Old town is the first place to visit for tourists from all over the world when coming to Hanoi. They are curious about the old beauty of Hanoi, a thousand years of civilization. However, hidden behind the noisy and bustling features of the shops growing up close by, are the dark, microscopic alleys. Those are small, deep alleys, just one person. Entering each small alley is like stepping into a tunnel, groping forever without seeing the sun. Especially, in Hang Buom street, deep and narrow alleyways appear alternately. The way a large frontage house to an alley. The narrowest section width is nearly 50-60 cm. Ngo Brick Street, Hoan Kiem District – this place is known to many people for its tiny alleys when their width is less than 50 cm. Through this dark “tunnel” are the houses lurking behind. These small alleys form hundreds of hundreds of years. Hanoians are also accustomed to this cramped lifestyle. Households enjoy the same living space and collective kitchen. Every house door is close together. Few people can imagine that in that seemingly small alley, there are people who accept to live with darkness and humidity. This is house No. 34, Phat Loc alley, according to people living here, the house of Hoan Kiem factory is considered to be the oldest and the worst in Hang Buom ward. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tuan lives in a 12m2 house at 32, Phat Loc (Hang Buom Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi) for nearly 40 years. “I have lived here since the day I came back as a bride. This house my mother-in-law rented from the State, only 12m2, but for 4 generations … “ “Now the house has deteriorated a lot, the walls are loose, damp, when there are heavy rains, the house leaks, the windows are beaten by the wind”, Ms. Tuan said. Her husband spent more than 10 years, Mrs. Tuan alone took care of the whole family. She said: “There is no new rent, but living conditions like this are too much, I just hope to have a policy of relaxing people so that the whole family can move to a new place”. Because the house is so small, she makes use of the area next to no one to rent. In the same situation, living in house 34, Phat Loc, is still a lot of tenants. Ms. Zhao Tieu Hoa (77 years old) shared: “I have been staying in this house for 70 years. Now the children also live in this house “. Despite her old age, Ms. Hoa is daily groping for her way in the dark “cellar” going up and down to cook rice in the first floor collective kitchen. Over half of her life, with Mrs. Hoa, life is like that. “Enough, do not want to change anymore”. This is the house of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ty (85 years old) at 96 Hang Buom. The house is only 9m2, and below is the kitchen, the toilet, above is the attic for her to sleep. “I have lived here since 1957, the day before, a family of seven lived here. Later, my children got married to live separately, I lived here alone. Sometimes my children and grandchildren would come home to visit their mother, ”said Mrs. Ty. According to observation, in these lane areas there are many degraded houses, in addition to the interlocking electrical system, the tubular house has no escape route, the fire alarm system is not equipped with potentially many fire risks. explosive. According to statistics in the Hoan Kiem district, there are more than 1,000 alleys and alleys so small that only one person can pass. There are even alleys that people passing by have to stoop, wriggle, look very miserable, but it is normal of the people of the old town. Living so cramped, dark, but many people still accept and satisfied because it seems to have become a habit, a cultural feature of Hanoi Old Quarter.

The alley is only half a meter wide, deep, smoking, people have to turn on the electricity 24/24 to see the path, the entrance can only be one by one.

Alleyways are only available in Hanoi’s Old Quarter

Along the streets such as: Hang Buom, Hang Chieu, Hang Duong, Lane Brick, Lo Su … are super-small alleyways, right behind the shops with splendid light; is known as a “specialty” of Hanoi Old Quarter.

Streets located in the old town area are called “diamond streets” of Hanoi, with a value of up to billions of VND / m2, equivalent to land prices in the most expensive cities in the world. like New York, Paris or Tokyo.

In the area of ​​Hang Ngang – Hang Dao, Dinh Tien Hoang, the price of road surface is said to be from 800 million to more than 1 billion VND / m2.

Most of the households living in these alleys are families with 3 generations, sharing a small house, only 10m2.

An alley on Hang Buom Street, deep and dark like a tunnel.

Mr. Le Cong Vinh (70 years old, Hang Buom street) said: “Although I am used to living here, sometimes I find it inconvenient. Every time you want to renovate the house, you have to pay more labor costs to carry the materials bit by bit from outside the entrance to the house ”.

According to Mr. Vinh, the biggest inconvenience here is the lack of common living space for everyone. Every time anyone’s house has a table, they have to borrow the space of the next house to have enough room for guests. When shopping for household appliances, everyone has to consider, calculate and only dare to buy items with the size that can pass through the lane.

Even during the day, even with the lights on, the alley is still dark.

Mr. Le Ngoc Anh (45 years old, Hang Buom street) expressed concern: “I only care for children who do not have a place to play and play. Every afternoon, they come home from school to see them sitting in the house watching TV or playing on the phone.

Alley space is narrow, many families with young children often have to go to the park or walk around the street to save trouble.

The lane’s meager space is used as a place for furniture, goods, and bicycles.

The electrical wiring and meters above are installed running along the small alley, potentially many risks, not ensuring electrical safety and fire prevention.

“The alley, the house is cramped, but it can’t be helped to move.”

Located deep in the alley only about 50cm wide, with dim electric lights on Hang Buom street, the house of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long’s family has two floors, each floor is less than 10m2 but has 6 people, 3 generations. live together.

Mr. Long shared: “Although living conditions are quite tight, many households here do not want to move anywhere. Moreover, if we move, we do not know what kind of profession to make a living ”.

The small room, narrow alley, and Mr. Long’s furniture are only “moderate” in size.

An alley corner is used as a cooking place.

Many households have to share living space to save space.

The alley is very narrow, only one person can pass, so people often wait for each other to take each car out one by one …

Le Thi Gai (75 years old, Lo Su street, Hoan Kiem district) shared that her family has lived here since the 1960s, most of people here are manual labor, small businesses. in the old town. Although there are many inconveniences, the households living in these alleys are very united.

“Previously, 4 households in the alley used the same toilet, now life is better, each house built its own toilet, but we still told you to clean the way together. go, everyone’s living space ”.

A small, deep alley is nestled among flashy street shops.

Since 1998, the People’s Committee of Hanoi has started an old town migration project with the aim of reducing population density in the AQ from 823 people / ha in 2010 to 500 people / ha. Accordingly, the area of ​​Hoan Kiem old town has to move over 6,500 households, with about 27,000 people.

In the middle of 2019, the project of stretching the old town continues to restart after the years that seem to have “fallen asleep”. However, after more than 20 years of implementing this population relaxation project, the old quarters with a large population density, narrow houses crowded in deep streets continue to recur. Damage, peeling walls, steel core inside is common.

The alleys are not noisy, no hustle and bustle, still quietly nestled on the bustling streets of more than 20 years. The people living in it still keep harmony with each other, yield to the little common space, and preserve the civilized lifestyle of Ha Thanh land.