Floating markets in the Mekong Delta

At 4 a.m., while the Nga Nam floating market (Nga Nam town, Soc Trang province) was still shrouded in the quiet darkness, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hau stirred and lit an incense stick at the bow of her boat. Seeing someone approach, Mrs. Hau quickly asked, "Do you want to buy some pineapples? 3,000 dong for small ones, 5,000 dong for large ones. My boat still has nearly a thousand left." Upon learning it was a tourist exploring and taking photos, Mrs. Hau sighed, "There's no longer the bustling scene of the floating market where people used to buy and sell to photograph anymore, sir. Everyone has gone to the market on land."

In 2011, Cai Rang floating market had approximately 500-700 traders regularly bringing their products to sell. Photo: Nguyen Thang/Vietnam Photo News

Before the light had fully illuminated their faces, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung (Mrs. Hau's husband) also stirred in his sleep. Seeing the visitors, Mr. Hung said: "About ten years ago, my family lived in Long My, and we went to the market four times a month. Each time we went, our boat was loaded with 4-5 tons of fruit. We would travel up the Xang canal to the floating markets at Nga Nam and Nga Bay, and within 4-5 days, all our goods would be sold out."

According to Mr. Hung, back then, the entire Long My district was bustling with people going to the Nga Nam floating market. Even poor families had to buy small motorboats to go to the market to sell pineapples and buy necessities for their families. But now, his boat is the only one in the entire Long My district that has anchored at Nga Nam for five days and only managed to sell a third of the pineapples he brought. Looking at the pile of pineapples starting to turn from yellow to dark, Mr. Hung sighed: "I guess I'll have to go ashore and put up a sign saying 'selling at a huge discount' to see if I can salvage anything!"

In the floating markets of the Mekong Delta, a pole is often used at the front of the boats to display agricultural products, making them easy for buyers to identify. Photo: Nguyen Thang/Vietnam Photo News. Bustling buying and selling scene at Nga Bay floating market in 2011. Photo: Nguyen Thang/Vietnam Photo News.

Along with Mrs. Hau's pineapple-selling boat, along this stretch of the Nga Nam riverbank, where five rivers meet to reach five different destinations: Ca Mau , Vinh Quoi (Soc Trang), Long My (Hau Giang), Thanh Tri (Soc Trang), and Phung Hiep (Hau Giang), there are about a dozen boats anchored selling watermelons, pineapples, and coconuts.

Next to Mr. Hung and Mrs. Hau's boat was Mr. Le Van Dinh's watermelon selling boat. As the sunlight streamed across the river, Mr. Dinh woke up, lit an incense stick, placed it at the bow of his boat, and selected the wilted watermelons to throw into the river as food for the fish. Mr. Dinh had been sailing up the river from Vinh Quoi to Nga Nam, anchoring his boat to sell his goods for three days. This morning, only two restaurants came to his boat to buy over 20 watermelons to serve their customers that day. After selling his meager stock to passing customers, Mr. Dinh brought out a tea set and invited us onto his boat. He sighed and said, "Think about it, with the development of roads and easy access by motorbikes and cars, people go to the markets on land, traders go directly to the orchards to buy, so why would they go to a floating market? Besides, the Mekong Delta no longer has a flood season; without water, boats and ships have difficulty navigating, so who would go to a floating market anymore?"

At the Nga Nam floating market, besides Mr. Hung and Mr. Dinh, there are about a dozen other traders who have moored their boats and are clinging to the market. According to Mr. Hung: "There's no profit in sailing to the market like this. It's just that we've spent our whole lives drifting on the water, we're used to living on boats, so we're reluctant to change. But as we get older, the younger generation might not even know what a floating market is!"

Mr. Hung's morning tea felt like it was constricting his stomach. We went back to the Five-Way Junction, climbed a mobile phone transmission tower to observe, and saw that a branch of the river leading to Ca Mau was completely covered with water hyacinths. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, no boats have traveled that junction.

