There is a special market in the heart of Saigon, adults and children wear ao dai, children go to the market to play and learn billions of interesting things during summer vacation.

A country market seems lost in the middle of the street, but every weekend is crowded with sellers and buyers…
If on a Sunday morning at the weekend, you happen to pass through a small alley at 7 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. In Ho Chi Minh City, seeing from adults to children in long dresses, Ba Ba dresses fluttering in and out, many people will mistake this as a solemn event.

In fact, mothers and sisters are just taking their children to… the market. This is an activity organized by the Mothers’ Association, the profit after each market session will be collected and donated to poor, sick children, disadvantaged families far from the city… Address Cho Que: 7K Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 1, City. HCM. Market time: From 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. every Sunday. The corners of the countryside market are full of memories. “Visitors to the market please bring baskets/bags” This year 13 years old, little Ri has more than 2 years of experience “going to the countryside market” to help the salesgirls. At that time, Ri was just over 10 years old, the market was tiny under the nostalgic old banyan tree, the saleswomen wore long and short dresses, nothing exciting, but Ri once came to like it. Since then, Ri likes to wear ao dai most of the time when she wants to go out with her mother. Ri likes Ao Dai because it’s light and discreet, because wearing it all day, Ri still feels very comfortable and because everyone wears it, everyone compliments that Ri is beautiful and Ri is cute. Every time someone passes by and looks back, Ri is so proud! This year 13 years old, little Ri has more than 2 years of experience “going to the countryside market”. There are many girls and boys like Ri at Cho Que every week. At first, she followed her mother to the market, bought a bunch of clean vegetables in the countryside, enjoyed delicious dishes prepared by Saigon mothers or played a few folk games, then fell in love. Love the goods of the market, love the atmosphere of the market, love the weekend to wear ao dai… go to the market without feeling lost. The poor children followed their mother to the countryside market. As for adults, “Country market in the middle of the street” is literally a market in the countryside with bamboo stalls filled with seasonal specialties. From vegetables, fruit cakes to items that seem to be difficult to find in a prosperous urban place such as bamboo and rattan, Bau Truc pottery, bamboo … This corner has a sister selling beef noodles, hot tofu, a burden of smoky tea, the other corner sells a tray of beef cakes and baked sweet potatoes, next to them are baskets of herbs, bunches of spring onions that are true to the countryside, barren but fragrant illustrious. The fruits here are grown from gardeners in the livelihood support project, without spraying pesticides in the spirit of “green – clean – safe” from the countryside. The market also has stalls of Ao Dai, story books, cooked foods wrapped in green banana leaves… reminding of peaceful countryside in the memories of expatriates. For adults, the “country market in the middle of the street” is literally a market in the countryside with bamboo stalls filled with seasonal specialties. People who go to the Que Market for a long time almost never forget the reminder: Please bring a basket/bag. The market minimizes plastic bags, so don’t be surprised if you see images of women carrying shopping baskets like in the old days, in the countryside, or scenes of sisters in ao dai, Mrs. Three busy packing, taking food for customers with paper bags or banana leaf boats, rattan baskets, ropes, mo Cau dishes… From this rural market, children learn hundreds of interesting things The market seems to be the place of housewives, but every week is crowded with children. “Take advantage of buying delicious food and let the children know about the culture of the countryside” is the answer of many parents when asked why they love going to Cho Que. As it turns out, the market is not just a market, but has long become a “cultural rendezvous” too. There, the children can learn more about the exquisite hand-embroidered Ao Dai, know about ceramics and bamboo, listen to stories about traditional craft villages in many provinces and cities such as Ma Chau silk, Dong Thap bamboo knitting, etc. Binh Nham wooden clogs, Bau Truc pottery… The market is not only a market, but has long become a “cultural rendezvous” too. There, every season that food is sold, so the children are answered enthusiastically all kinds of questions about the flowering season of the countryside specialties or are given dried yellow leaves, beautiful pebbles to brighten themselves. create a satisfactory work, from which learn lessons about recycling, about environmental protection. In addition to the fair, the Assembly Hall also organizes talks for children to better understand farmers, especially preserving the cultural values ​​of traditional craft villages. Listen to the stories of mountains, forests, plants and animals, understand more about the journey of planting and protecting trees and water sources, appreciating the efforts of those who plant trees and gardeners… At this market, people come without noise, rush, just work hard to buy what they need and then leave like many other markets. At this fair, people come without noise and hurry but mainly to share their stories, to feel more clearly the love between people, to teach children what the atmosphere is. of a country market… “When I grew up, I learned to love the mixed gardens that I used to criticize when I was a child. I am grateful for the year-round fruit seasons, although not much, but extremely fragrant for my soul to breathe naturally every day. day” (Ha Nhan). The countryside market in the middle of Saigon street really brings such a peaceful, fragrant feeling! Originally a Bachelor of Sociology, in 2001, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy (President of the Mothers’ Association) established the Association to gather many parents to share with each other about the education of their children. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy – President of the Mothers’ Association. “12 years ago, instead of holding seminars in a closed room, I came up with the idea of ​​organizing a country market for parents to join their children,” Thuy said. In addition to introducing children to seasonal fruits and vegetables in a visual and vivid way, each week the Assembly Hall also has programs with different themes, such as crafting from natural materials, recycling, drawing, knitting, knitting, knotting coconut leaves, pomelo-peel lanterns for the Mid-Autumn Festival or listening to stories with paper plays… This is a way to help children have more entertainment instead of just plugging in. in other mobile entertainment devices. Children also often bring books and stories to the market to read or exchange with each other, learn how to protect the environment by limiting plastic bags, prioritizing natural materials… to form a green lifestyle. “More importantly, what we want is to preserve the children’s traditional culture. Wearing a long dress, grandma, wearing a conical hat, learning about the craft village, folk games, etc. . are ways to revive the beauties that are gradually being lost, although some of them will be able to change, improve … in a way that is more suitable for the younger generation now”.