Going to the 'banyan tree' market

Some say it's "the most beautiful market in Vietnam," I don't know if that's true. But for those who live far from home, it's one of the images that evokes memories of childhood and their homeland.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan, 45 years old, is originally from Son Duong, Tuyen Quang province, but has been living in Ho Chi Minh City for nearly 10 years. I met him when I needed to renovate my house because Mr. Toan is a construction contractor with a team of workers all from Tuyen Quang.

Tuan Lo Banyan Tree Market. Photo: Googlemap/Nguyen Quy.

From a photograph

Once, while browsing online, I saw a picture of a rural market in Northern Vietnam, specifically a market in Son Duong, Tuyen Quang, that was very beautiful, with a mountainous countryside landscape. The market was simple, situated in the middle of a field beside a very large banyan tree. Since Toan was there, I asked him if he knew that place. "Oh, that's my hometown! It's the Tuan Lo Banyan Tree Market!" Toan exclaimed excitedly. "Whenever you have the chance to visit my hometown, I'll take you there," Toan said.

After a while, I completely forgot about the local market and the invitation. Then I transferred jobs and went back to the North. Suddenly, one day, I received a phone call; it was Toan on the other end: "I'm taking advantage of a trip back to my hometown. Can you arrange to come to Son Duong with me for a day or two? I'll take you to visit the Cay Da market." Since I had free time and a love for wandering, I accepted.

As planned, I rode my motorbike from Hanoi to Vinh Yen, turning onto National Highway 2C, crossing the Lien Son bridge and heading towards Tan Thanh, Son Duong, as instructed by my friend. From a distance, I could see the large, lush banyan tree about 100 meters from the main road. But the market was deserted, and the scene looked desolate, not as bustling, bright, and sparkling as in the photos. The large banyan tree looked withered, a large broken branch still lying haphazardly on the ground near its base (later, some vendors at the market said the tree had been struck by lightning).

My friend's family welcomed me very warmly. Mr. Tuan, Toan's father, said that because of the Covid pandemic in recent years, his son and his wife hadn't been able to return to the North. This time, his son took the opportunity to visit his parents, but his wife was busy with work and the children were busy with school, so they couldn't come along. "It's wonderful that he came back to his hometown and had a friend to visit," said Mr. Tuan, 68, a former commune committee official.

I asked Mr. Tuan why the market in Tan Thanh commune was called "Tuan Lo Banyan Tree Market." Mr. Tuan laughed: "Originally, Tan Thanh commune was formed by merging Tuan Lo and Thanh Phat communes of Son Duong district in 2019. The commune changed its name, but the people still call it Tuan Lo Banyan Tree Market," he said. He said he had seen the market since he was a child. "The banyan tree was there even before that. My mother, who is 96 years old this year, still remembers that when she grew up, the banyan tree had been there for a very long time."

Toan suddenly interjected, "Oh, Dad, is that old lady who sold fried sticky rice cakes still going to the market?" "She passed away a long time ago; now her daughter-in-law has taken over the sticky rice cake business," Toan's mother answered on behalf of her husband.

Mr. Tuan said that the Tuan Lo Banyan Tree Market is held on a periodic basis, on the 2nd, 7th, 12th, 17th, 22nd, and 27th of the lunar month, and it only lasts from early morning until noon, and it has been like that for many years.

The next day, the second day of the lunar month, Toan took me to the market. People often say that the market is the " economic face" of a locality. Whether someone is rich, prosperous, or struggling, you can see it all at the market. Compared to markets in densely populated areas and lowlands, the Cay Da market could be considered rather meager, with goods mainly consisting of agricultural products and everyday food and drink.

According to Toan, there are some professional vendors at the market, such as those selling fried cakes, sticky rice cakes, spring rolls, meat, or clothes. These people sit in fixed spots and are present at every market day. "The rest are locals who occasionally bring something to sell, like a few bunches of freshly picked vegetables, some shrimp caught last night, or a litter of puppies that have just learned to eat rice, to the Cay Da market," Toan said.

