If you are planning to travel to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), you must visit its Chinatown to appreciate and understand the beauty of Vietnamese-Chinese culture in the heart of the city. After hundreds of years, Saigon Chinatown is still a place to preserve the cultural charm of architecture, cuisine, beliefs,... of the Chinese people in Vietnam.
The phrase Chinatown has appeared in several countries around the world such as the US, France, Singapore, and Thailand to refer to a collective area where Chinese people live. Because the Chinese have a very high spirit of solidarity, they often gather and create Chinatowns abroad as a haven for Chinese immigrants to do business, trade, connect, worship, or catch up on the news from their motherland.
Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) was also inhabited by Chinese people (mainly Chaozhou and Fujian people); they also built a Chinatown in what is now District 5, Ho Chi Minh City and it is called Ho Chi Minh City Chinatown or Saigon Chinatown. This area remains the home to around 60% of Chinese residents and a captivating tourist spot of HCMC.
Upon visiting this place, visitors will cherish Chinese architectural works such as assembly halls, pagodas, etc. In front of every house, people often hang red Chinese lanterns. As for businesses, they all have shop signs written in Vietnamese and Chinese. There are also many interesting places that tourists should visit on the journey to explore Saigon.
Unlike Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, which represents traditional Vietnamese architecture, Thien Hau Pagoda has unique Chinese features. The pagoda was built in 1760, and despite the many years that have passed, it still keeps its timeless beauty. This temple is famous for its sacredness and is crowded with visitors wishing to pray for love, peace, and fortune.
This is a unique construction in China Town Saigon that visitors should not miss. Ha Chuong Assembly Hall is also known as Chuong Chau Assembly Hall or Ong Huoc Pagoda, Ba Ha Chuong Pagoda. This building has Chinese temple-style architecture with elaborate wood, stone, and tile sculpture motifs.
This place is considered a prosperous place with luxury shops that have an image of Hong Kong similar to the nearby Hao Si Phuong Alley. On major holidays such as Lunar New Year, First Full Moon Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival,..., people will hang colorful lanterns on both sides of the street, making the space more jubilant and magical.
Tam Son Assembly Hall was built in 1839 by the Fujian community under the reign of King Minh Mang. The pagoda has a vibrant red tone but remains simple and rustic, bringing a feeling of peace and relaxation to visitors. The pagoda is also a place of prayer for many infertile couples who hope to have children soon.
When coming to Saigon Chinatown, you cannot miss the cuisine here. Let's see what's on the menu.
This is a famous chicken rice restaurant in District 5, where many Chinese come to eat. The restaurant's chicken rice dish is made from chickens whose meat is chewy and the skin is crispy. Other dishes here such as pha lau rice, char siu rice, and silkie soup with the five fruits,... are also very delicious.
Chinese sweet soup has ingredients and flavors that are very different from those of the Vietnamese. Types of sweet soup you must try at Ha Ky shop include chicken egg sweet soup, ching bo leung, Guilinggao,... These Saigon snacks are all mildly sweet, cool, and good for health.
This delicious restaurant in Saigon Chinatown has been around for a long time and is famous for its traditional way of heating hot pots with charcoal. The restaurant's hot pot is extremely high quality, filled with shrimp, fish, fish balls, squid, etc. The hot pot broth is rich and goes well with vermicelli or yellow noodles.
If you choose to have dinner, in addition to hot pot, you can also enjoy typical Chinese dishes such as Duong Chau fried rice, shiitake mushrooms stuffed with shrimp, fried onions with shrimp,...
This cute little breakfast dish of Dimsum is no stranger to Chinese foodies. Visitors can visit Baoz Dimsum Restaurant to enjoy delicious dishes such as black vinegar wontons, Sichuan fish heads, glass dumplings, crab brick shumai, deep fried stuffing crab claw,...
Chinatown Ho Chi Minh City is not simply an attractive tourist destination but also a place for visitors to better understand the culture and history of Saigon and the harmony between Vietnamese and Chinese cultures.
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