Hanoi Old Quarter near Hoan Kiem Lake a Heavy traffic of scooters push bikes and mopeds Vietnam
The history of Hanoi s Old Quarter traffic spans 2000 years It lies between the Returned Sword Lake to the South and the Long Bien Bridge to the North The former city rampart now called Tran Nhat Duat Street marks its East border and the citadel wall on Ly Nam De Street its West A majority of the street names here start with Hang which means merchandise or shop The guild streets were named for their product or location For example skilled silversmiths from Hai Hung province now occupy Hang Bac Street one of the most ancient streets in all Vietnam Each guild had its own patron saint to which many local temples are dedicated Hang Bong Street has five such temples Because inhabitants of each street came from the same village and performed the same craft streets developed a homogeneous look Commoners homes evolved out of market stalls before streets ever came into existence Because shops were taxed by the width of frontage on the market storage and living space moved to the rear They developed into the long and narrow houses called tube houses Although the area is often called the 36 old streets there may have actually been more Some believe that the number 36 came from the Fifteenth century when there might have been 36 guilds Others attribute the name 36 to a more abstract concept The number 9 in Asia represents plenty Nine times 4 the four directions would make 36 which means simply many
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Photo credit: © Serge Kozak / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: adventure, ants, asia, block, busy, city, contrast, holiday, location, people, roof, shadow, shops, sign, small, street, tops, tourism, tourists, trafic, travel, vietnam, world
