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| Foreigners buy beverages at Tay Market |
In Hanoi, the famous Tay (Western) Market lasts three hours from 9 a.m. to noon every Saturday morning. It is located in an alley on To Ngoc Van Street in Tay Ho District. Sellers and buyers are mostly foreigners.
Tay Market opened in 2009 and imitates weekend marketplaces in Europe. It is aimed at providing ingredients suitable for European cuisine. This idea originated from Patrice Gautier, a Frenchman who called for participation from Vietnamese food companies. There are about 20 stands selling food and beverages as well as old and new souvenirs. All products have clear origins and price tags, offering advantages for foreigners who cannot speak Vietnamese and are not used to bargaining.
At this market, a group of Frenchwomen have established some charity stands to help orphans and disabled children in Hanoi, and many foreigners have contributed clothes.
“We like this market’s atmosphere, it looks like a small party,” some foreign shoppers told Tuoi Tre newspaper. “We can go shopping and share everything in life.”
Many Vietnamese people also like to shop at Tay Market and meet people from different countries such as France, Canada, the United Kingdom and Denmark there.
Restoring traditional pottery village
According to scientific research, the pottery village in Huong Canh Township, Binh Xuyen District, Vinh Phuc Province, was established about 300 years ago and reached its heyday at the end of the 19th century. Its main products were jars, pots and so on. However, in the 1990s, only a few households maintained these pottery traditions because market demands changed and Chinese pottery penetrated the Vietnamese market while this village’s products showed little improvement.
Determined to restore Huong Canh pottery, craftsman Nguyen Thanh went to other pottery villages in Bat Trang, Chu Dau and Phu Lang to learn how they did to develop their products. He realized that old designs were not suitable for current demands. To help pottery survive and develop, he felt they should improve these goods, combining traditional and modern designs to produce high-quality, beautiful products.
Besides seeking new models and markets, Thanh asked his two sons to study fine arts at university to support him in making new and attractive designs. Thanks to Thanh’s efforts, the authorities of Huong Canh joined hands with him and other five pottery households to train locals in 2008. Up to now, Huong Canh has recovered its pottery production with more than 20 households and hundreds of workers, reported Nong Thon Ngay Nay newspaper.
Mother of 166 children
From the very start, Tran Thi Thanh Huong was a pretty soldier. In 1972, her seriously injured comrade asked her to raise two children. Huong promised that despite many difficulties, she would educate them and help them become good people. Her fate has been attached to children ever since.
Huong’s comrades who were wounded soldiers or Agent Orange victims and were experiencing difficult lives asked her to help them bring up their children. Most of these children were also affected by Agent Orange. Some took back their children when their lives improved, but some could not.
Some suitors had to say goodbye to Huong, because she said the children were her top priority. Her youth quietly passed with her adopted children. At the age of 61, Huong now has a total of 166 children. She plants vegetables and raises pigs to support them. They try to help her everything they can, though sometimes they disturb her. For the children who do not suffer from mental afflictions, Huong is determined to support their studies in spite of her tight budget. To those retarded ones, she tries her best to help them do physical exercise and learn words.
Unluckily, Huong was informed that she has lung cancer. However, she is still optimistic. She says that she will not die, but rather will live on through these children, reported Tuoi Tre newspaper.
