Going to Vinh market today reminds me of the old market!

Vinh Market is being rebuilt to be more modern. Small traders and poor workers have to make a living in the temporary market but are still happy, because one day not far away they will be able to sit and trade properly in a modern civilized market. Two years ago, the temporary market burned down. After the temporary market burned down, I went to the market, looked through the corrugated iron fence, the market was under construction, two years had passed but there were still only a few rusty iron poles, a few concrete blocks with nothing to show that it was a construction site. On this occasion, on the days before Tet (January 6, 2008), I went to the market again to see the progress of the project. In the middle of the vast and quiet construction site, not a single vehicle, machine, or person was active, the project had only broken the rough foundation of the market and it seemed that construction had stopped! Leaving the construction site, I suddenly felt sad: It has been four years (since the main market was destroyed) and a large, modern Vinh market in people's minds is still a distant dream!

When will Vinh market - a symbol of the wealth and beauty of Vinh city - be revived?

... Vinh market used to be very busy. Vinh city was small at that time, with only two big roads, one from Cau Ram Church down to the present-day Nga Sau, one from around the current Ga Intersection to Vinh Market Intersection. There were only a few shops on the street. Indian textile shops (black Westerners), Chinese herbal medicine shops, Vietnamese Western medicine shops (the huge green-painted shop, number 10 Hong Thai, Vinh city...). The rest of the trade was almost concentrated in Vinh market. Goods were brought to the market by road (cars, trains) and by water. The train station at that time was in the Quang Trung high-rise area now. Every time the train from the South went out or the train from the North came in, groups of handcarts and three-wheeled vehicles filled with goods came to the market. On the main market days (3-8-13-18 every month), boats full of fruits: jackfruit, banana, orange, grapefruit... from Huong Son, Huong Khe, Vu Quang, Duc Tho (Ha Tinh) follow the Lam River, pass Ben Thuy wharf, upstream, gather at Cau Cua Tien wharf, and return to the market. Boats full of bamboo, reed, and bamboo from Anh Son, Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan also go down to Cua Tien wharf. Cua Tien river wharf is extremely busy. It is truly "Vinh market on the wharf, under the boat". Also on the main market days, ethnic people, wearing ethnic costumes, their feet wrapped in colorful leggings, walk or ride horses from the distant mountains (Quy Chau, Que Phong, Nghia Dan), bringing mountain specialties such as: cinnamon, honey, wood ear, dried bamboo shoots... to sell in front of the market. And, to serve the people who trade at the market, facing the riverbank, in front of the boat dock, there is the Annam Xine cinema, which is brightly lit every night... Vinh market in the past was very prosperous, colorful. During the war, the market was moved to another place. There were also people who advocated building a bigger market to replace Vinh market. But then, the market still developed and returned to the location chosen by their ancestors. For the elderly in Nghe An, every time they talk about the market, many beautiful memories of the old Vinh market come back in their nostalgia!

After many ups and downs, Vinh market now is much different from the past, both in terms of trading scale and market culture. But even though the market has changed a lot over time, the large and bustling Vinh market is still the economic and commercial center where cultural and social exchanges take place, not only in Nghe An but also in the whole North Central region. And not only in the past, but also in modern times, when talking about markets, in the whole country, in terms of scale, in the hearts of Vietnamese people, there are many people who do not know that in Hanoi there is Dong Xuan market, in Hue there is Dong Ba market, in Saigon there is Ben Thanh market, in the North Central region there is Vinh market. Nghe An people are really proud that their homeland has a large market of national scale. But then, every time I think about the shabby state of the market, the writer cannot help but wonder and ask himself: just in terms of economics, it is unclear how much money is collected each year, but certainly the revenue from Vinh Market accounts for a significant proportion of the city's budget, contributing significantly to the city's development. Dong Xuan Market - Hanoi burned down, Quy Nhon Market - Binh Dinh burned down, people quickly rebuilt it. Yet Vinh Market was demolished to be rebuilt to be more modern, but it has been four years!

Vinh City, the economic and social center of Nghe An, has been changing every day. Vinh City is being actively renovated to reach the goal of being recognized by the Government as a first-class city in 2010. Vinh Market symbolizes the richness of Vinh City. It will certainly be a prosperous, civilized, and modern market.

Hopefully, the authorities from the province to the city will quickly find the cause, overcome the delay, focus human and material resources, to quickly complete this economic and cultural project in the shortest time possible.

Thai Huu Thinh