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I
n stark contrast to the crammed shop
fronts on Hanoi’s chaotic Hoang Hoa
Tham street, Alley 456 is a calm,
measured place. Here, every Satur-
day, visitors are greeted by an old plate
which reads
‘cho phien’
in Vietnamese
calligraphy.
Cho phien
are traditional
markets which assemble periodically,
especially in mountainous regions.
However, the market down Alley 456
opens once a week on Saturdays and it
is somehow different to all the others.
According to Kieu Quoc Khanh, the
market’s founder, the fair has been es-
tablished for just four months, but al-
ready many have registered for stalls. In
fact, they have had to limit the number
of sellers to 32 due to the limited space.
“Each item, from the age of ten
to a hundred years of age has its own
history,” says Khanh. “It is not hard to
find antiques - you can buy them on the
internet, or find a dealer. In Ho Chi Minh
City there is even a street - Le Cong Kieu -
for such the special items. However, this
fair is different. I came up with the idea
with the hope of bringing the old spirit
back to modern life. People who come
here may not know anything about an-
tiques, but when they care about some
specific item, they can learn about its
history and its cultural value.”
The stalls are set up simply – just
a table and a piece of cloth is all that
is needed. By 9am there are throngs of
shoppers. Items include old currency;
household things, such as oil lamps
and candle sticks; gramophones; cop-
per trays; and even military outfits and
paraphernalia.
On my recent visit, I saw a woman
trying to bargain for a copper tray
which was very beautiful, with many
carved patterns on it. The initial ask-
ing price was VND2 million, but after
nearly 30 minutes of bargaining, it
was sold at VND1.8 million. The seller,
43 year old Nguyen Dai Thang, said:
“She could not leave without the tray;
I knew she had fallen for it, so I did
not decrease the price much.” This was
a conventional sale, but sometimes a
transaction is made in the form of an
auction or an exchange.
Thang sells all sorts, including
glasses, statues, urns, ceramics, iron
cigarette boxes and even swords. His
most valuable item is a very small cop-
per statue of maitreya (the laughing
Buddha), which is believed to bring
to the past
A new Hanoi market is providing a place for an-
tique lovers old and new to meet, trade and share
their love of ancient Vietnamese artefacts, writes
Hong Nhung
A BRIDGE
LIFESTYLE