Bac Ninh: Awakening the potential for night-time economic development

BAC NINH - Night economy is the service business activities that take place from about 6 pm the previous night to 6 am the next morning, including: Cuisine, entertainment, culture, shopping and tourism. With the advantage of emerging as one of the centers attracting investment and industrial development in the country, Bac Ninh has a lot of room to develop this type of economy.

When night is also the "golden hour"

By mid-2025, Bac Ninh had attracted more than 3,360 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a total registered capital of more than 47.6 billion USD. Industrial parks such as Yen Phong, VSIP, Que Vo, Thuan Thanh, Tien Son, Quang Chau, Van Trung, Song Khe - Noi Hoang... are attracting about 22,000 foreign experts and technical workers and more than 400,000 domestic workers. This is the most potential and sustainable source of customers for the night-time economy due to the great demand for food, entertainment, shopping and living space outside of working hours.

Night walking street in the center of Tu Son ward.

The attraction of the night economy in Bac Ninh is not only commerce, but also the unique culture of Kinh Bac region, with Quan Ho folk songs, where hundreds of folk festivals and thousands of unique historical, cultural and architectural relics such as: Xuong Giang Victory Site Special Relic Site, Bo Da Pagoda, Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, Truc Lam Phuong Hoang Zen Monastery... Not only that, Bac Ninh also has many famous craft villages such as: Phu Lang pottery, Dong Ho paintings, Dai Bai bronze casting, Thu Duong noodles, Ke rice paper, Da Mai vermicelli, Bui spring rolls, Ho chicken... still maintain their enduring vitality. All are capable of becoming "open stages" for night tours, light festivals, cultural and culinary experience programs.

In order to promote the development of the night-time economy, before the merger of the two provinces, in 2021, the People's Committee of Bac Giang province issued a Project on night-time economic development for the period 2021-2030; the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province also has the same orientation and direction. Accordingly, a number of localities have built and planned locations to reserve space for night-time economic development.

Running through Kinh Bac and Vo Cuong wards, Nguyen Cao night street is considered the first bright spot of the night-time economic model of Bac Ninh province when there are hundreds of foreigners living, mainly Korean, Japanese and Chinese experts working in neighboring industrial parks. They are both residents and customers of night services. According to statistics, 700 business households on Nguyen Cao street attract 4,000 - 5,000 visitors every night, on weekends the number of visitors using the service can increase by 200 - 250%. The total trade and service revenue of the area reaches 200 billion VND/year, creating 500 - 600 direct jobs. People here do diverse business: Food, drinks, fashion, household appliances, accommodation, entertainment... In which, Chinese - Korean - Japanese cuisine accounts for a large proportion, creating cultural exchange. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, owner of a restaurant on Nguyen Cao Street, said: “There are a lot of foreign customers and young people coming out to eat at night. Evening revenue accounts for about 70% of the total revenue of the day. If we are allowed to open 1-2 hours later and have more entertainment programs, I believe the number of customers will increase even more.”

In Bac Giang ward, a night food "street" has also been formed on Hung Vuong 1 street, attracting Korean and Chinese experts and local people to enjoy grilled dishes and drinks. The area near the Thuong River railway bridge also has rows of food and drink stalls in the evening. In addition, Bac Giang ward has also formed a number of night service activities in the 3/2 Square area with the main activities being food and shopping; Ca Trong, Phon Xuong, Nguyen Thi Luu streets with the main activities being food, karaoke, spa, massage...

There are also a number of wholesale markets operating at night in the province, notably the Mia market (Da Mai ward) and the Hoa Dinh market (Vo Cuong ward). Every night, these places gather all kinds of agricultural products from all regions of the country and imported fruits from China and Thailand.

Infrastructure and operating space are not yet synchronized.

In reality, besides the achieved results, the province's night-time economic activities are still in the initial stage, spontaneous, mainly concentrated in a few points in the central wards, the "core" areas of the old Bac Giang and Bac Ninh cities. One of the difficulties and limitations in this field is that the infrastructure and operating space for the night-time economy are not yet synchronized, lacking separate space for night-time activities. There is no fixed walking street or culinary space; public sanitation infrastructure is lacking. Centralized parking lots are not yet complete, and walking distances are far.

A fruit business at night at Mia market, Da Mai ward.

Mr. Than Duc Canh, the owner of a durian and jackfruit stall at Mia market for nearly 10 years, said: “The demand for gathering and distributing goods at night at Mia market is very large. On average, hundreds of tons of fruits of all kinds are transported here every day. However, the biggest problem is the lack of parking for trucks, especially container trucks, which makes it difficult to load and unload goods; at the same time, it also causes the risk of congestion and traffic obstruction.”

One problem is the lack of specific products for night-time economic activities and short service chains. There are few unique products and no “bait products” that can keep tourists after 10 p.m. There is a lack of close links between the tourism, culture, trade, and F&B businesses (food and beverage businesses) to create a comprehensive service chain. Currently, only food and shopping stores have been established.

According to information from the Department of Industry and Trade, currently in the province there are only 5 specialized streets combined with walking streets, namely Tran Hung Dao, Nguyen Gia Thieu - Vu Kiet, Nguyen Cao, Ngoc Han Cong Chua streets in Kinh Bac and Vo Cuong wards; Dam Van Le street in Nam Son ward and a walking street in the center of Tu Son ward. However, this type of commercial infrastructure usually only operates until no later than 10 pm. The night walking street operates irregularly, organized a few times a year in conjunction with major holidays. Meanwhile, in the province, the system of karaoke service businesses and music venues is still scattered among residential areas, not forming separate areas.

