Old Quarter Hanoi

The Old Quarter (Vietnamese: Phố cổ Hà Nội) is the name commonly given to that part of Hanoi that has been in existence since imperial times and which used to be located outside the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long. This quarter used to be a residential, manufacturing, and commercial center, where each street was specialized in one specific type of manufacturing or commerce. Nowadays, the quarter is an attraction for people interested in the history of Hanoi.

Another common name referring to approximately the same area is the 36 streets (Vietnamese: Hà Nội 36 phố phường), after the 36 streets that used to make up the urban area of the city. These 36 streets are not all located inside the Old Quarter proper, though.

The official extent of the Hanoi Old Quarter has been fixed by a 1995 decision from the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction^[1]: in the north it is limited by Hàng Đậu street, in the west by Phùng Hưng street, in the south by Hàng Bông street, Hàng Gai street, Cầu Gỗ street, and Hàng Thùng street, and in the east by Trần Quang Khải street and Trần Nhật Duật street. Several of the streets that were part of the historic urban area of Hanoi lie outside this region, which was determined for being most dense in historical streets and for having maintained its historical character best.

The official Old Quarter is part of the Hoàn Kiếm District. Its total area is about 100 ha and it counts 76 streets distributed over 10 wards.

The residential and commercial area that is now the Old Quarter came to be during the Lý and Trần dynasties and was then located east of the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long and along the Red River. During the Lê dynasty, scholar Nguyễn Trãi already mentioned some of the areas each specialized in one particular trade. It was then surrounded by a defensive wall with several gates.

During the Lê dynasty, the area included several lakes and wetlands, the largest of which was Thái Cực lake. These lakes, as well as the Tô Lịch River were connected with Hoàn Kiếm lake and the Red River. Near the end of the 19th century these lakes and rivers became isolated from each other.

During the Lý and Trần dynasties, many people from the surrounding plains migrated to the city and settled in what is now the Old Quarter, creating the densest urban area of the city. The Lê dynasty period saw an additional influx of Chinese immigrants who arrived to trade, creating several Chinese neighbourhoods..

When the French ruled over Vietnam, they partially rebuilt the area. This period saw many French and Indians settling there to conduct business. Two small markets were demolished to make place for Đồng Xuân Market. Furthermore a tramway was constructed through the quarter.

The area is still the commercial heart of Hanoi.