Heritage trail · Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City: women of the south
From the ao dai and the market traders of Saigon to the women who dug and defended the Cu Chi tunnels, a trail through the city and the history beneath it.
Heritage shops and crafts
Where the old trades live on
Long-running shops, makers and markets worth a visit. Opening days change, so check before you go.
Ben Thanh Market
Since 1914Souvenirs, textiles, handicrafts and food
The current market hall was built between 1912 and 1914, replacing earlier markets. It is a long-standing trading hub for textiles and crafts.
District 1 · Le Loi Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Binh Tay Market
Since 1930Wholesale textiles, dry goods and household goods
The main market of Cho Lon, Saigon's Chinese quarter, built from 1928 to 1930 with funds from a Chinese merchant. It remains a mainly wholesale market.
Cho Lon · Thap Muoi Street, District 6, Ho Chi Minh City
Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street
Traditional medicine, dried herbs and remedy ingredients
The street where Cho Lon's traditional medicine shops cluster, named for the physician Le Huu Trac, honoured as a founder of Vietnamese medicine. Shops are mostly run by Vietnamese families of Chinese descent.
Cho Lon, District 5 · Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City
Pasteur Street ao dai tailors
Tailor-made ao dai
A strip of about 20 ao dai tailors that grew from the 1950s Thiet Lap shop, run by Nguyen Thi Bac, nicknamed Saigon's Curve Wizard, who had 50 tailors and drew singers and the city elite.
Pasteur Street, District 3 · Pasteur Street, Ho Chi Minh City
Phuong Nam Fine Art and Lacquerware
Lacquerware, wood carvings and decorative handicrafts
A District 1 shop making and selling Vietnamese lacquerware, from small boxes and bowls to furniture, with custom orders.
District 1 · 26A Truong Dinh, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City