Exploring many interesting things in the Binh Tay market

Binh Tay market is located in the largest Chinatown area in Ho Chi Minh city. Besides being known as the oldest and largest wholesale market in the city, Binh Tay Market is also a destination attracting domestic and foreign tourists. The article below is to explain some of the reasons why the Binh Tay market attracts so many tourists.

About Binh Tay market

Binh Tay market is a familiar wholesale market for the people living in Southern Vietnam. This is one of the famous and largest markets in Ho Chi Minh city. Every year, the Binh Tay market attracts more than 100,000 tourists to visit and have a shopping experience.

Binh Tay market - a hundred-year-old market in Ho Chi Minh city

Binh Tay Market, also known by locals as Cho Lon, is a famous market with a standard ancient architecture of Southern Vietnam style. The variety of goods is also a leading reason why the market is so popular and attracts many people. This is also the main trading place between Ho Chi Minh city and Mekong Delta provinces and also some neighboring countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, etc.

Binh Tay is a market with a large area, although not located in the city center, the market has 4 facades, which makes the trading process in the market become more convenient. Cho Lon Chinatown market and the area around it are always in a busy state from early morning until late at night. 

About Binh Tay market’s opening hours, it opens from 3 am to 10 pm every day, in which early morning and late evening are the times when small traders come to pick and arrange the transportation of goods.

The exact address of the Binh Tay market is 57A Thap Muoi street, Ward 2, District 6, Ho Chi Minh city.

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The architecture of Cho Lon Chinatown market

The classical and delicate architecture is one of the reasons that the Binh Tay market attracts many tourists. In general, the Cho Lon Chinatown market was built according to the French technique, but the building’s detail was in the style of Chinese tile roofing. This combination has made the architecture of this nearly hundred-year-old market still impressive and attracts many people to visit. 

Binh Tay Market has 4 facades and the clock tower of it also has a total of 4 faces on the top exterior walls. This tower was built higher than the other parts of the market, so it looks very prominent, and passersby can see and track the time through the clock tower of Binh Tay Market at a certain distance.

Binh Tay Market has a total of 13 gates, of which 1 gate opposite the Cho Lon bus station is considered the main gate of the market, the remaining 12 gates are the side gates. Inside the market, there is a large yard being surrounded by rows of buildings, the atmosphere in this yard is still very fresh, despite having no tree in the area. This yard is not the place for trading activities, but it is only arranged with benches for visitors to rest. 

The center and also the highlight of this yard is the area to worship merchant Quach Dam, who made great contributions in the process of building the Cho Lon Chinatown market. This shrine is made entirely of marble and the above details are very carefully carved. Around the merchant Quach Dam statue are 3 small lakes raising several different species of ornamental fish,  making many visitors enjoy watching and photographing during a few minutes resting here.

The products that Binh Tay market provides

As a market with the age of nearly 100 years, Binh Tay Market is the largest wholesale market in Ho Chi Minh City with a variety of products. Currently, Binh Tay Market has nearly 2,500 stalls selling a variety of items. All items in the Binh Tay market are divided into 5 areas including clothing and shoe area, dry food area, food court, plastic area, and home appliances area. Because the stalls are divided into the separate areas mentioned above, it is very easy for visitors to shop in the Binh Tay market. Visitors will easily find the area selling the items they are looking for, although there are thousands of big and small stalls. 

Besides, on Binh Tay market's official website, www.chobinhtay.gov.vn, there is also information about the owners of the stalls and the items they sell. So, if you want to search for certain products, you should consult the information on the website first for more convenience.

Must-have experiences when coming to Binh Tay market

Visiting the market is interesting at any time

Binh Tay market opens at 3 am every day, so you can almost visit the market at any time of the day. If you come to Cho Lon Chinatown market during the daytime, you will experience shopping in a bustling atmosphere. Coming to the Binh Tay market at night or in the early morning will give you a completely different feeling. Binh Tay market after 7 pm is still very bustling, the food stalls appearing around the market are even more crowded than during the daytime. 

Because the weather in Ho Chi Minh City in the evening will be cooler, many tourists choose to visit Binh Tay market at the time after 7 pm. Lanterns are the most popular decoration in the Binh Tay market. In the evening, those lanterns will also be turned on, making the atmosphere inside the market both bustling but still very warm and sparkling.

If you want to enjoy the bustling atmosphere of goods transported at the market, do not forget to visit Binh Tay Market in the early morning. This is the time when small traders come to the market to pick up and arrange goods transportation. In addition to picking up and transporting goods, small merchants must also have a few minutes of bargaining to get a good price. Because of it, the atmosphere in the Cho Lon Chinatown market is always bustling right from the early morning. 

From such experiences, it can be said that coming to Binh Tay market, visitors not only experience shopping but also understand the culture and lifestyle of the people here.

Affordable shopping experience

Binh Tay market offers a variety of items with many different types and designs, but in general, the items in the market are affordable. If local people come here often to buy the necessary ingredients for daily meals, foreign tourists often are attracted by the home appliances area to find some interesting-designed items for daily activities. Besides, this is an ideal place for tourists to choose to buy souvenirs for relatives and friends.  

Experience the culinary paradise inside Cho Lon Chinatown market

In the Binh Tay market, you will have the opportunity to enjoy a variety of Southern Vietnamese special dishes. In which, soup dishes such as vermicelli, pho, porridge, and noodles attract many tourists and are always in a crowded state.

Fruit stalls are a must-visit area when coming to Binh Tay market. This area offers the special and famous fruits of the Southern region such as Hoa Loc mango and Nam Roi pomelo. Near the fruit stall area, there are also stalls selling dishes made from fruits such as mixed fruit bowls, smoothies, and yogurt.

In addition to the special dishes and fruits mentioned above, Ho Chi Minh city’s famous street foods such as mixed rice paper, stir-fried corn, and banh mi can also be found in the food court of Binh Tay market.

Destinations near Binh Tay market that should be combined in the trip

Cho Lon Chinatown market is not located in the city center, but it is close to many other famous entertainment places of Ho Chi Minh City, of which the most prominent are Dam Sen Park and District 5’s Chinatown.

Dam Sen Park - District 11

After a time of shopping experience in the Binh Tay market, Dam Sen Park is probably the perfect place for you. Dam Sen Park is located in District 11, about 10 minutes from Binh Tay market by taxi. There are many types of entrance tickets for Dam Sen park, in which only the cheapest type is 100,000VND / adult, you can visit the whole park and check-in at the most beautiful locations here. For families with young children and want to play many games here, you can refer to other types of tickets.

Chinatown on Tran Hung Dao street, District 5

Besides Dam Sen Park, China town located on Tran Hung Dao Street, District 5 is also a destination you should combine in your trip to Binh Tay market. About 10 minutes by taxi from the Cho Lon Chinatown market, coming to this area is an opportunity for you to experience the real Chinese spaces. 

This is definitely the ideal destination for travelers who love and are eager to learn about Chinese culture. This is Chinatown, most of the people living here are Chinese, so the shops in this area also revolve around famous Chinese dishes such as dumplings, stinky tofu, wonton, etc.

Binh Tay Market is not only a wholesale market, an important place of trading activities but also a famous tourist destination for domestic and foreign tourists in Ho Chi Minh city. Coming to Binh Tay market, besides experiencing shopping at the largest and most famous market in Ho Chi Minh city, this is also an opportunity for visitors to somehow understand the culture and lifestyle of the people living in Southern Vietnam in particular and Vietnamese in general.