by Le Huong

It’s 11am, and all the selling and buying activities are in full swing at the Kim Lien Market near a busy residential area in Ha Noi’s Dong Da District.

Chu Kim Oanh, 58, a seafood seller tidies up her stall at a meat-selling area, sets up an iPad and a loudspeaker to prepare for her daily aerobic practice right in the market. She calls neighbouring sellers to join the session.

1, 2, 3…The sellers, young and old all soon lose themselves in the rhythms echoed from the loudspeaker connected to the iPad, which shows models practicing aerobics.

From time to time, some of them stop to serve some customers and then resume their practice. The market seems to be bustling with the music and movements.

Aerobic practice at Kim Lien Market. Sometimes one stops practising to serve customers, then resumes practising again. — VNS Photos Le Huong

The activity is familiar to frequent customers here but may astonish strangers to the area.

"It is so much fun," Nguyen Phuc Hai, a passer-by said. The market corner seems to have turned into an aerobics centre with butchers and fish sellers all a part of it. They even sharpen their knives to the rhythm of the music."

“We have been practicing every day at this hour for nearly a year,” Le Thi Hoa, a butcher, said. “More and more people here have joined in. This kind of exercise is very useful.”

“First, it is good for our health. We do not feel tired or bored at the market. We also can stop for a while to serve customers, then practice again. It is a kind of time-saving as most of us don’t have enough time to visit fitness centres. I enthusiastically support this kind of aerobic practice.”

Nguyen Thi Thu, who has sold pork at the market for 20 years said she had joined the practice since the last two months.

“I feel it is good for my bones and joints. I am already 60,” she said. “All sellers here used to dream about joining an aerobics class like those in the parks. But we do not have time. Oanh here has an iPad and we thought of holding a class by ourselves right in the market.”

 

Aerobic practice at Kim Lien Market. Sometimes one stops practising to serve customers, then resumes practising again.

At 2pm, another aerobics session takes place in the other corner of the market.

The afternoon session draws an even bigger crowd with many elderly women over 70 participating.

“We choose the time with fewest customers after a quick snap at noon,” Truong Thi Dinh, a fish seller said. “It does not harm our trading activities. All of us feel excited when the time for exercise comes. The session brings us closer to one another.”

The aerobic sessions last for around an hour. The market then returns to its normal work as in hundreds of green markets in the city. – VNS