…and also to understand more about a place for trade and cultural exchange between Vietnam and Russia.
There is a market like that!
< p>Knowing that Mr. Quoc Quan (working in the Oil and Gas industry) has studied and worked in Russia for a long time, and is proficient in “processing” delicious dishes of the birch country from many types of ingredients. , Russian spices, so when I met him I asked:
– Is there a market in Saigon that specializes in selling Russian goods and specialties?
– Yes, I do. There is a market like that, people call it “Russian market” located on Vo Van Kiet Avenue, District 1. Not only do foreign tourists frequent it, but oil and gas people who studied abroad in Russia or families of experts Nga family in Vietsovpetro on the weekend took the hydrofoil from Vung Tau to Ho Chi Minh City and also came to this market – Mr. Quan replied.
– Is there anything special about the Russian market?< /p>
– There specializes in selling specialty foods imported from Russia and Vietnamese garments and handicrafts exported to Russia. The price is also affordable. You should go and know that there is a Russian market in the middle of Saigon, go to learn more about Russian culture – Mr. Quan said.
According to Mr. Quoc Quan’s instructions, it only takes about 1km, from Starting from Ben Thanh market, a friend and I ran along Pho Duc Chinh Street to Vo Van Kiet Avenue, then headed towards District 5, a few hundred meters past the intersection of Ong Lanh Bridge, looking to the right we saw a sign. statue with an LED sign saying “Russian Market”. When you go straight inside, you see the big words “Russian market” located in the complex of the Central Garden building at 328 Vo Van Kiet Avenue, Co Giang Ward, District 1.
The day I arrived was not a weekend, but I saw taxi cars still parked close to the Russian market campus Foreign tourists stop by and look very bustling.
This market has a scale of 3 floors including 100 stalls with a total business area of nearly 2,000 square meters, built according to the model of a commercial center. selling both wholesale and retail goods.
Before coming here, I imagined it to be a quiet market with spacious aisles where goods are neatly and luxuriously displayed with a strong Western style. Western like in the shopping malls I often see in Saigon. But contrary to that thought, the first impression when I stepped inside the Russian market was that it was designed in the true sense of a “market” with a row of small kiosks and a cramped, cluttered space. like clothing shops in Saigon Square (District 1). The market has not very wide aisles and is often noisy with the sound of buyers and sellers chatting and bargaining in Russian, English mixed with Vietnamese. I guess correctly, there seems to be an “intentional” arrangement in this market to effectively attract buyers. Because the lesson about the coldness of shopping malls is still there, which have spacious, airy and clean store aisles that only make customers browse without paying attention to the neatly displayed shelves. and… went straight out the door without buying anything.
Once inside the Russian market, you will see that it is a private space with fashionable clothing items typical of Russia and cold countries. strange look in the eyes of people in the tropics. For customers who have never heard of the Russian market, looking at the unfamiliar fashion items will feel like they are lost in a Western market in a temperate region. In addition, just looking at the Russian names of some of the stalls here like Natasa Kiev Volga… and somewhere echoing the melodious melodies of immortal Russian songs emitted from the market’s sound system also makes you happy. People think of Russia or the owners of the stalls are more or less related to the land of snow-white birches.
Busy looking at the clothing stalls of Mr. Xuan Cuong – my companion was excited. said:
– If you take the trouble to search here to buy gifts for your family in the North, you will definitely be able to choose unmatched fashion clothes!
< p>As a diligent salesperson at this market and speaks Russian English quite fluently, Ms. Ly Kiet Hoang (at Diem shop counter B-14) believes that the Russian market seems to be a space for interaction between people. seller and buyer. For Vietnamese customers, from those with specific needs needed for a trip to a cold country or workers preparing for a labor cooperation trip abroad, they also come here to buy goods. As for Vietnamese students preparing to study abroad, they often come to buy winter clothes because the prices are much cheaper than the world market.
According to Ms. Hoang, there is also a store in this market. The need to carry spiritual value between sellers and buyers is more or less related to Russia. It is an opportunity for those who come here to talk to each other in the golden age Russian language to meet customers who are Russian citizens working and living in Vietnam to remember memories of a Soviet Russia in their memories or It’s the imagination of each person that many generations of Vietnamese students study and read through books without ever setting foot there.
