Thang Long, nowadays Hanoi, a place chosen as the capital city by many dynasties, is the country’s cultural – political and socio – economic center. Thang Long – Hanoi is not only known for its fruitful number of exquisite landscapes and various festivals with numerous types of folk cultural activities, but also for title of “the land of a hundred professions”.
The old Hang Dao Street was famous for its silk and fabrics
Through the ups and downs of history, the streets running alongside the small houses crowded together with their brown roof tiles and antique walls have been imprinted in the memories of many generations of Hanoians. There is almost no other place where the names of the streets begin with the word “Hang”, meaning merchandise or shop, a term reminiscent of the old trades from the old days. There are Hang Dao, Hang Ngang, Hang Duong, Hang Khay, Hang Buom, Hang Ma, Hang Chieu, Hang Mam, and many others.
The story began at the end of the 10th century when craft villagers from all over the country came to the suburbs of Thang Long to settle down and started their businesses on the banks of the Nhi River, former name of the Red River. The people gradually formed the ancient guilds. The guild streets were named after their product, service or location, e.g. Hang Dao Street specialized in selling silk and fabrics, Hang Bac Street specialized in casting silver and crafting jewelries, or Hang Chinh Street with porcelains from Phu Lang Village and Tho Ha Village, and so on.
It was not until 1985 when the French first implemented the urbanization in Hanoi that the 36 streets were re-planned with the construction of a spacious street system laid out in a chessboard pattern. The asphalt streets with sidewalks were built with rows of two-storey urban tiled houses established on the two sides of each street. The houses had narrow facades of only 3 meters wide, but ran deep into the alleyways to form tube-shaped structures. Many of the houses ran from one street to another, but were cleverly divided into several sections by the courtyards where the light, the wind, and the air were welcome into the houses.
A convenient place for trade due to its location next to the Red River, Thang Long soon attracted the Hoa people (Vietnamese of Chinese origin) and people from other countries to come start their businesses. Hang Buom had the largest number of Hoa people. Teochewian and Hokkienese cultural houses were established in this area. Generally, people in the Old Quarter lived in harmony and tended to keep their family customs, value righteousness and integrity, and respect hierarchy. These virtues have created the elegant traits of the capital’s citizens.
Up until the late 70s, Hanoi’s Old Quarter was almost still the same as it had been for the then latest century and was the subject of many talented artists. Among them was artist Bui Xuan Phai with his “Streets of Phai” paintings, the popularity of which had spread to other countries.
At that time, trams ran from Cho Mo to the Hoan Kiem Lake area, through Hang Dao, Hang Ngang, Hang Duong, Dong Xuan Market, Quan Thanh, Thuy Khue, to Buoi. People from the suburbs or center areas mostly took the tram to go to the Old Quarter. The old Hanoi was a quite city, not as crowded and bustling as of today. Traffic in the city was also sparse. People mostly used bicycles, took a bus or, as mentioned above, a tram. What is more interesting than sitting on a wooden bench on the tram, hearing all those tinkling sounds every time the tram passed by a cross street or a crowded group of people while seeing the streets through the window?
As the country started its reforming process, Hanoi underwent a makeover and has then been urbanized rapidly. Antique houses were demolished for the establishment of modern high-rise buildings. The architectural features of Hanoi have constantly been changing. Many new streets and urban areas have been built. The city now has boulevards of tens of meters wide, lighted up in the night by high-voltage street lamps. The Old Quarter has also changed with its four or five-storey apartments and unique eight or nine-storey motels with narrow facades of less than 4 meters rising on the sides of the main streets as well as narrow alleys.
The goods are also severely diverse nowadays, many of them manufactured in China. Boutiques on the old “Hang” streets no longer sell only the types of goods suggested by the street names. Today’s merchants in the Old Quarter, due to the development of trade and quality of life as well as the growth of demand for goods, have moved to selling additional or other types of goods completely unrelated to the original commodities by which the streets themselves were known for. This shows the historical changes as well as the changes in people’s taste as the society advances.
A store selling bamboo blinds on Hang Manh Street
The Old Quarter is now bustling with people from all works of life. Although crowded in cramped technical infrastructure, only a few people in the Old Quarter want to leave the place as the way of life has deeply been entrenched in their mind and became culture itself. It is perhaps needless to note that no other place in the city is as favorable for money making as the Old Quarter.
The soul of Thang Long – Hanoi, the Old Quarter was, as early as the early 90s, recognized by the State as a heritage to be protected and preserved, but the conservation work encountered many problems due to various reasons. In recent years, Hanoi has implemented a policy of reducing the population of the Old Quarter for better conservation and improvement of people’s lives. This is the right and necessary policy, consistent with the development of the capital city and the society as a whole.
Thai Tue