Hanoi Old Quarter is a cultural heart of Hanoi where pulse of life has constantly beat for about two thousand years. The quarter consists mainly of 36 old streets divided and named according to their craft guides in the past. Until today, it still remains most of that working system. The area is indeed the eternal soul of Hanoi's cultural architecture, historic relics and religious center.
Hanoi Old Quarter marked its appearance in 11th century when King Ly Thai To decided to build his palace at the site. Originally, it was only group of workshop villages surrounding the royal palace but gradually it transformed into craft cooperatives or guilds and soon gained the reputation as a business trading area of Red River Delta. The Quarter swiftly became a market place for trades between locals and businessmen from China, India and France, soon after French Colony . Followed by the migrants of many skilled craftsmen who moved in to live and work together in the same guilds at the place, making the artisans specialized in performing kind of similar services, production and services were slowly re-allocated to help in creating a cooperative system for merchandise transportation to designated streets.
Watch! How the capable locals take full advantage of their motor bikes. The little vehicles are converted into a goods carrier any time any where.
There are people working and there is people relaxing in front of traditional bamboo smoking pipes industry. This is a working site but also a home for the locals.
A wedding venue, a fake flowers shop and the finished product of bamboo smoking pipes that are standing against the edge by one of the 36 streets.
All streets have their distinct character and are named after the crafts. In the past, each street had merchants and household specialized in a particular trade, such as hardware, shoes, paper, jewelery etc. The streets today still reflect these specialties.
The original traits of the 36 old streets and guilds and those architecture passion, interest and attract million of tourists from year to year.
At Old Quarter, bustling life of Hanoi people is reflected in the most vivid way with crowded streets of people trading with each other.
I visited Ho Chi Minh City more than 16 years ago when it was just opened and the electrical cable were just appearing like this. I wonder are these topsy-turvy electrical cable a practice in Vietnam and are they safe in condition in the Quarter?
Old Quarter is an area well known for history, architecture, enormous amount, diversity products and also the daily life of its residents.
The Old Quarter of Hanoi still retained much of its original traits despite the damages done by Vietnam War.
Old Quarter has original street layout and architecture of old Hanoi.
After few hours strolling at quarter, stopped by at this coffee lounge for a free tasting of Vietnamese true coffee which are worldwide in fame.
Unbelievable, there are so many varieties of coffee and the young lovely girls are so patient to introduce and promote them to each and every visitor dropped by. Their smiles and service make customers comfortable and pleased to purchase some from them.
Air Asia, a popular low fare flight company of Malaysia is among many offices along this commercial street in Old Quarter.
There are a few ancient Buddhist temples (Bach Ma Temple is one of the famous) located at Hang Buom Street, which used to play a critical part during the resistance war against French colonists as a trading center. Till to-date, the street still remains its old days with numbers of grocery and wine stores.
Using the empty place along a wall of an Ancestral Temple, a barber earns his living by a busy street.
A petrol mobile distributor and a mini petrol supply station at the 5 foot way of the ancestral temple.
Crowds of motorists, cyclists and walking people at criss-cross of hardware street.
Most of the motorists are not following the traffic route or sign but they have the skill to avoid knocking down the pedestrian.
Scooters are the main medium of transportation in Old Quarter. There are millions of them at Hanoi.
Happy old couple from a petite sundries store and the pretty hotel staff in their Vietnam tradition costume.
It is a terrible fright for the first time visitor to cross the road in Hanoi Old Quarter as there are so many motorists and cyclist follow their own way of traffic.
Old Quarter is famous for its small artisan and merchants.
Cho Dong Xuan market can be reached from Cau Dong or Hang Khoai Street or from main gate at Dong Xuan Street where the station of Hanoi Green Tourism travel cart is.
Cho Dong Xuan Market is another indispensable destination in Qld Quarter. It is the biggest wholesale market in Hanoi and was established since the beginning of 20th century. The market is also a venue of Hanoi's night gastronomy with numbers of street-food stalls.
Products sold in Dong Xuan Market are very diverse, ranging from electronic household appliances, silk, clothes to fresh food like chicken, meat, vegetable.
This is the main source for the people who want to do small business to obtain their goods.
No transaction of retailing at this wholesale market. All goods are sold in bulk and at minimum quantity.
The happy students and their tubular houses with railway track right at the door. Houses are standing close together to make up ward along the soil street and are normally short and narrow with great length and some of the houses are so narrow that it only allows one person to pass by at a time. In the past, King stipulated that normal citizen's house could not be higher than the King's Palanquin. In order to solve the problem of increasing dense population in such a limited area, people made the front room for store while lengthen the inner room and divided places for manufacturing, dining and living for each family.
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