Held annually on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the festival is a traditional ritual in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. During feudal dynasties, the event was celebrated differently among royal families and ordinary people.

Under the Later Le Dynasty (1533 - 1789), kings would host a ritual to pay tribute to ancestors and a banquet to give fans to all mandarins during the festival. The fans were conferred to the recipients to bring them good blessings, health and luck.

Works on display at the exhibition at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel in Hanoi include a 2.4m-wide fan with a poem penned by King Lê Hiến Tong in 1503; and replicas of fans used by the kings, queens, and mandarins; and a reproduction of a shop on Hang Mun Street (now Hang But Street) in Hanoi in the past.

Several customs practiced during Doan Ngo Festival, including washing hair with herbs and taking saunas, are also introduced to visitors on the occasion.