Floating market Phụng Hiệp

From wharf Ninh Kiều (Cần Thơ) down stream the Hậu rive about 30km to the South, there’s a floating market. There are thousands of boats and quays in all sizes of the Western region meet here to sell, to buy or to exchange their agricultural products. The market is about 1km long on the river and full of fruits, a cultural touch in the Mekong Delta.

The market in busy all day long and mostly in the morning. From the previous evening, boats from all corners, packed with fruits, vegetables: mangoes, longans, durian, banana, orange, coconut-fruits... were heading to the market before sunrise. With unroofed boats, it’s easy to show products, but for roofed ones, the seller needs to hold high a stick stuck with fruits for sales. Market goers move on in a smaller boats, everything looks busy, merry, funny and interesting but very attractive to visitors.

Normally, farm products and fruits on bigger boats are sold to large boats in the middle of the river, then brought to factories, processed for import-export or carried on to Hồ Chí Minh city, Vũng Tàu, even to Hà Nội and further...

It’s a float-market, but services are good ranging from eating, drinking. There are breads, drinks, cakes, cigarettes, even rice-soup or rice-noodles served on the spot.

Besides farm-products, there are also birds, snakes, turtles on sales. These are sold at the foot of Phụng Hiệp bridge. Snake market Phụng Hiệp is famous, even to foreigners. It’s very interesting place to see in Cần Thơ, it’s a cultural identity in the Southern part.     

                                                                  THU TRANG