The boom of high-rise buildings and construction projects in the capital city is ridding it of its remaining basil fields.
Basil, grown in Lang Village, Lang Thuong Ward, Dong Da District, is referred to as Hung Lang (Lang basil).
Hung Lang is a popular image of many folk songs and idioms about the flavours of Hanoi. Unfortunately, it seems that the basil may soon disappear and will only be known through stories that older Hanoians tell their children.
Recently, after the news about a VND500-million (USD25,000) compensation per square metre of land, many Hanoians have given up Hung Lang fields for the construction of high-rise buildings.
A land plot of Hung Lang near the Foreign Trade University will be used for other purposes and the field beside it is also planned for building a preschool. This has made many local gourmets worried about the fate of Hung Lang.
Growing vegetables in the inner city brings much lower economic efficiency than real estate projects. However, without efforts to preserve cultural values, perhaps Hung Lang will become a forgotten part of traditional Hanoi.
Lang Village is located in Lang Thuong Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi. In the past, it was in Yen Lang Commune near Bao Khanh Gate, Thang Long Citadel. Hung Lang has small leaves and round trunks and grow basil in clusters. The aroma of Hung Lang is not as pungent as other kinds of basil.
Hung Lang is familiar to Hanoians
...from daily meals to parties
Hung Lang fields are being lost to development
Construction booms become doom to basil fields
Hung Lang fields near the Foreign Trade University are now mostly replaced by buildings
Only four households grow Hung Lang on the land plot near Lang Pagoda
Most of them are elderly people who grow Hung Lang as an effort to preserve this kind of traditional herb
Mrs. Tat is among those preserving the tradition
A bundle of Hung Lang is priced at about VND1,000 (USD0.05), more expensive than other kinds of basil, but it is attractive to consumers.
Hung Lang needs no fertiliser to grow
Fields of Mrs. Tat, Xoi and Dinh are still kept because they are on land of Lang Pagoda. However, the fields are facing disputes about changing their purpose.
Hung Lang growers feel sorrow that the fields are disappearing.