A photo exhibition in Saigon is luring scores of curious art lovers with its giant origami dragon, central to the origin of Vietnamese people.  

The paper dragon, six meters long and three meters high, was created by freestyle origami artist Pham Hoang Tuan for an exhibition by photographer Harry Vu.

The red origami dragon at the exhibition. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Hang.

The five main colors of the works are blue, red, yellow, brown and green, representing the five elements of water, fire, metal, earth and wood. A black and white minimalist backdrop represents day and night, yin and yang.

"When I developed the idea and sourced material for the project, I wanted it to be more artistic and poetic than simply a lifeless model made from foam, wood and plastic. I was fortunate to meet Tuan, a talented origami and paper artist," Vu said.

In addition to the eye-catching yellow dragon, the exhibition also displays a 1.5-meter-high yellow origami crane.

The yellow origami crane displayed at the exhibition. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Hang.

The show is a part of a project called "Ho Hong Bang" that includes 22 photos revolving around the Vietnamese creation myth of Lac Long Quan and Au Co. According to the story, Lac Long Quan, a semi-mythical king of Hong Bang Dynasty (2879-258 BC), married Au Co, a mountain fairy. Au Co bore an egg sac that hatched 100 children known as ancestors to the Vietnamese people.

The photographer, who used an analogue Leica camera, said the photos underwent limited post-processing to express the true essence and beauty of Vietnam's people and culture.

The exhibition is open for free until Jan. 14 at Hai An Gallery at 2B Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, District 1. On the first day, it attracted 1,500 visitors, most of whom were young or families eager to learn about the myth of Lac Long Quan and Au Co.

A visitor at the exhibition. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Hang.