In pictures: the best of Vietnam this week

Check out some of the most stunning Instagram photos of #Vietnam for the Lunar New Year.

Wrestling

Local men play "Vat Cau", or ball wrestling, a centuries-old sport which began as a training exercise for soldiers and contains elements of wrestling and rugby.

Vat Cau is held between the fourth and sixth day of the Lunar New Year, or February 8-10 this year, in Thuy Linh village on Hanoi outskirts.

A photo taken by Instagrammer vietbulll

Lion dance

Lion dance troupes from HCMC gather at the Thien Hau Lady temple on February 4, just several hours before New Year's Eve to pray for good luck from the Goddess before they go on performance tours across the city during Tet festival.

For the Chinese community and Vietnamese people, the lion and dragon dances are an indispensable part of Tet and other important festivals and events. The dances are believed to dispel evil and bring luck and success.

Photo taken in HCMC's District 5 by Instagrammer andy.ip.

Tet flower market

A repost of a 1991 photo shows local vendors sell fresh flowers, mostly marigolds in the lead up to Tet. Vietnamese people have a long tradition of offering fresh flowers to deities and ancestors during the festival, praying for luck and peace.

The photo taken in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho by yamashitaphoto.

Salt flowers

A Top Shot photo selected by natgeoyourshot on Instagram, taken by Trung Pham, captures a worker raking piles of salt at Hon Khoi, the largest salt field in central Vietnam.

"The workers are usually middle-aged women, and they wear rubber gloves and conical hats to protect themselves from the harsh salt and sun while tending to the salt," the caption reads.

Firecracker festival

Thousands of people gather at the traditional firecracker festival, which is annually held from the fourth day of the lunar year (February 8) in Tu Son District of the northern Bac Ninh Province to pray for a prosperous year. The festival is expected to last as many as 20 days.

Photo taken by thongnguyengallery.

Holiday crowds

Bui Vien pedestrian street, which is a popular hangout for backpackers in HCMC, is flooded with holiday-goers during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Photo taken in HCMC's District 1 by jethuynh.

Hat boi

Instagram account jethuynh captured the photo of a hat boi artist behind the scene in a show in Ho Chi Minh City.

Hat boi, a Vietnamese operatic art form, can be traced back to over 600 years, to a fascinating historical story. The art form took its roots in Vietnam because of a highly talented Chinese prisoner of war who used his singing and dancing to keep his head on his neck.

Over the sun

A group of children play under the gorgeous sunset view in Phan Rang in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan.

Photo taken by Instagram account dinhvietphoto. 

Holiday jam

On February 10, the last day of the nine-day Tet break, migrants from Mekong Delta provinces travelled back to Ho Chi Minh City, which caused severe traffic congestion on gateways to the city.

The photo captured by Quynh Tran at the section passing Ben Luc District in Long An Province and HCMC's Binh Chanh District, and was posted by vne_international on Instagram.