Golden Dragon Water Puppet: Skip-Line Cultural Masterpiece

A must-see show if you have never seen a water dragon show before. Well organized and punctual start.

A very humbling day. Gonna be abit of a long review because it had so many twists & turns. We arrived at the ticket kiosk in the afternoon & the lady tried to help, but her English was the best. We understood "sold out" so we sat there & booked for the next day through TripAdvisor. Showed the kiosk lady our booking, she looked worried. We were then told they didn't recognise tickets unless booked through the "ticket box"app. She then produce a notice explaining this. We were disappointed. Afew phone calls & a one line text from the other agency saying "tickets availbe to pick up tommrrow". Had we been scammed? we'd find out tommrrow. Kisosk lady was very upset, gave us bottles of water as we left & looked close to tears. Shuffled up there Thursday , same lady same kiosk but with another lady who had a fist full of tickets. Including ours. Yeah! The evening show was great fun. Throughly recommend it to anyone who's still a big kid inside. You don't need translations. Puppets speak the international language of fun unquie to themselves. Show over & we went to leave the theatre. At the exit the kiosk lady was stood clutching a small gift she'd bought us from the souvenir shop. Close to tears she gave us the gift & close to tears we accept. She was such a kind person & we all shared a beautiful connection. Top tip number 2. Kindness always pays.

The show itself should not be missed! I don't know how it compares to the 'home' of water puppetry, Hoi An, but this was completely marvellous. The expertise of the musicians (on traditional instruments) who also sang beautifully and kept up the narration and responses, was masterful and the puppeteers were amazing. You don't need to understand the language, the stories are simple and fun to follow. It is noisy, discordant (to Western ears) bright, brash and fantastic. A cultural feast! The seats are allocated. Ideally you are close to the front as there are many selfish people who might disrupt your view with their cellphones held aloft. I don't know whether the 'skip the line' is necessary, as there was no line to skip, so I'm uncertain as to what that was offering me?

We really loved the performance, a traditional water puppet show accompanied by live traditional music. The puppetry was amazing! I can't quite wrap my head around how the performers do it. And the music was beautiful, and you could tell that the musicians/voice performers really enjoy their craft. My only tiny nitpick is that the speakers could have been turned down just a hair.

The theatre is nice and cosy, which limits the view for everyone. The performance is very interesting. It is a sequence of short skits about everyday life and other stories. The sounds and music are also done well, not loud and quite melodious. Unfortunately, the audience ruin the experience by wanting to put up their cameras/phones and blocking the view of the people behind them without even considering this. Very selfish and I wonder if they will ever view those videos again. At one point, we were sitting on the eighth row and it seemed everyone in front of us raised their cameras, each one going higher than the in front of them. So the whole stage view got blocked. We were lucky to move to the side where there were some empty seats. It would be best to just watch the show and get immersed in it. It is all in Vietnamese and no other explanations so you have to let your imagination flow with the performance. It is really worth seeing the show, but find seats at either side or at the back so you can stand up if needed, because everyone is very robotic with their phones and selfish.

A very unique and clever show with talented musicians and puppeteers. At 45-50 minutes, it was a great outing before dinner.

This show was excellent! I enjoyed this exotic and interesting show. If you missed this show in Hanoi, you can visit this program. FYI, you are nearly free to take a photo, as long as you don't use flash. You must know that this show only provides a ticket. You need to go there by yourself. No guide.

The Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater offers a captivating and unique cultural experience in Ho Chi Minh City. The traditional water puppet show is an entertaining glimpse into Vietnamese folklore, with vibrant puppets, lively music, and skilled performances that bring stories to life on water. It's a great way to experience a piece of Vietnam’s heritage in a fun and engaging way. The theater itself is small and cozy, which adds to the intimate atmosphere. If you're looking for something different and cultural, this show is definitely worth attending.

Based on some other comments on TripAdvisor, we were really concerned that our online tickets will not be honored. Therefore, we decided to arrive one hour earlier, but were told by the ticket agent at the window to return at 6:00. To kill some time, there was a park behind the theater, which we read about, and it was quite a treat. It was Sunday, so loads of young people were all dressed like dolls, a setting that I remember seeing in Tokyo many years ago. They actually happily pose for you to take their pictures and videos. When we did show up at the theatre at 6:00, there was a woman standing right outside of the ticketing window. We showed her our voucher, and she had my name on a clipboard. She checked it off and gave us our seats. She had a stack of them, and it appeared that the earlier you arrive, the closer to the stage you get to sit. They also tended to sit children in the first row, which was actually in front of row A. We sat in row B, slightly off center. The show itself was beyond amazing, and my curiosity was killing me as to how on earth they could control all these puppets, some of whom were doing somersaults!!. The duration was just enough (45 minutes), and we saw some people leave early, probably because it was becoming a bit repetitive, in the sense that you see puppets in the water with different settings. The “orchestra “ was also beautiful with 3 musicians on either side of the stage, 4 men and two women. One of the women did most of the singing, and her voice was quite beautiful. Even though I took some photos and SHORT videos every now and then, trying to keep my camera low so as not to disturb others seated behind me, I do agree with other comments that some people in front of us were quite inconsiderate, with their smart phones held high, and some were reordering the ENTIRE performance, which was a bit much. Overall, it was a nice, unique experience, and would definitely recommend it. Enjoy!

it is not the first time i watch this show,the recent visit was last year December when i had a nine days trip to HCM.i came here again. it is a must see show in Vietnam. the show is done on water, and the traditional Vietnamese music will be playing during the whole show. though the performances are spoken entirely in Vietnamese.but the puppets’ gestures make the story easier to understand.it is suitable for kids.if you love traditional culture,then water puppetis highly recommended!