I have often wandered around Han Market marvelling at the wonderful produce on display and thinking about my  father.  He was a greengrocer all his life in England, and the shiny fruit and colourful fresh vegetables always remind me of the small shop he used to have.  As a child  it seemed, to me, a very exciting and magical place – as does Han Market today. 

Officially opened in the 1940s, the market holds a very important position in the history of the city.  In the old days it was only a modest trading venue for small businessmen, but the convenient location has enabled it to develop into a big trading centre.  In 1989, the market was fully renovated and nowadays there is a spacious, bustling, and exciting atmosphere.  Interestingly, local inhabitants used to regard the market as a “rich market” because it was extremely popular among the more well-off classes of the society.  Today that term is absolutely out of place as everyone, including me, enjoys shopping there.

Han Market in the 1950s

I have bought my vegetables from the same lady here for more than 6 years.  She doesn’t speak a word of English and my Vietnamese is very limited but between us we have managed, even when the vegetables I wanted weren’t on display.  It’s amazing how you can describe something using only hand gestures and colours – although beetroot proved a little difficult!  I’ve always wished that I could have a conversation with this lady and ask about her life.  I had the opportunity recently when my Vietnamese friend from Da Nang Today newspaper came with me to interview her.

Some of the produce on Thoi’s stall (she was too shy to be photographed!)

Thoi is 62 years old, married with 4 children, and has been selling vegetables in Han Market for an incredible 50 years.  It’s difficult to imagine a 12-year-old girl having to work every day but that’s what she had to do.  Her mother died when Thoi was 12, leaving her father, an off-shore fisherman, with 5 children to support and take care of.  They had to help each other and every day Thoi would go to Han Market, which at this time was just a metal roof supported by pillars, and walk round all day selling vegetables from a bamboo basket.

After Liberation Day in 1975, the market’s Management Board registered Thoi as a seller.  She was given her own stall and has been there ever since.  She buys her produce from Hoa Cuong Nam wholesale market and starts work at 6am.  The only exception to this is in the lead up to Tet, when she gets up at 2am in order to beat the rush and choose the very best produce. 

Most of her customers are regulars, and include many foreigners like me who now live in Da Nang.  I asked Thoi if she enjoyed her job.  “Very much!” was her emphatic reply.  What she enjoys most is when her stall is surrounded by happy customers, and the market is crowded and bustling.  She sells the whole range of vegetables, although the most popular and best-selling item is carrots!  Anything that doesn’t sell is given to a local pagoda (nice).  Her long working day ends at 7.30pm when, because she can’t ride a motorbike, a member of her family comes to the market to collect her and take her to her home in Hoa Cuong Nam Ward.

I asked Thoi “When do you take holiday?”.  She simply shook her head.  Except for 2 days at Tet she works 7 days a week, all year.  For most Vietnamese people this is normal life, whereas for most of us westerners it’s unthinkable!  Thoi has no plans to retire, and will work as long as she is healthy.  She has no dreams for her own life, and just hopes that all her children will be successful.  I hope so too Thoi, and I wish you a happy and profitable year – with an abundance of carrot sales!  

(Written by Carole Kendal)