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Festival & Culture Hang Market
Festival & Culture Hang Market | Hang Market |
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Even at 5:30am, beautifully clipped bonsai trees are set up along the two sidewalks outside the market’s gates. The market sounds are in full force as well – dogs, chickens, cats, and people are competing for the loudest volume. Hang Market, in Du Hang Kenh Ward of Hai Phong’s Le Chan District, has been known throughout the surrounding provinces for its long history and its product diversity. Though it sells everything from potted plants to domesticated animals to porcelain products, it’s the exotic ornamental plants that set this market apart and that attract customers like Hang. The buyers go in search of plants, fruit trees, pigs and dogs – but also to relax and gaze at well-pruned potted plants while listening to birds singing or watching cock fights. Hang Market also welcomes traders from Bac Ninh and Bac Giang, who sell young trees, merchants from Hai Duong selling porcelains and Thai Binh’s traders who breed animals and poultry. A long history Hang Market was founded more than 200 years ago and was part of Hang Kinh or Kinh Duong Village in Nam Sach District, Hai Dong region (including Hai Phong, Hai Duong and Kien An). At that time, the market was known as the region’s largest and was divided into two areas: one for breeding animals like pigs, cats, dogs and poultry and the other for daily consumer goods. The market served thousands of residents or half of the region’s population. In early 1945, Vietnamese residents faced starvation as a result of the French colonial and japanese occupation. Nguyen Danh Giang, then a member of the Viet Minh Cuu Quoc or Viet Nam League for Independence, was put in charge of a fund-raising campaign to help local famine victims. A week before the traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday in 1945, the market’s customers were asked to contribute money. During those days, circus troupes, magicians and brass bands were invited to entertain the villagers while they shopped. "This fund-raising effort took 10 days, and it helped save the villagers from starvation," said Giang, now 80 years old and the chairman of Du Hang Kenh’s Fatherland Front. There was also a seafood section or cho roi in Hang Market. By afternoon, fishermen had usually transported many large fish, mostly 2-3m long sharks caught in Do Son Sea, some 20km from the central city to sell in Hang Market. "These fish were sold only to the Hang Kinh villagers, who were known to be good at cooking seafood," Giang says. But the cho roi lasted only until 1963, when Hang Market started selling potted trees. Potted plants and flowers attracted buyers from Hai Phong’s Ha Lung flower growing village and traders arrived from My Loc of Nam Dinh Province and from Tu Ky of Hai Duong. In 1965, Hang Kenh Village was divided and Hang Market belonged to Du Hang Kenh Village of Dong Hai District. Hang Market became the city’s largest seller of potted plants and thanks to high demand from consumers, the locals started growing and selling plants for a handsome profit. In 2004, Hang Market belonged to Le Chan District’s Du Hang Kenh Ward. Vu Trong Nguyen’s and Nguyen Chi Hung’s families became wealthy off the potted plant trade. The families used to be farmers, but they now earn as much as four to 10 times more than when they were growing rice. Vu Trong Nguyen, for example, opened a company for selling potted plants. He hopes to export his plants to foreign markets like China and Malaysia. |
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