Ho Chi Minh City Events - January 2027
January 2027 has three dated days worth planning a market visit around: New Year's Day on Friday 1 January, the Eximbank HCMC Marathon on Sunday 17 January, and Ông Công Ông Táo on Saturday 30 January — the market's first true Tết day. One is a public holiday, one closes the streets around the building, and the third opens the market's own Tết season.
3 dated days on this page. Every date here is fixed by law, by the lunar calendar or by custom, or confirmed by the organiser for 2027.
📅 The dated days
New Year's Day — Tết Dương lịch
📅 Fri 1 Jan 2027 (public holidays 1–3 Jan)
📍 Where: Citywide
The first day of the Gregorian year and the first of Vietnam's twelve paid public holidays. Ben Thanh's rulebook clock is 07:00–22:00, with the fresh-food and eating lines open from 04:00; public holidays carry a separate notice posted at the gates, so check the notices before an early start.
Eximbank HCMC Marathon (14th edition)
📅 Sun 17 Jan 2027
📍 Where: Start and finish 30/4 Park, Lê Duẩn Street; Pulse Active with the HCMC Athletics Federation
The gun goes at 3 a.m. and the course has run past Ben Thanh and along Nguyễn Huệ, so expect the streets around the market closed and full of runners. Nearly 11,000 athletes ran the 2026 edition. Worth planning around, or worth getting up for.
Ông Công Ông Táo — the Kitchen God's departure to heaven (23rd day of the 12th lunar month)
📅 Sat 30 Jan 2027
📍 Where: Market-wide; the carp, votive-paper and offering stalls
The market's first true Tết day: live carp for release into the canal, gold-paper kits and sweets for the hearth gods. The cheapest, least crowded preview of what Tết week will look like.
🕐 Market hours in January
The market's rulebook sets opening hours of 07:00 to 22:00, with fresh and cooked food stalls opening at 04:00; holidays are by separate notice. (Nội quy chợ, Điều 1.)
On the ground the covered hall trades from about 06:00 and most traders wind down around 18:00. None of the three dates moves the rulebook clock, but the public holiday and the marathon both come with their own notice or street closure.
Entry is free — the rulebook charges nothing to walk around the hall (Nội quy chợ, Điều 4.3). Our opening hours guide explains what each window measures and why the rulebook clock and the observed day are not the same thing.
🛍️ Where in the market
For Ông Công Ông Táo on 30 January the core blocks are in Area III: Ô 3B carries the worship goods — bronze ware, incense lamps and joss paper — while the fresh-food and vegetable blocks Ô 3C to Ô 3F carry the fruit, vegetables, staples and live fresh trade, with a second fresh-food run in Ô 4E and Ô 4F in Area IV.
The operator counts nearly 1,400 trading households across the four areas. Stall numbers run as high as 1,392, and every stall holder is required to display a number board, so the numbers above the stalls are the market's own numbering.