Pham Kinh Vi Street: "Student Street"

(Baonghean) - It's a zigzag street, bustling with people everywhere you go. Young people, dressed quite fashionably, squat in snack stalls, walk slowly and indifferently, ride bicycles smoothly, and laugh and talk as if nothing in the world is worth worrying about. The street seems to have "caught" that youthful innocence, and is now taking on noticeable changes...

Pham Kinh Vi Street is located behind Vinh University – a school with thousands of students, most of whom live far from home. This prime location has transformed this small, winding, and hidden street into a bustling commercial hub, rivaling even the more prominent streets like Dang Thai Than, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, and Le Hong Phong… People call Pham Kinh Vi Street the “student street.” Surely, this term is a borrowed designation from other distinctive streets in Hanoi and Saigon? I've often argued fiercely with my friends, in dimly lit tea stalls with mismatched colors, about why we have to call it a “street,” why we have to conform to others, why not be ourselves? My friends offered very roundabout explanations, and after each confrontation, neither of us could remember all the points we had raised. Ultimately, a street remains just a street... not grand and bustling with towering skyscrapers reaching to the horizon, nor ostentatious with high-end shops, but simply vibrant with rows of cheap boarding houses and shops selling hundreds of different items catering to students...

Pham Kinh Vi Street.

Surprisingly, in the city, even with cheap prices, the service feels upscale! Take photocopying, for example. In our city, there are countless shops, and they all sound pretty much the same in appearance and quality. But on Pham Kinh Vi Street, the photocopying service feels very secure and enjoyable. You can sit for hours in the shop with an old book and a glass of iced tea in hand, while the owner struggles with a huge pile of documents and requests for portrait or landscape orientation, large or small. Imagine, the street outside is full of noise, and you just sit there, calmly tapping your foot in a space surrounded only by the gentle whirring of the photocopier. When you finally finish the last few lines, stretch, and turn around, you realize your documents are already done, but the owner still doesn't dare tap you on the shoulder to pay or send you away (even though you've already spent quite a bit of time looking at the clock). That's where the "premium" service lies: for just a few thousand or tens of thousands of VND, you get your own private space of peace and respect.

From a city dweller's perspective, Pham Kinh Vi Street is actually just a small alley. It's only about 4-5 meters wide, and its length is a winding curve, one end touching Bach Lieu Street, the other a sharp bend leading to Phong Dinh Cang Street. I particularly love the mornings on Pham Kinh Vi Street; then, before the hustle and bustle of the new day arrives, and even though the street is sparsely shaded by trees, you can still feel the spaciousness of the pure air gently caressing your head. This "small alley" connecting Pham Kinh Vi to the main Phong Dinh Cang Street creates a visual impression of suddenly being thrown into a magnificent view, like watching a folk song and dance program on a cheap box TV and then suddenly switching to an action movie on a super-large LED TV. I'm so captivated by that little street!

More precisely, I'm fascinated by the chaotic, youthful energy that Pham Kinh Vi Street offers, similar to countless other student streets in our country. Just like Tran Phu Street in Hue, Le Van Viet Street (District 9) in Ho Chi Minh City… meaning if you were once a student and you fondly remember that student street in your mind, you can return to Pham Kinh Vi Street to relive that feeling. It's a feeling that, if you had to strain to visualize it, only a film camera – with its contrasts of light and shadow, its silhouettes, its sharp lines… – could truly capture. We must use something truly soulful to capture space, time, and moments, to cut through the noisy reality, so that later, looking back, we see in that picture images of vehicles, people embracing, humble eateries, wisps of smoke rising from cooking fires... and feel as if we can smell the aroma of freshly baked goods, hear the boisterous laughter, the honking of motorbikes... - these visual and auditory images encapsulate the poetic and naive world of your imagination!

I also believe that nothing is immutable! Time can change everything. Ten years from now, Pham Kinh Vi street might have transformed from a bumpy, potholed road into a wide, paved one, with more or fewer shops and restaurants, and the familiar brickwork of the shops might be more worn and faded… It doesn't matter, for someone who loves the street like me, it will still be as beautiful as first love, always favored and filtered through a screen of affectionate sight!

Phuoc Anh