Saigon's third pedestrian street overrun by weekend crowds

By Huu Khoa December 7, 2020 | 01:24 am PT

A pedestrian zone, on trial in Saigon's District 10, has attracted large nocturnal crowds, with many visitors wearing face masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The pedestrian zone near the statue of King Quang Trung, a national hero in the 18th century, has opened to tourists from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily since November 28. It would be the third pedestrian street in HCMC after Nguyen Hue and Bui Vien in District 1. The walking street will be over 100 meters long, starting from the junction of Nguyen Lam - Ba Hat streets to that of Nguyen Lam - Nhat Tao streets, with about 50 food and souvenir stalls along with cultural activities, street music performances and games. The front of this area is a welcome gate, decorated with a bright color light system; A fence was also set up to limit vehicles moving onto the area.

The pedestrian zone near the statue of King Quang Trung, a national hero of the 18th century, has been open to tourists from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily since November 28. It would be the third pedestrian street in the city after Nguyen Hue and Bui Vien in District 1.
The walking street will be over 100 meters long, stretching from the Nguyen Lam - Ba Hat to Nguyen Lam - Nhat Tao junctions, including about 50 food and souvenir stalls along with cultural activities, street music performances and games.
The entrance gate is decorated with bright colored lights, with a fence limiting vehicle access.

To prevent Covid-19, all residents and visitors to the pedestrian street must wear face masks and have their body temperatures checked. Ho Chi Minh City had passed five days without recording any new infections related to its latest outbreak with four community transmissions, triggered by a Vietnam Airliness flight attendant, patient 1342, who violated quaratine regulations and infected his teacher friend, who then infected at least two others.

All residents and visitors must wear face masks and have their body temperatures checked.
HCMC has passed five days without recording any new infections related to its four most recent community transmissions, triggered by a Vietnam Airlines flight attendant, "patient 1342", who violated his quarantine regulations and infected a teacher friend, who then spread the virus to at least two others.

The area surrounding the Quang Trung statue, center of the pedestrian street, is decorated with lights and Christmas trees.

The pedestrian zone also features a food court with 30 stalls, mainly selling drinks and fast food.
Tables and chairs are arranged at a distance of 1.5 meters to ensure safety amid the new Covid-19 situation.

Fast-food, including fish balls and meat balls are sold at VND10,000 to VND50,000 a portion.

Fast food, including fish balls and meat balls are sold at VND10,000 ($0.43) to VND50,000 a portion.

Ngo Diem Vy, (R) enjoys night food with her friend. This pedestrian zone is smaller than the one on Nguyen Hue Boulevard but food stalls there are very diverse and there are no street vendors harrasing customers, Vy said.

Ngo Diem Vy (R) enjoys night bite with her friend.
"This pedestrian zone is smaller than the one on Nguyen Hue Street but food stalls here are very diverse and there are no street vendors harassing customers," Vy said.

Soft drinks are arranged in separate zones and customers are asked to queue up. No stalls are allowed to sell alcohol beverages so as to avoid the risk of causing any public disorder.

Customers queue up for soft drinks. No stalls are allowed to sell alcohol to avoid the risk of public disorder.

Khanh in District 10 and her children choose to buy clothes at a stall on the walking street.There are 20 stalls selling clothes, fashion accessories and souvenirs in the area.

Khanh from District 10 and her children rummage through one of 20 stalls selling clothes, fashion accessories and souvenirs.

Large numbers of pedestrians gather to watch music performances, which will be held on two weekend days. The management board of the pedestrian street said in the near future, it will bring art activities such as calligraphy drawing and toy figure molding to serve visitors.

Large numbers of pedestrians gather to watch a weekend music performance.
The pedestrian street management said in the near future, it would arrange additional activities like calligraphy painting and toy figure molding.

Tran Van Tuan, deputy director of Public Service Company of District 10, said in mid-December, the pedestrian street in Quang Trung statue area will officially put into operation.The city currently has two walking streets, Nguyen Hue and Bui Vien, both in District 1. Since its opening in April 2015, Nguyen Hue has welcomed thousands of people every day while about 2 km away, Bui Vien, hugely popular among both backpackers and locals, welcomes several thousand visitors every weekend since August 2017. Recently, authorities in District 3 proposed to open two pedestrian streets in the Turtle Lake area and Nguyen Thuong Hien Street.

Tran Van Tuan, deputy director of the Public Service Company of District 10, said in mid-December, the pedestrian street by the Quang Trung statue would officially enter operation.
The city currently has two walking streets, Nguyen Hue and Bui Vien, both in District 1. Since its opening in April 2015, Nguyen Hue has welcomed thousands of people every day while about 2 kilometers away, Bui Vien, hugely popular among both backpackers and locals, has welcomed several thousand visitors every weekend since August 2017.
Recently, authorities in District 3 also proposed to open two pedestrian streets in the Turtle Lake area and on Nguyen Thuong Hien Street.