Why visit Hanoi, Vietnam's Markets???

Hanoi is a thriving commercial centre with modern industries, arts, agricultural producers and processors, traditional markets and modern supermarkets. It is also a distribution centre from which goods flow to other regions, both at home and abroad.

Hanoi's markets come in many different forms, from huge bustling establishments containing hundreds of shops to small pavement street markets (cho coc) dedicated to serving the needs of residents in the immediate vicinity.

1) DONG XUAN - BAC QUA MARKET
Largest market in Hanoi, established in about 1889 on the site of Bach Ma and Cau Dong market. On the ground floor, outside stalls display dozens of varieties of jams and salted fruit. Inside the market, you will see stalls selling dried goods such as prawnns, fish, pepper, chilli and traditional herbs. On the far corner of the ground floor, you'll see household items are display. On the first floor, shops are selling huge volumes of imported cloth for redistribution to retail markets. And the second floor is used as storage for the cloth traders.

2) HANG DA MARKET
Imported fruit as well as fresh local fruit and vegetables can be found here. There are also sections of aquarium fish and birds at the two corners of the market, where you can see and buy many rare vietnamese species. Bat Trang pottery and ceramic products are also to be found here at prices reasonable enough to satisfy both sellers and buyers.

3) HOM - DUC VIEN MARKET
At the junction of Hue street and Tran Xuan Soan street, a three-storey market is a great place to explore. The ground floor offers shoes and sandals, ready-to-wear clothes, dried goods, fruit, meat and cooked food.

4) NIGHT FLOWER MARKET
At the crack of dawn, when the early bird is still chasing the worm, Quang An market has already finished trading for the day. Earlier, it is a kaleidoscope of colours as flowers from all over are bought and sold. A symbol of the beauty of the world, flowers bring Hanoians closer to nature.