Local vibe at wholesale market

By Lê Hương*

A market can often be described as the beating heart of a city.

And Đồng Xuân Market in the centre of Hà Nội is exactly that.

Mornings are typically a hive of activity as shoppers pile in and traders show off their goods.

The market was first established in 1804 at the eastern gate of Thăng Long Citadel.

This current structure was built in 1980 by the French.

With over 2,000 booths, goods at the market vary from food and clothes, to souvenirs and daily utensils.

Many shop owners have been here for dozens of years.

“My family has been selling at this market for several generations,” Giang Thị Thu Thủy, a shop owner told Việt Nam News. “I’m proud to do this job and follow my family's trade. I’m proud to be a shop owner here.”

Nguyễn Huyền Anh, who has sold dresses at the market for over 20 years said: “I like this job as I love designing.

“For a long time, the goods here have been of the best quality.

“I think that I will engage with this job till I get old. I love everything here. My trading is good, the same as my income.”

The atmosphere is always busy at the market. VNS Photos Hải Anh

Many sellers are boosting their sales by using online platforms and livestreams.

“My nieces film goods and post online to sell on Zalo and Facebook,” Thủy said. “We are old but my children and nieces help me to use modern technology, to go online. So my income is secure.”

Thủy said through the internet, people who live far from Hà Nội can learn more about Đồng Xuân Market and buy things online.

Huyền Anh said she has applied digital transformation.

“I often use Facebook and Zalo to sell clothes,” she said. “I film whenever I have new items. I post clips online every one or two days.”

She said livestreaming helps her improve her sales.

“Now people can stay at home, search on Zalo and Facebook and make transactions online,” she said.

Vũ Hà Thanh, Deputy Director of Đồng Xuân Joinstock Company the market's managing board, said they have lots of plans for the market with the first one setting up an e-commerce trading platform.

Foreigners buy things at the market.

“We have discussed it with shop owners and will implement it if it is supported,” he said. “Yet due to the market’s characteristic as a wholesale market, most of the shop owners haven’t got any demands for the platform yet. Maybe we should wait a bit longer for more advances in the market’s transactions and the shop owners’ way of thinking.”

People come here to shop, exchange, to experience the local lifestyle and even just to capture a very Vietnamese moment.

"I just arrived here," said Kerry King, an Australian tourist "It's busy. Lots of lovely, friendly, happy people wanting to make a living and sell their wares to lots of tourists. For me personally, it's a little bit crowded but that's how it works and that's how it is."

"It's full on. It attacks the senses as soon as you walk in," said visitor Malc Reddaway. "It's just case of trying to discover what's what because all the areas are different, obviously themed in different ways, some more interesting than others."

"And it seems that it is for wholesale. There are some signs saying no retail, it's only wholesale, so it's difficult to know what you can buy, what you can't buy."

Nguyễn Thị Thanh, a frequent shopper at the market said she often buys things here as the market offers good clothes and family utensils at reasonable prices.

"Đồng Xuân Market is good for tourists as the shop owners are friendly, and charge reasonable prices," she said. "They charge the same prices to both locals and tourists."

Foreigners can learn about Vietnamese lifestyle and culture at the market.

Tourists are also catered for by the market’s managing board.

"Under the guidelines: safety, civilisation and effectiveness, we warmly welcome tourists and hope to receive their cooperation when visiting the market," Thanh said."We are sure that the market is absolutely safe."

So stop by the market if you take a tour in the Old Quarter to experience truly Vietnamese culture. VNS

*with an additional interview by Hải Anh