Medicine, Fabric and Old Trades
Traditional medicine and the surviving guild crafts
This is the Old Quarter that tourists often miss, and locals still use every day. Lan Ong and Thuoc Bac smell of dried herbs and roots from the traditional medicine trade, named after the great physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong. Around them, a working museum of guild streets survives: tin, copper, fabric, hats, bamboo and rattan, each still selling what its name promises. It is the least crowded cluster and the most rewarding for anyone who loves how things are made.
Streets in this quarter
Lãn Ông
Traditional medicine. Shops of roots, herbs and remedies named after the master physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong.
Thuốc Bắc
Chinese medicine wholesale. The wholesale medicine street, fragrant with dried herbs stacked to the ceiling.
Hàng Vải
Fabric. Fabric traders serving tailors and garment makers across the city.
Hàng Thiếc
Tin ware. Tinsmiths hammering pots, trays and kitchen ware from sheet metal.
Hàng Đồng
Copper and bronze ware. Copper and bronze sellers, from incense burners to kitchen pots.
Hàng Điếu
Tobacco pipes. The pipe sellers' street, once supplying every kind of tobacco pipe and accessory.
Hàng Cót
Woven bamboo screens. Bamboo weavers whose street now mixes craft shops with fashion and food.
Hàng Gà
Poultry trading. The old poultry street, today a local shopping and food street.
Hàng Tre
Bamboo craft. Bamboo and rattan craft sellers keeping a light, patient trade alive.
Hàng Thùng
Lacquered bamboo buckets. Once makers of lacquered bamboo buckets, now mixed local trade.
Hàng Bát
Bowls and dishes. The bowl and dish street, today also groceries and household goods.
Hàng Nón
Hats and conical hats. Hat sellers of every shape, from conical palm hats to modern caps.
Hàng Mây
Rattan craft. Rattan weavers and sellers of baskets, lamps and furniture.
Hàng Than
Charcoal, now green rice cakes. The charcoal street that became known for banh com green rice cakes.