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Hanoi Old Quarter
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One of the reasons that Hanoi - the capital city of
Vietnam, has attracted so many tourists over the year s is its
Old Quarter
(36 old streets and guilds). It is an area well-known for the history, the
architecture, the enormous amount and diversity of
products and even the everyday life of its residents.
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History
The Old Quarter marked its appearance in the 11th century, when King Ly Thai To
decided to build his palace. That means By
2010, Hanoi as well as the 36 old streets turned 1000 years old. Originally a
group of workshop villages surrounding the royal
palace, the Old Quarter has gradually transformed into craft cooperatives, or
guilds and soon gained its reputation as the
business trading areas of the Red River delta.
Skilled craftsmen migrated to the Quarter to live and work together in the same
guilds, which were made specialized for
artisans performing similar services. The new allocation of production and
service helped to create a cooperative system for
merchandise transportation to designated streets. Soon under French colony, the
Old Quarter increasingly became a
marketplace for trade between the local and businessmen from China, India and
France.
Despite the damages that Vietnam War left in
Hanoi, the Old Quarter still
retained much of the original traits that interests
tourists, especially those with architectural passion. These houses are neither
tall buildings as people normally see in cities
nor stilt houses on lines of poles, which were popular in Vietnams' mountainous
regions these days. They are also called
"tubular houses" which are short and narrow but have great length.The house is
sometimes too narrow that only one person
can pass by at a time.
Walking
Visitors will certainly be eager to wander along the old streets to drop by
stores and buy specialties. Here is an essential
guide for tourists who would like to explore the Old Quarter, with some names of
specialized streets: China bowls (Bat Su),
roasted fish (Cha Ca), silver or jewelries (Hang Bac), women accessories (Cau
Go), shoes and sandals (Hang Dau), silk (Hang
Gai), mixed fruits (To Tich), combs (Hang Luoc), jars (Hang Chinh), tour
services (Ma May), candies and dry apricot (Hang
Duong), fried/roasted sour pork hash (Tam Thuong lane on Hang Bong Street),
bamboo products (Hang Buom), etc.
In addition, visitors as well as city dwellers can go to the night market taking
place along 4 walking old streets: Hang Dao -
Hang Ngang - Hang Duong - Dong Xuan in the evening from Friday to Sunday with
products on great sale.
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