“Moreover, those who come to the Russian market all have the same opinion that the sellers are “Like we always seem to be approachable, not pushy and cut-throat like other markets, liberal and kind-hearted like the Russians,” Ms. Hoang confided.
When you visit the kiosks, you will see the products. At the Russian market, there are mainly shirts, souvenirs from Vietnam and Russian specialties. Customers coming to the market are not only Russian tourists but also Malaysian, Japanese, Korean, British, American tourists… and even Vietnamese. The 100 stalls at the Russian market are mainly fashion goods specialized in cold countries, from winter clothes to down jackets to coats to leather jackets… There are also T-shirts and “big size” garments for for people with plus-sized figures, along with a few stalls for children.
Many people say that this is the market with the largest collection of winter fashion clothes in Ho Chi Minh City today. All are introduced as Vietnamese export products produced by domestic garment companies. It can also be processed goods with foreign brands. When completing orders, the business has a surplus or has problems, so small traders in the market buy them to resell at low prices.
Ms. Vuong Ngoc Phoi – owner of a kiosk selling glasses and leather handbags affirmed that the items sold at the Russian market are high quality Vietnamese goods exported to Russia and Eastern European countries, which are very popular in foreign markets. out of favor. The prices at the market are also very suitable for the budget of budget tourists. Most of them are Russian tourists or Russian tourists from Vung Tau or foreign tourist groups often come to buy goods, especially on Saturdays and Sundays. Even Vietnamese people coming from the North to Saigon also come to the market to buy goods as gifts for relatives.
Small traders here added that through their customers, they also accept small contracts. retailers from Russian citizens in Ho Chi Minh City carry out a complete package from design to finished product. The items at the market are unique to the land of birches. However, even though it is the hot season in Saigon, the market still sells winter coats to international students every day. In addition, the foreign customers who buy the most necessary items are Russian customers. They come here to buy large quantities and bring them back to Russia to resell. Therefore, it formed the Russian market, a market with many Russian customers specializing in wholesale purchases.
An interesting thing is that in addition to cold clothes, handicrafts, household appliances… at the Russian market, there is also a Mini food supermarket (belonging to Russia – Viet Distribution Joint Stock Company) with thousands of specialty products originating from Russia has left a big impression on every visitor when visiting.
< p>Inside this supermarket are small stalls specializing in selling very Russian food. These are vodkas originating from Russia or Russian spices that are both delicious and strange. And there are many typical Russian dishes such as smoked carp, salted caviar, black fish, buckwheat eggs, chocolate salmon, skumira fish cheese, atrakhan fish, avocado cheese, black bread, sausage, canned meat, salmon soaked in Russian oil… In particular, there is also a Russian foie gras pate that is said to be both cheap (only 55,000 VND/box) and extremely delicious, so many people buy it. Or like Aries water – a very cool Russian beverage used in the summer. Inside the supermarket, there are also Russian cosmetics and souvenirs such as Russian wooden dolls (Matriosca) with 7 identical ones from small to large nested together.
When entering the supermarket I met Katerina, a Russian citizen working in Ho Chi Minh City. Seeing her engrossed in choosing food, I asked:
– How do you like this supermarket?
– I like it very much. Lots of typical Russian dishes that I need in my daily activities. Coming here to buy food that both suits my taste and helps me relieve my homesickness – Ms. Katerina shared.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh Van – manager of Nga market food supermarket, staying here specializes in selling many food items with Russian characteristics, so it is very popular with Russian customers. Many Russian citizens in Ho Chi Minh City or Russian tourists often come to buy food. Even many Vietnamese tourists (especially Northerners) who once lived in Russia now want to remember Russian flavors, so they often visit supermarkets to buy their favorite Russian foods.
Even though There are many items that are not yet available in Russian markets, but they clearly reflect the differences in Russian lifestyle and culture. Therefore, Russians living and working in Ho Chi Minh City as well as some people who have settled in Russia for some time recognize the Russian market as “a miniature Russia in the middle of Saigon”.
Vietnam – Russia trade point
Through research, the Russian market was built in April 2009, gathering 100 small traders selling hundreds of items, mainly products. garments, fashion, handicrafts, household goods and some typical Russian foods… This market is not only a place for trading goods between Vietnam and Russia and former Eastern European countries, but also a living place for the community. community of Russian citizens living in Ho Chi Minh City Vung Tau and students and workers who have studied and worked in Russia.
