During a 3-month European tour this summer, Mr. Dang Hoang Binh and his wife - Ms. Vuong Thu Huyen had an interesting experience at Dong Xuan market in Leipzig, Germany.
In Europe, there are many large Vietnamese markets such as Dong Xuan market in Berlin, Sapa market in Prague (Czech Republic)... Dong Xuan market in Leipzig is not much smaller in scale than those other markets, and even has more Vietnamese colors.
40 years ago, many Vietnamese people came to Leipzig to work, then some returned, some stayed. Those who stayed created a strong Vietnamese community here.
Entering the market, the first impression of Mr. Binh and his wife was that many people spoke Vietnamese and that there were more advertisements in Vietnamese than German. Looking at the photos and videos he took, no one would think he was in Germany.
“I looked around the market and saw signs in Vietnamese, such as: Market rules, haircut, shampoo, nail salon, Hanoi restaurant, etc.”, Mr. Binh said.
According to the stall layout, the market consists of two large areas. Each area has 70 stalls, mostly Vietnamese, only a very small number of Indians do business here.
Walking around the market, he saw many surprising and new things. “The market is big, spacious, with many stalls but it is as deserted as a temple, not many customers. The stall owners are still busy setting up their stalls, not many people are sitting around scrolling through their phones.
Maybe because they have switched to online ordering, I see that they are always busy and have people going in and out of the market to import and export goods continuously" - Mr. Binh said.
According to his observation, Dong Xuan market in Leipzig sells all kinds of goods but mainly clothes. In addition, the market also has a food area, a restaurant area and many very Vietnamese shops.
The items are diverse and surprisingly cheap. “Most of the clothes come from China, there are also goods from Vietnam and India, but not many. Most of the shop owners are Vietnamese.
The number of non-Vietnamese shop owners is very small. This is what I find most different compared to Asian markets in other countries and compared to Dong Xuan market in Berlin.”
“Maybe the reason is that the Vietnamese community in Leipzig has been very strong since the 1980s and 1990s. They did business near the station and in 2005 they moved to Dong Xuan market in Leipzig, more than 1km from the main station.
Moreover, Dong Xuan Berlin market is located in the capital so there will be more cultural exchanges. The shop owners also come from many different countries.
He said that Vietnamese restaurants at Dong Xuan Market in Leipzig have a simple table and chair arrangement and decoration style of 30-40 years ago, and are also influenced by Chinese style. Unlike some Vietnamese restaurants in Paris (France) that have now caught up with the modern Vietnamese decoration style.
“Regarding food, I find it quite similar to Vietnamese food in other European countries such as France, Poland, etc., but the prices here are better. I ordered a bowl of pho and a plate of fried noodles and felt like I was eating at a Vietnamese restaurant in France nearly 20 years ago.”
There was one interesting thing that made Mr. Binh laugh during this experience, which was the selling style here. “It is exactly like the selling style at Dong Xuan market – Hanoi.
I asked the saleswoman if she sold magnetic stickers for refrigerators. She continued to press the calculator, probably counting the money, her face became stern, and she answered 'no' very clearly and firmly.
That was the only sentence that a person in the market communicated with me. The answer felt very cold, icy but very familiar" - Mr. Binh humorously shared.
“Anyway, tourists are not the potential customers at this market. The main customers of this market are Vietnamese traders from other places who come here to buy wholesale in large quantities.”
Finally, what surprised him the most was that the prices at the market were so cheap. “Don’t say it’s cheap compared to other markets in Germany or cheap compared to the average income in Germany, but even compared to the prices at Dong Xuan Market in Hanoi, the prices here are still cheap. There are many items at super good prices, for example, thick coats cost only 5 Euros each (less than 150 thousand VND).”
At noon, when he went to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant, he saw two tables of Vietnamese people "chatting" - "the typical Vietnamese way of chatting is to have a cup of tea and a cigarette".
The restaurant owner was very friendly when he let him climb up on the chair to pick grapes. “The owner planted grape vines around the restaurant for decoration, wind protection and to eat the fruit. The feeling of climbing up on the chair to pick grapes under the curious eyes of Western guests and the owner's cheerful smile, and eating clean grapes fertilized with bird droppings was also wonderful.”
Mr. Binh said that he had been to many Asian markets in France, but Dong Xuan market in Leipzig is a very different model, very Vietnamese, very Dong Xuan, and if you have the chance, you should visit it once.
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