Dong Xuan Market

Juliana Ng from Singapore · CC BY 2.0

The Old Quarter's biggest wholesale market, its five-arched French facade still standing.

The French built Dong Xuan in the late nineteenth century to gather the scattered street markets around the old city gates under one roof, and that five-arched frontage has become one of Hanoi's most familiar images. Inside are three floors of wholesale trade: fabric, clothing, accessories, dried goods — stock that goes out to the provinces rather than to shoppers, so the pace is fast and makes little allowance for visitors. The market burned badly in 1994 and was rebuilt. What is most worth a visitor's time is actually outside it: the night food alley along one flank, and at weekends the whole street from here down to Hoan Kiem turning into a pedestrian night market.

Visitor information

When is the best time to visit Dong Xuan Market?

Friday to Sunday evenings, during the night market

How long do you need at Dong Xuan Market?

1 hour

What are the opening hours of Dong Xuan Market?

06:00 - 18:00; weekend night market until about 23:00

Did you know

The market was built by the French in the late nineteenth century; its five-arched facade is its signature.
It is the largest wholesale market in the Old Quarter, supplying traders across several provinces.
A major fire destroyed much of the market in 1994, after which it was rebuilt.
At weekends the street from the market down to Hoan Kiem Lake becomes a pedestrian night market.

Travel tips

This is a wholesale market — buying one or two items rarely gets you a good price.
The night food alley beside the market is more rewarding than the stalls inside it.

Source: https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%E1%BB%A3_%C4%90%E1%BB%93ng_Xu%C3%A2n

Updated: 2026-08-16