The prices of goods here are not very high compared to the market. school. A jacket or a leather handbag costs about a few hundred thousand dong and can be assured of quality, especially cold shirts. Furthermore, most of the items have prices listed so they are easy to buy.
It is called Russian market and tends to serve the community from low to high, synthesizing items. However, the small businesses here also have quite special “backgrounds”. There are many small traders who used to work in the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries (Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland) or were Russian graduates who have now changed their business field. They used to do business at Tax Trade Center or Lucky Square in District 1, but then because these shopping centers were either upgraded or dissolved, they shifted their business to the Russian market.
Talking about the process of forming the Russian market on Vo Van Kiet Avenue, Mr. Vu Anh Duong – Head of the Russian Market Management Board (ie Russian market) said: In fact, the Russian goods market in Saigon was established in 1989 by a group of people who studied and worked in the (former) Soviet Union. was established at the (old) General Department Store Company to sell winter clothing to serve the needs of the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. In 1991, due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and some market fluctuations, the Russian market had to temporarily stop operating for a while. By mid-2009, Tong Linh Giang Joint Stock Company realized that these products were still in great demand, so they decided to invest in re-establishing the Russian market at the Central Garden Building on Vo Van Kiet Avenue to become a place to exchange and buy. selling goods between Vietnam and Russia. After 4 years of operation, Nga Market has now become a familiar shopping destination for the majority of domestic and foreign tourists coming to Ho Chi Minh City.
“ Nga Market is not just an address “It’s an ideal shopping tour for Russian tourists when coming to Vietnam, but it’s also a major trading center for Vietnamese and Russian import-export enterprises,” Mr. Vu Anh Duong said.
According to According to small businesses here, the birth of the Russian market is necessary and urgent to create conditions for small businesses as well as small and medium enterprises to access the Russian market. Russian Market contributes to promoting economic development and building a sustainable friendship in all aspects between Vietnam and Russia. Every day, hundreds of shipments arrive at the airport and the same number of shipments are imported to the market. On weekends, there are a lot of customers coming to the Russian specialty market, but that doesn’t mean the atmosphere becomes noisy and bustling. It is the important role of the Russian market to meet the needs of Vietnam – Russia trade that Airgo Cargo Company (a leading Russian enterprise in international air transport and sea transport) has opened a permanent office located in right on the premises of the Russian market to quickly and safely serve the delivery and receipt of goods by small traders.
It is known that the Russian market is currently not only a major trading center between businesses. In Vietnam and Russia, many domestic and foreign travel companies have also included this market in the list of shopping and sightseeing addresses to operate tours.
Remember 4 years ago ( May 2009) on the occasion of visiting Vietnam. Miss World 2008 Ksenia Sukhinova visited the Russian market right after one day arriving in Ho Chi Minh City. She shared with the press that she wanted to come here because in Russia she had long known about Vom market, a very vibrant business place of Vietnamese people in Russia. Therefore, when she learned that there was also a similar market model in Ho Chi Minh City, she eagerly wanted to visit and buy Vietnamese handicrafts as gifts for relatives and friends. And she also hopes that the Russian market will not only be an ideal shopping destination for Russian tourists coming to Vietnam, but will also be the center of Russian culture in Vietnam.
As soon as you book Arriving at the market, after briefly looking at the items for sale, Miss went to a small bar located in the market to hear an introduction to the business activities of the Russian market. Ksenia Sukhinova confessed that she really likes the sophisticated Vietnamese handicrafts sold in the market. The beauty queen’s appearance at the Russian market caused many Vietnamese and Russian families living in Ho Chi Minh City to surround her, asking for autographs and taking photos, causing the beauty’s shopping plans to change. Ksenia Sukhinova patiently stood taking commemorative photos and giving autographs to fans for about 15 minutes. After that, she was accompanied by many bodyguards to leave with regretful eyes because she could not fulfill her shopping intention…
With the attraction of the Russian market, many people who love the land of Aries hope to that in the near future there will be more similar Russian markets in Hanoi or Vung Tau (places frequented by many Russian tourists and gathering many Vietnamese people who have lived, studied and worked in Russia). In this way, the cultural exchange between Vietnam and Russia will develop even more firmly.
According to T.V
Petrotimes
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