Mr. Tuan said that Tan Thanh commune has over 6,000 inhabitants from 7 ethnic groups. Ethnic minorities account for 50%, mostly Dao, Nung, Tay, and Cao Lan people, who mainly live by farming, forestry, and small-scale livestock breeding.

That diverse cultural tapestry comes together in a market less than 3,000 square meters in size. "Here, you can see Kinh people selling pork, livestock, and clothing; Dao people selling medicinal herbs; and Nung people selling knives, scissors, and blacksmithing tools," Toan said.

Long-time vendors in the market say that in the old days, people in the area saw a banyan tree providing shade next to a mound in the middle of the rice fields and came to set up stalls to sell their goods. Gradually, it became a market. At first, it was just a few small stalls built with bamboo poles and thatched with palm leaves or straw. Later, the government built rows of houses with tiled roofs, then fiber cement roofs, and now some rows have been replaced with galvanized corrugated iron.

We took a stroll around the market. The outer section sold seedlings and livestock, while the inner section was filled with stalls selling agricultural tools—hoes, shovels, knives, and scissors. Then there were stalls selling pork and fish. Everything was displayed on the ground, on plastic tarpaulins, plastic mats, or nylon sheets. "Only the Kinh people display meat on raised platforms; the ethnic minorities are used to spreading the meat on the ground like that," Toan said.

He said that for him, when he's far from home, remembering Cay Da market means remembering the food stalls of his poor rural hometown, which are closely associated with the childhood of people like him. "The local snacks weren't anything special, mostly just fried donuts and sticky rice cakes, the kind about half the size of an adult's hand, but back then we were always hungry, and they tasted so good," Toan said.

In the old days, market day was a joyful occasion for both adults and children. Sometimes the whole family would go to the market; the father would have a drink with his friends at the noodle stall, while the mother would carry her basket of vegetables to sell, watching her son, with a newly bought candy in his mouth, jumping around and playing mischievously everywhere.

“Now that the government is strictly checking blood alcohol levels, fewer men sit around drinking in the mornings like before. Only a few men living near the market still maintain that habit,” said the woman selling bun cha (grilled pork with vermicelli). Bun cha at the rural market is not like the famous dish of the same name in Hanoi; it’s simply vermicelli noodles in broth with a few pieces of grilled pork. “Here, people only know how to eat it this way; they’re not used to Hanoi-style bun cha,” the vendor said. She said she sells around 30 bowls of bun cha each day, each priced at 15,000 dong.

The Banyan Tree Market is featured in a film.

The noodle vendor said that although the market is small, it's not just people from Tan Thanh commune or neighboring communes who come here to buy and sell, but also people from Son Duong town, or even from villages 15-20 km away. "It's small but quite famous. It's even been in a movie," she said.

According to vendors at Cay Da Market, many film crews have come here to use the market as a filming location. Some say the Cay Da Market scene was featured in the film "Lang Vu Dai Ngay Ay" (The Village of Vu Dai in Those Days), while others say, "What film was it in that had Xuan Hinh playing a fortune teller?"

Mr. Tuan said that the Cay Da market was indeed featured in films, but it was definitely not the Vu Dai Village of that era. "I remember it definitely wasn't that particular film, and I can't recall the name because it's been so long. The provincial television station also came to film scenes of the market many times, making music videos," he said.

Whether it's thanks to being featured in films or the beautiful photos posted on various forums, the Cay Da market has become more well-known than other places in Tan Thanh. Online, people are saying, "It's the most beautiful market in Vietnam." But there are also some travelers, inspired by the picturesque beauty of the rural market through the lens of a photographer, who travel hundreds of kilometers only to find the scenery not as stunning as they expected. "It looks so beautiful in the photos, but it's just ordinary when you get there," one person wrote on Facebook.

Anyone knowledgeable about photography knows that whether a scene looks good in a photograph depends on the time of day, the season, the camera angle, the photographer's skill, and many other factors.

"But for me, the market is always beautiful because it's connected to my childhood. Living far away, every time I return to my hometown, going to the market brings back so many familiar things from my past. That's why whenever I visit my grandparents, I always stop by Cay Da Market," Toan said.