Lê Hương
Gathering only once a year, the 500-year-old traditional Hàng Lược Tết Flower Market in the heart of Hà Nội's Old Quarter has become a unique destination for residents as well as visitors from other areas in the city and from abroad.
The area hosts not only fresh flowers and bonsai but also antiques and decorative objects for the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday.
A foreign woman poses for a photo at the market. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu
The market area stretches to Hàng Lược, Hàng Mã, Hàng Rươi, Hàng Khoai and Phùng Hưng streets nearby.
Various handicraft and afine arts products from handicraft villages in Hà Nội are available on Phùng Hưng Street.
The market this year will run until February 11 (the 30th day of the 12th lunar month).
Peach blossoms are sold for cheaper this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu
Since 2018, besides the traditional flower market, Hoàn Kiếm District authorities have run a pedestrian zone on Phùng Hưng Street as a cultural and artful area, in preparation for forming a pedestrian area on Phùng Hưng Street connected with the existing pedestrian zone surrounding Hoàn Kiếm Lake.
Due to the recent spread of COVID-19 in the city, authorities assigned agencies to check people’s temperature at the entrance to the market and remind people to apply disease-preventing measurements like wearing masks, cleaning their hands with anti-septic solution and keeping a distance from one another.
The number of people visiting the market this year is smaller than in previous years.
People visit the market to buy things to decorate their house for Tết or simply to enjoy beautiful things. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu
The flower market is considered the oldest of its kind in the country. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu
Trần Thị Mỹ, 67, a resident living nearby, said she only dares to visit the market early in the morning when there are not many people.
“In previous years, I took my grandchildren along to buy things and simply to watch beautiful flowers and tell them about Tết traditions in the past,” she told Việt Nam News. “But this year, I keep them at home for fear of the pandemic.”
“Hope the spreading virus will be controlled soon and people will have a better year with good health and prosperity,” she said.
Hàng Lược (Comb) Street was formed 500 years ago as an area gathering people making haircombs. In the early 20th century, the comb making career faded and the shops there started selling various kinds of goods.
Yet the traditional flower market still gathers once a year between the 23rd day and the last day of the 12th lunar month.
The flower market is considered the oldest in the city and indeed the country. — VNS
Various kinds of decorative objects are available at the market. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu
OVietnam