Exploiting advantages, opening new growth streams

According to the trade and service planning orientation until 2030, Bac Ninh strives to form at least 3 key night-time economic spaces; develop 10 more specialized streets, raising the proportion of trade and services to 38 - 40% of the province's GRDP.

Cultural and artistic activities on Tran Hung Dao street,

Mr. Tran Van Thanh, Chairman of Bac Giang Ward People's Committee, said that currently, the locality has a plan to develop the night-time economy, initially attracting investors to implement a project with a scale of nearly 2 hectares in the residential areas of Chua Thanh, Thanh Dinh and Thanh Non. However, in order for the night-time economy to truly develop commensurate with the potential and advantages of the locality, the province needs to pay attention to attracting investors with financial potential and experience in building and developing the night-time economy to implement projects in the area. Create a mechanism to support some contents on advertising, communication, business locations, services... for traders doing business after 10:00 p.m. In addition, there should be a support mechanism for cultural, sports, entertainment and recreation clubs when participating in night-time economic activities.

Some opinions say that, in order for Bac Ninh's night-time economy to become a new driving force for economic growth, it is necessary to start with planning and piloting the "night street - night area" model; build a separate management mechanism for the night-time economic zone. Mobilize socialization, attract F&B, entertainment and tourism businesses to participate.

In addition, each locality develops its own unique products. It is possible to study the development of "Quan Ho night" in Kinh Bac and Vo Cuong wards, a space for performing folk songs - cuisine - specialties. In Bac Giang, Viet Yen and Van Ha wards, there are "Xuong Giang Moonlight" night tours, cuisine - night markets associated with ancient craft villages. Develop night markets, food streets, walking streets, light festivals, and short cultural shows.

Upgrading infrastructure and ensuring security are also important solutions to promote sustainable night-time economic development. According to Mr. Do Tuan Khoa, Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, maintaining and exploiting the night-time economy cannot be assigned to just one industry or one unit but requires the participation of many stakeholders from investing in installing lighting systems, free wifi, toilets, parking lots to cultural and artistic performances, trade management, services, food safety, security, order, environmental protection... In addition, promoting digital communication, linking with tourism platforms - social networks and training human resources to meet the requirements of night-time service skills, event management, and experiential tourism.

Article and photos: Thanh Nam - Duong Hoan

Mr. Than Van Thuan, Chairman of Viet Yen Ward People's Committee: Targeting customers who are experts and workers in industrial parks

Viet Yen Ward has a lot of room for night-time economic development. Around the ward, there are 5 large industrial parks that have been and are having investors coming to invest in production and business including: Viet Han, Dinh Tram, Quang Chau, Song Mai - Nghia Trung, Minh Duc - Thuong Lan - Ngoc Thien and 3 industrial clusters, attracting tens of thousands of workers and experts to work and live. Besides, the ward is also located near a large golf course. In particular, the mass cultural and artistic movement of Viet Yen ward is very developed with dozens of Quan Ho folk song clubs and many historical and cultural relics such as Dong village communal house, Han Quan Cong Than Cong Tai temple, Cao Ky Van female hero temple...

In order to exploit the potential and advantages in developing the night-time economy, the locality has recently paid attention to infrastructure planning. Currently, the ward has 3 3-star hotels, and in the near future, there will be 3 more 3-5 star hotels, meeting the accommodation needs in the area. The ward People's Committee also reserved 19 land plots for commercial and service development with a total area of ​​over 10 hectares. The entire area has been cleared and is awaiting auction of land use rights. This area will attract organizations and individuals to invest in casino and entertainment services and build high-class hotels, targeting customers who are experts and workers in industrial parks.

With the above space and implementation measures, it is hoped that Viet Yen ward will awaken the night-time economy, contributing to promoting the local socio-economy.

Mr. Williamson, Chinese expert, Goertek Vina Co., Ltd., Que Vo Industrial Park: Hope to have more meaningful night activities

Living and working in Bac Ninh for more than 3 years, I really like the atmosphere here; often participating in evening activities such as eating, health care, entertainment on Nguyen Cao street. In particular, there are many dishes with Chinese flavors here, and there are also many Chinese people living here, helping me to somewhat ease my homesickness.

More importantly, Nguyen Cao Street in particular and Vo Cuong and Kinh Bac wards in general are very safe in terms of security, order and food hygiene; the local people as well as the service staff at restaurants, eateries and public entertainment venues are friendly and hospitable. In addition, the cost of living here is also very reasonable. Therefore, Nguyen Cao night street is a favorite place for me and my friends every evening, especially on weekends. Here, we can sip drinks, listen to music and chat together, helping us relax and entertain effectively after stressful working hours.

However, the time for night activities here is still limited; there are not many activities or attractive art programs. If there were more walking streets, outdoor performances at the night market or organized night tours connecting cultural relics, foreigners like me would definitely stay in Bac Ninh more instead of going to Hanoi on weekends; and we could even welcome many Chinese compatriots as well as foreign partners to Bac Ninh in the evenings.

Nam Binh - Yen Ngoc (written)

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/bac-ninh-danh-thuc-tiem-nang-phat-trien-kinh-te-dem-postid430450.bbg