Shopping

Dong Xuan Market

Dong Xuan is the covered market at the north end of the lanes, on Dong Xuan street, with its management office at 1A Cau Dong. It runs over three floors: clothes and accessories on the ground floor, bolts of cloth, and a dry-goods section called Bac Qua. Come for the wholesale bustle more than for souvenirs.

The hall opens early in the morning and stays open late on Friday to Sunday. Stall hours shift around holidays and repairs, so confirm the hall is open before you make it the morning’s goal.

Dong Xuan Market Bolts of cloth and three floors of wholesale stalls in the covered hall at the north end.

The guild streets

Hang Bac is the silver street, lined with gold-and-silver shopfronts. Hang Gai sells silk. Hang Ma sells festival goods, its shopfronts hung with decorations and, at the turn of the year, stacked with Christmas and New Year stock. Lan Ong is the herb street.

Walk them as one loop from the lake and let the shopfronts decide where you stop.

Hang Bac The silver street: jewellers’ windows and engraving shops under the old trade name. Hang Ma The festival-goods street, its shops stacked with decorations for the season.

Weekend nights on Hang Dao

On weekend nights Hang Dao, the street that runs north from the lake, fills with food stalls. Eat your way up it, then cut across to Ta Hien for a beer.