Phuket Vegetarian Festival

What the Phuket Vegetarian Festival is

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival - known locally as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival or Tesagan Gin Je - is a nine-day Taoist religious event that takes place in late September or October each year. In 2026 it runs from 10 to 19 October.

The festival originated with Phuket’s Hokkien Chinese community in the 19th century and remains deeply rooted in Taoist belief. The core idea is purification: participants follow a strict vegetarian diet, abstain from alcohol, sex, and dishonest behaviour, and dress in white as a mark of purity. The goal is to invite the Nine Emperor Gods to descend and bestow health, good fortune, and merit on the community.

The ceremonies

The festival is known internationally for its extreme devotional acts, which can be confronting to first-time visitors. Devotees called mah song enter a trance state and undergo spirit possession rituals, during which they pierce their cheeks, tongues, and bodies with skewers, swords, and other objects. They then walk in street processions, appearing not to feel pain or bleed significantly - an act of faith believed to be enabled by the protection of the gods.

Other ceremonies include:

• Firewalking - barefoot walks across beds of burning coals, typically held at individual Chinese shrines around Phuket Town
• Ladder climbing - ascending ladders made of blade-edged steps
• Processions - early morning street processions move through Phuket Town from the main shrines, with firecrackers lit to ward off evil spirits as the procession passes

The largest shrines participating are Jui Tui Shrine, Bang Neow Shrine, and Put Jaw Shrine, all in Phuket Town. Each shrine runs its own procession schedule across the nine days.

Practical advice for visitors

Where to base yourself. The festival is centred on Phuket Town rather than the beach resort areas. Staying in or near the old town puts you within walking distance of the main shrines and procession routes. The beach areas (Patong, Kata, Karon) are a 30–45 minute drive.

Procession timing. The main processions begin around 5–6am and move through Thalang Road, Dibuk Road, and surrounding streets in the old town. Being in position by 6am gives you a good view. Arrival the night before is recommended to get a sense of the route.

What to wear. If you are attending processions at the shrines, dress modestly - long trousers or skirts, shoulders covered. White is not required for visitors but is worn by all participants and many locals.

The vegetarian food. One of the most accessible parts of the festival for visitors is the food. Hundreds of stalls set up around Phuket Town selling traditional Hokkien Chinese vegetarian dishes - marked by a distinctive yellow flag with red Chinese characters. The food is genuinely excellent and very affordable, typically 30–60 THB per dish. Mock meat dishes, tofu preparations, and rice congee are common.

Noise warning. Firecrackers are set off throughout the day and particularly during processions. They are extremely loud. Ear protection is useful if you are sensitive to sudden loud noise.

Photography. Photographs of the ceremonies are permitted, but keep a respectful distance from the mah song during processions and do not obstruct or reach out to touch them.

Getting to Phuket Town

Phuket Town is approximately 30–40 minutes south of Phuket Airport by taxi (roughly 400–600 THB as of 2026). From the beach resort areas, local red songthaews run to the town centre for around 30 THB per person, or taxis are available for 200–400 THB. During the festival, traffic around the old town area is heavier than usual on procession mornings.