Walk the ancient town
Mustard-yellow merchant houses, mossy tiled roofs, the Japanese Covered Bridge, eye-painted boats on the Hoai River, a sweet-soup street vendor, cafés and a folk-games yard.
Free · No sign-up
Float a lantern in Hoi An, from anywhere
Stroll the yellow-walled streets of Hoi An at dusk, set a flower lantern on the Hoai River, release koi, turtles and white doves, and send a wish into the night sky. It keeps the meaning of the Vietnamese phóng sinh (life release) tradition — without catching, buying or harming a single real animal.
Runs in desktop and mobile browsers; iOS and Android apps available. The game is available in English, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and Chinese.
01
What is Green Release?
A corner of Hoi An rebuilt in 3D that you can drop into any time: walk slowly, admire the lanterns, sit by the river and do a small kind thing. No quests to grind, nothing to win or lose.
A harmless life release
Release carp, koi, goldfish, turtles, sparrows and doves, or float a flower lantern. Each release carries your own wish and is written into a shared merit journal.
Share the street
Meet other visitors releasing wishes, pick the same street as your friends, take souvenir photos and share them.
02
Three steps to begin
The first visit takes a few dozen seconds to load the 3D town. After that you can walk straight in — no account needed.
- 1
Open phongsinh.app/play
Use Chrome, Edge or Safari on desktop, or your phone browser / the app. On older devices switch to SD for smoother play.
- 2
Pick a character and a street
Choose a nickname and an outfit — áo dài, Nhật Bình court robe, khăn vấn turban. To meet friends, choose the same street and send the invite link.
- 3
Head to the river and release
Walk to the wooden pier or riverbank, tap Phóng sinh (release) or Hoa đăng (flower lantern), pick a species, write a wish and confirm.
03
Controls on desktop and mobile
Action buttons are always on screen. Not sure where to go? Tap Chỉ đường ra bến (“show me the way to the pier”).
- WASD
- Walk (or arrow keys)
- Shift
- Walk faster
- Drag · scroll
- Rotate view · zoom
- E
- Release fish, turtles, birds
- F
- Float a flower lantern
- G
- Sit on a bench
- P
- Take a souvenir photo
- C · B
- Rent an outfit · buy sweet soup or a drink
- H
- Wave hello
- Esc
- Close the open panel
- Joystick
- Drag the left circle to walk
- Swipe
- Rotate the view
- Pinch
- Zoom in and out
- 🐟 Phóng sinh
- Release fish, turtles, birds
- 🪷 Hoa đăng
- Float a flower lantern
- 🪑 · 📷
- Sit down · take a photo
- ☰ Menu
- Sound, time of day, HD/SD, street, character
- Landscape
- Wider view with compact controls
In the game
A stroll through Hoi An
01
Flower lanterns on the Hoai River
Write a wish, set the lantern on the water and watch it drift among reflected silk lanterns.
02
Release at the wooden pier
Carp, koi, goldfish or turtles — choose the species and how many, and send your wish with them.
03
The Japanese Covered Bridge
Hoi An’s icon, linking the two banks of the old town.
04
Folk games yard
Bamboo swings, tug of war, blindfolded pot-smashing, ô ăn quan and bicycles to ride.
05
Doves at sunrise
Open the cage and let sparrows and white doves fly — anywhere in town.
06
The old town by day
Light follows real time: sunrise, midday, sunset, then the lanterns come on.
Why “green”
Compassion without the harm
Phóng sinh — known across Buddhist Asia as 放生 or 방생 — is the act of releasing captive animals to cultivate compassion and wish for peace. In practice, mass releases often hurt the very animals they mean to save: wild birds are trapped and caged for sale, many dying soon after release or being recaptured; freshwater fish are released into the sea; invasive species such as red-eared sliders upset native ecosystems; fish are dumped into rivers still sealed in plastic bags.
Green Release keeps the most meaningful part — the wish, the sincerity, a quiet moment by the river — and moves the act itself online. No animal is caught, caged or sold.
If you practise life release in real life
- Don’t buy wild-caught birds or fish — buying is what fuels the trapping.
- Choose native species and the right habitat; never release invasive or pet-trade species.
- Release gently, never in the bag, and take your rubbish, incense and paper home.
- Dedicate the merit another way: support wildlife rescue, plant trees, clean up a river.
The real place
Visiting Hoi An: float a real lantern
Hoi An Ancient Town sits on the Hoai River, about 30 km from Da Nang International Airport, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Once a busy trading port for Japanese, Chinese and European merchants, it preserves over a thousand historic wooden houses, assembly halls and shophouses.
Its symbol is the Japanese Covered Bridge (Chùa Cầu / Lai Viễn Kiều), built by Japanese merchants in the early 17th century and pictured on the 20,000-dong banknote. Every evening — and especially on the 14th night of each lunar month, the Old Town Night — locals and visitors float paper lanterns on the river for good fortune.
Green Release recreates that atmosphere, so you can get a feel for the town before your trip — or revisit it once you are home.
Travel notes
- Best time
- February–April is dry and mild; avoid the October–November storm season.
- Old Town Night
- Evening of the 14th lunar day each month: electric lights off, lanterns on, flower lanterns on the river.
- Floating lanterns
- Prefer paper lanterns and real candles; avoid putting plastic into the river.
- Tickets
- Heritage sites in the old town require an entrance ticket, sold at booths around the town.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
When is the Hoi An Lantern Festival?
It is held every month on the 14th night of the lunar calendar (the full-moon eve): the old town switches off electric lights in the evening and visitors float candle-lit lanterns on the Hoai River. Lantern boats run every night of the year, busiest from about 6 to 9 pm. In Green Release you can float a lantern any night, from anywhere.
Is Green Release free?
Yes. It is free in the browser and in the apps, with no ads and no in-game purchases. Merit points are just in-game points with no cash value.
Do I need an account?
No. Each device creates a random ID that keeps your nickname, outfit and release journal. We do not collect real names, emails or phone numbers.
Is the game in English?
Yes. The game follows your device language (English, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Simplified or Traditional Chinese), and you can change it any time from ☰ Menu → 🌐 Language.
Are any real animals released?
No. Every fish, bird and lantern is a 3D image. The point of the game is to keep the cultural meaning without harming animals or the environment.
Will it run on my phone?
Most phones from 2019 onwards run it in Chrome or Safari. If your phone gets warm, open ☰ Menu and choose SD; the game also caps the frame rate on phones to save battery.
How do I play with friends?
Open ☰ Menu → Chọn phố (choose street), pick the same street and copy the invite link. You will see each other in town.
Is the town an exact copy of Hoi An?
It is inspired by Hoi An — yellow walls, lanterns, the covered bridge, the Hoai River — but laid out at its own scale for easy walking, not an exact map.
Stop by the river for a moment
Ten quiet minutes in a busy day: walk by the water, listen to the old town, float a lantern for someone you love.