Vietnam ". Amazing how they can syncronize the movements of many puppets with music. Hard work for the "actors", they are standing 40 minutes in water. Recommendable destination.
Written February 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ali921
Edinburgh, UK1,539 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022
Prepare to be amazed. Sometimes when you visit another country and go you see a cultural show it can be embarrassing, this is not the case here. This is something unique to this country. It is hard to understand how the puppets are controlled when there are so many of them out in the water at the same time. You can't understand each story but there is an element of humour in some of the sketches. Go and see it, it's superb. Buy the tickets direct or check the price so you know if any discounts offered by touts are genuine.
Written December 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Edite L
Lisbon, Portugal334 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
This is without a doubt a show worth seeing.
It is a puppet show performed in the water, typical of Vietnam as it has existed since the 11th century.
It is accompanied by live music (6 musicians/singers) which gives the show even more prominence.
Despite not understanding the language, we were able to interpret the stories portrayed.
I highly recommend it: it's a very enjoyable 45 minutes of show. Something that can be done before dinner (sessions at 5pm, 6:30pm and 7:45pm) for 300,000 dongs (around €12).
Google
Written December 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kimberley
Newcastle, Australia98 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2024 • Couples
My boyfriend and I decided to attend the water puppet show last minute and I’m so glad we did - it was so fun!
We purchased tickets at the booth,
about $18 AUD each. They are cash only, but there is a reliable ATM machine across the road if you get stuck.
Somehow we snagged the front row seats and it was a great experience - seeing the performers playing multiple instruments, singing, and of course the puppets was such a spectacle. There are flashing/strobe lights at times. We got a few little splashes on us from the water but nothing major at all, and for us it added to the fun of it.
It’s in Vietnamese so we couldn’t fully follow the storyline, but it added to the hilarity for us! This was such a fun 45-60 min experience and the actors and puppeteers were so talented and it was a treat to hear traditional Vietnamese music.
Really recommend stopping here for a show when in HCMC, it was a very unique and enjoyable experience.
Written October 3, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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GOLDEN DRAGON WATER PUPPET THEATER - All You MUST Know Before You Go (2024)

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