From around the 15th day of the last lunar month, flower streets abound across Ha Noi, but Hang Luoc evokes singular emotions. Hang Luoc street dons a festive garb in the vivid pink of peach blossoms, the ripe gold of kumquats and the pure white of apricot blossoms – colours heralding the new spring.
The market mainly serves residents of the Old Quarter, those living in small houses and alleys, so the kumquat trees, peach branches and apricot pots are all petite and charming. “Small but exquisite” – that is the hallmark of products at the Hang Luoc flower market. Shoppers favour a peach branch with large blooms, sturdy buds, bright colour and elegant form.
Hang Luoc flower market never lacks pots of white apricot – the blossom woven into northern poetry and legend, symbolising purity and integrity.
Nguyen Thi Trang, a seller from Tan Linh commune at the foot of Ba Vi mountain, who brings white apricot pots grown by her family, explained that Hanoians display potted white apricot for both its shape and bloom. “I’m just a flower-growing farmer, but to chat with customers, I’ve had to learn the cultural stories. Selling at Hang Luoc can be pressured, with some elderly customers very particular. But it’s also joyful, as I learn more and strive to shape the trees more beautifully.”
Traditional culture enthusiasts visit Hang Luoc flower market for another special reason: to browse stalls selling antiques. For besides its role as a Tet flower market, Hang Luoc was once home to an annual antiques fair.
One might purchase a small Buddha statue for a spiritual corner or tea table. Or choose a mother-of-pearl inlaid tea tray, a century-old clock, a pair of floral vases, or clay teapots.
Connoisseurs are willing to spend millions, even tens of millions of VND or more on such antiques.
Stalls and wares are laid out right on the street, yet they attract antique collectors not only from Ha Noi but also from neighbouring provinces such as Bac Ninh, Hai Phong, Ninh Binh and beyond.
The Hang Luoc flower market is a “market of memories” partly thanks to these antique and vintage stalls.
Nguyen Ngoc Anh runs a vintage goods stall at the Hang Luoc–Hang Ma junction. He shared: “I learned to appraise antiques from my family. We’ve had a shop for generations. I took up the family trade in the 1990s. No year since have I missed this Hang Luoc antiques market – just one session a year.”
Ha Noi likely has the most antique and vintage shops in the country. Normally, the main clusters are along Nghi Tam street and the market in Van Phuc silk village. As Tet approaches, many of the shops gather on Hang Luoc. People come not just to buy and sell, but to meet like-minded souls. Traditional culture lovers benefit most.
Antiques and vintage items are not easily accessible otherwise. Here, one can freely admire, touch, haggle and savour the old Ha Noi flavour.
Not only a time-honoured traditional market, not merely a place for antiques, Hang Luoc is dubbed a “market of memories” because it lives on in the generational recollections of Hanoians.
At this premier ancient flower market in Ha Noi, it is easy to spot elderly folk and middle-aged gentlemen dressed smartly, strolling leisurely to admire flowers, trees and scenery.
Long-time Old Quarter resident Nguyen The Minh shared that he enjoys strolling the Hang Luoc flower market with friends and grandchildren as a way to recall old memories and pass them on to the next generations.
The century-old Hang Luoc Flower Market is the oldest flower market in Ha Noi. It opens only once a year, from the 23rd to the 30th of the last lunar month. Though held just once annually, it has bonded with generations of Hanoians.
