Doi Cung Street: Very old and very young!

(Baonghean) - Doi Cung Street is not a new addition to Vinh City's urban development; on the contrary, it has become a familiar part of the city dwellers' lives for generations. Spatial and temporal dimensions have stretched across countless years, yet the street continues to enthusiastically stir with the rhythm of new life each day…

Doi Cung Street.

Doi Cung Street runs through Cua Huu - Vinh Ancient Citadel, extending past the bustling Doi Cung market. The street is familiar to the city's residents, its ancient walls and moats once so majestic, always drawing people closer to this historical and cultural landmark. The rhythm of time seems to have altered the ancient space, but its echoes still linger here and there, in the gentle spring rain, amidst the golden sunlight tinging the mossy walls and old tiles, or even in the biting cold of this central Vietnamese city. That timeless, yet not outdated, quiet yet not gloomy charm still resonates in the hearts of the city's inhabitants.

I guess that almost everyone, whether a resident of Vinh City or just a traveler visiting this red city on the Lam River, has visited this "small street and alley" at least once. Doi Cung Street, with its remaining Cua Huu - Ancient Citadel relic, has been prominently featured in many local guides for tourism and historical sightseeing. Because of this, the old street, in the memory of its residents, is constantly "refreshed" each day, absorbing the vibrant energy and bustling activity of countless visitors from all over.

Also located within the hexagonal area of ​​the Vinh Citadel complex, Doi Cung Street is a small, short road, less than a kilometer long, bordered by Pham Ngu Lao Street at one end and Dao Tan Street at the other. That less than a kilometer holds the daily joys and sorrows that make up the simple yet captivating atmosphere of the street. Just stepping past the moss-covered Cua Huu Gate, you immediately encounter the bustling Doi Cung poultry market – two contrasting emotional extremes clashing, seemingly incompatible, yet for years they have calmly stood side-by-side. Ultimately, after much debate about the appearance of the ancient architecture, someone has reluctantly remarked, "That's life!" It is precisely these seemingly impossible things that coexist, creating a rollercoaster of human emotions.

Let's forget about that impossibility and be optimistic, focusing on the new joys of the marketplace. The market is bustling from dawn till dusk; in the past, women toiled, carrying baskets and transporting chickens and ducks in bamboo traps, walking from Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen... all the way to the city. Now, the same hard work remains, but the means of transportation have been upgraded to bicycles and motorbikes, and the poultry at the market is said to have dwindled considerably, mostly consisting of industrially raised chickens. The taste of the countryside amidst the city is rare and hard to find; perhaps, if you're a resident of this town and a long-time customer, you might still have the chance to treat your family to a hearty, flavorful meal of free-range chicken.

It could be said that the market has become the soul of this street. And to this day, it's difficult to count how many people living on this street have chosen the profession of small-scale trading to make a living. The street and the market, the market within the street and the people living there, have blended together, intimately connected, creating a street rich in emotion. There are joys and sorrows, weariness and struggle, times of prosperity and times of failure… but ultimately, all of these things will pass, and the street stands as a silent witness, allowing each person to reflect on their own fate. I have an acquaintance who has moved three times due to life's upheavals, but each move has revolved around this street. First, their house faced the market, then it moved further into an alley, and then they tinkered with a tiled roof, adding a window overlooking a corner of the market and setting up a small general store there. Life revolves like that, and eventually, the small general store, suffocating with the smell of cooking oil, fish sauce, and MSG… has become a vital means of livelihood for their family.

Being connected to Doi Cung Street, immersing myself in its rhythm of life, made me love this street even more, despite all the dirt, hustle, and bustle. Love is a strange emotion in this world. Who would have thought it was possible to fall in love with a street? My friend seems to be the only one. He loved it passionately, not just for fun. He loved it so much that he sold his Spacy motorbike – a valuable asset in the 2000s – to buy a film camera that dangled around his neck, and traveled all the way to Ho Chi Minh City to study photography. Whether he became successful or not is unknown, but for several years afterward, he struggled to raise capital to open a small alleyway cafe, nurturing his passion for photography, and his lifelong dream of holding an exhibition of photographs of the small markets of Nghe An province. In exchange for his old Spacy motorbike, he acquired nearly a thousand film negatives of markets, chickens, ducks, water spinach, sweet potato leaves…

He said, honestly, he loved this little street because of its unique atmosphere—both ancient and vibrant, quiet and bustling. He showed me a freshly developed photograph, taken from above, depicting Doi Cung Street as a multicolored ribbon, bordered by the distinctive shapes of women's conical hats and the busy cars speeding along in all sorts of forms. Looking at the photo, it felt as if a thousand sounds echoed in my chest…

Ultimately, despite the beautiful and authentic photos, I still couldn't understand why my friend would invest so much love in a street. Moreover, he never lost faith that Doi Cung Street would become an attractive tourist route for visitors from near and far, a popular spot for exploring history and culture. He even shared with me that, in the future, when the Ancient Citadel Park Project is implemented, Doi Cung Street will become a highly sought-after inner-city route. At this point, regardless of whether I agree with the thinking of the residents of that particular street, their love and belief are nonetheless commendable…

Phuong Chi