Hanoi inundated with eager Christmas shoppers

Many Hanoians descend on Hang Ma and Hang Luoc streets, dedicated throughout the year to selling decorations for all festivals, to purchase Christmas decorations.
With only a few weeks left, these streets have been packed, especially between 4 and 10 p.m. on both weekdays and weekends.

On Hang Ma, there are over 70 establishments offering products and ornaments like artificial pine trees, laurel wreaths, and statues of Santa Clauses and reindeer.

Like every year, the most popular item is artificial pine trees, which comes in a range of shapes and sizes.
According to a business owner on Hang Ma, fake little pine trees cost roughly VND200,000-500,000 ($8-21.72), medium-sized between VND3-5 million, and larger trees more than VND10 million.

According to store owners, this year's purchasing power has fallen, with consumers buying decorations earlier than normal fearing pre-holiday crowds, making it difficult to maintain a safe social distance.
"Although stores appear to be crowded, a majority of visitors come here come ,to snap photographs and then leave," a shopkeeper lamented.

Ngoc Le and Mai Anh from Thanh Xuan District visited Hang Ma on Wednesday afternoon, fearing it would be too crowded over the weekend.
"We reasoned that coming here on a weekday afternoon would give us greater freedom to stroll around. But stores are still packed, just like they are on weekends,"Anh stated.

Hong Sen, from Cau Giay District, also brought her two children Nhat Minh and Minh Chau, aged 8 and 5, here to take pictures.
"Initially, I wanted to take my children out in the evening since the images would look better under the glittering light at night. But, anticipating it would be really busy at that time, we decided to arrive earlier," she said, adding she only sought vacant spots to photograph her children.

To match the Christmas theme, many young people choose to wear red, white, pink or green outfits.

In the past few days, Hanoi has recorded a rising number of local Covid-19 infections. But many visitors to Hang Ma Street said since they are fully vaccinated, they are confident venturing out.
Visitors still strictly adhere to preventive measures and only lower their masks when taking photos.

As the night grows dark, Hang Ma and Hang Luoc streets become more crowded.
Local officials have assigned staff to direct traffic and remind people to wear masks and practice social distancing.
As of Saturday morning, the capital has recorded 16,271 cases in the ongoing Covid outbreak that hit Vietnam in late April.