Tiny shops cling to Hanoi of old - and prosper

March 03, 2015 - 10:33 AM

Hanoi's Old Quarter is a popular draw for tourists and locals alike, mostly curious about the many tiny shops, some only a few square metres, that squeeze out on to the streets.

Hanoi's Old Quarter, with its mix of centuries of architecture and families that have lived there for generations, is a popular draw for tourists and locals alike, mostly curious about the many tiny shops, some only a few square metres, that squeeze out on to the streets.

A small shop in Hanoi Old Quarter

Rents in this part of Hanoi are high -- three square metres can cost VND5-8m (USD238-380.9) month -- but the tenacity and creativity of the precinct's shopkeepers generate good incomes.

The Old Quarter is rarely quiet, or still, but it cannot escape time. Redevelopment is already underway, with tens of thousands of families being relocated as old buildings are torn down to make way for new office and apartment blocks.

Near Hoan Kiem Lake, the Old Quarter retains much of the original street layout and architecture of 19th century Hanoi, when the city consisted of some 36 streets. Each street was dedicated to particular merchants, and households specialised in trades such as silk traders, jewellery, and metalwork.

The Old Quarter now is confined to 10 administrative wards of Hoan Kiem District, covering a total area of 81 hectares, its high population proving too much for existing infrastructure.

Hanoi wants to reduce density to 500 people/ha by 2020, from 823 people/ha in 2010. Its plans will require the relocation by 2020 or up to 6,550 households, or 26,200 people, in a two-phase programme -- 1,530 households are to go to the Viet Hung Urban Area in Long Bien District from March until the fourth quarter of 2017, with the second phase running from 2018 to 2020.

Critics fear the plan will rob Hanoi of a unique cultural asset and major attraction for visitors -- that the days of the tiny shopkeepers may be numbered -- but many believe they will survive such new challenges, as they have in the past.