The area where the seven rivers meet, the gathering place of the Nga Bay floating market before 2019, is now deserted of traders. Photo: Nguyen Thang/Vietnam Photo News

We traveled upstream along the Xáng Sà No canal to the Ngã Bảy Floating Market (in Ngã Bảy ward, Ngã Bảy town, Hậu Giang province). According to information from the Hậu Giang Provincial People's Committee, the Ngã Bảy Floating Market, also known as the Phụng Hiệp Floating Market, has long been famous for its history of over a hundred years and its bustling trading atmosphere, considered the most vibrant in the Mekong Delta. The market was established around 1915, located at the intersection of seven rivers: Cái Côn, Mang Cá, Búng Tàu, Sóc Trăng, Xẻo Môn, Lái Hiếu, and Xẻo Vong.

From a drone's perspective, the confluence of seven river branches is now only used by boats, with bustling houses lining both banks, and notably, there's no longer any trace of the once-famous floating market. Stopping at a roadside drink stall, I asked the owner, but she only gave me a curt reply: Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the market used to be held at this exact spot, but since then, no one has been seen going to the floating market anymore.

We returned to Can Tho, the land of white rice and clear water. While strolling around Ninh Kieu Wharf, where there are tours to Cai Rang floating market, a tourist boat owner informed us that the floating market still exists, but the boats are not as numerous as before, because the soul of the floating market—the merchants—has gradually dwindled.

Cai Rang Floating Market (Can Tho City) is bustling with activity, attracting tourists from 5 am to 8 am. Photo: Thong Thien/Vietnam Photo News.

At 5 am, we hired a tourist boat departing from Ninh Kieu wharf to Cai Rang floating market. The sun hadn't risen yet, but the Can Tho river was already bustling with tourist boats taking visitors to explore the floating market. Our boat driver was Nguyen Duoc, who has been driving boats around the floating market for over 20 years. Sitting on the rocking boat, Duoc recounted: “The floating market is very different now than it used to be. Back then, the peak hours were from dawn until dusk, with boats carrying fruits, vegetables, and beans crammed together along the river. Now, with convenient land trade, many merchants have moved ashore to conduct their business.”

We observed that only about 20 large boats specializing in selling agricultural products remain at Cai Rang floating market. Dang Van Nam, a floating market trader, said that the boats of the merchants here only sell long-lasting agricultural products like gourds, pumpkins, and coconuts… while the rest are small boats selling fruit to tourists. Like Mr. Hung and Mr. Hinh at Nga Nam floating market, Mr. Nam is accustomed to the life of a floating trader; the boat is his home, the Can Tho River is his homeland, so he's reluctant to go ashore. "One day I'll have to abandon the boat and find another job to make a living, because selling goods at the floating market is very slow now!" Mr. Nam sighed.

Tourists enjoy noodle soup on the river at Cai Rang floating market. Photo: Le Minh/Vietnam Photo News. Tourists buy fruit at Cai Rang floating market. Photo: Le Minh/Vietnam Photo News.

We stopped at the boat of Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Chuong, who specializes in providing refreshments at Cai Rang floating market. Ms. Chuong said that while in the past, boats selling agricultural products were bustling, now they have been replaced by boats carrying tourists. Every day, her boat, which sells coffee, sweetened tea, soy milk, etc., sells to a few dozen tourists; although not much, it's enough to make a living.

According to the People's Committee of Can Tho City, since 2016, the city has implemented the project "Conservation and Development of Cai Rang Floating Market". In 2024, the tourism sector will continue to advise on the project to preserve Cai Rang Floating Market; and develop a "Resolution stipulating policies to support tourism development in Can Tho City until 2030", with a focus on developing tourism at Cai Rang Floating Market. To date, Can Tho City has organized the Cai Rang Floating Market Cultural Tourism Festival seven times to promote and stimulate tourism. However, many tourists believe that the tourism services at Cai Rang Floating Market are still monotonous and boring. "We went to the floating market for breakfast and coffee and then went home. We couldn't buy fruit because it was 4-5 times more expensive than at the market on land," said tourist Le Van Minh from Saigon.

Many cultural researchers believe that "the soul of the floating market lies in the merchants." However, with the development of e-commerce and road transport, the floating market merchants are gradually disappearing. According to statistics from the People's Committee of Can Tho City, before the Covid-19 pandemic, Cai Rang floating market had about 500-700 merchants bringing boats to trade, but now only about 30-50 merchants participate. "If we organize the floating market well, linking it with tourism and organizing activities effectively, the value of the floating market will remain intact and will be further enhanced," suggested Dr. Tran Huu Hiep, Vice President of the Mekong Delta Tourism Association.

Floating markets in the Mekong Delta

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