The prices of birds on Hoang Hoa Tham Street in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh District have increased.
Besides the worshiping, many Vietnamese families organise the life release ceremony with fish, birds or crabs to wish for luck on the Ghost Festival.
At this time of the year, Hoang Hoa Tham Street is quite crowded as people buy birds to be released on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.
Sparrows, flowerpeckers and finches are bestsellers due to their reasonable prices.
Bird trader Nguyen Tuyet said that despite being sold at VND5,000-10,000 higher per bird, they still sold well. She often delivers birds directly to people’s homes. Each warbling white-eye costs VND20,000, while the price of a sparrow is VND15,000. Every day, she earns around VND20 million from selling birds.
Birds are bought from northern localities, including Bac Giang, Phu Tho and Ba Vi.
Each pair of doves costs roughly VND300,000.
Every year during the Ghost Festival, Tuan from Tay Ho District often buys 7-9 pairs of birds to be released.
