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T
he house of Hoang Van Xuan
and his son is located deep in
a small alley on Hang Buom
street. The pair live in just five
square metres of space. An inherited
home, they have lived here for 12 years
and they plan to stay for the rest of
their lives.
The alley is tiny and only one
person can walk through it at a time.
There is no light, and the walkway
also acts as a storage space. Being a
xe om (motorbike taxi driver), Xuan
is not able to buy any other house
in Hanoi.
The Old Quarter in Hoan Kiem dis-
trict has been the heart of trade in the
city for nearly 1,000 years. The street
names stand for the goods that were
once produced and sold there and some
still continue such trades today, for ex-
ample on silk street and iron street.
The area is very much alive: crafts-
men work or sell on the street, street
food is made and sold everywhere, and
shop displays spill onto pavements.
Furthermore, the area has a very
rich architectural heritage with a large
number of historic buildings such as
communal houses, temples and pa-
godas. The architecture of the neigh-
bourhood is known for three styles:
traditional Vietnamese/Chinese, French
colonial, and art-deco.
Nowadays the Old Quarter is seeing
an increasing number of tourists and
associated cafés, restaurants, souvenir
shops and small hotels. Due to the high
population density, however, as well as
the deterioration of the old houses, many
people are living in very poor conditions.
Behind the sparkling shop fronts
many slum houses still exist, where a
number of generations live in cramped
conditions.
In Hanoi’s Old Quarter hundreds of families live in tiny houses in small alleys.
The Hanoi People’s Committee plans to relocate 30 per cent of residents, to re-
lieve pressure on the city centre and improve living standards. This is proving,
however, to be no easy task.
Bich Ngoc
reports.
Bursting point
LIVING
SOCIETY