Part 2 –– David vs Goliah - The commercial streets of Ho Chi Minh City – or the vitality of the hundred-year-old streets

There is a proverb that says "Friendly in Commerce, sell in quarters" or folk often say "Small but have martial arts".

The street of lanterns and the street of traditional medicine - stationery Cho Lon - Saigon is one of such streets.

When the mid-autumn season comes annually, District 5 is colorful with glossy glass lanterns and pretty paper lanterns in the lantern street. Having the opportunity to come to Hoi An and compare the lantern street Cho Lon vs Hoi An ancient town, you will find that the lantern street in District 5 is too modest and small compared to Hoi An. Or in compared with such busy commercial streets in Guangdong, Fujian (China).

Then have you ever asked: how can they - the sellers - survive in so many stormy seasons and harmonize with the ups and downs of the economy?

But most of the Chinese in Cho Lon have their own way of doing business.

At the lantern street (and furthermore, the street of traditional medicine - stationery) you will find this very unique way of doing business, in harmony with the folk trading practices as in the old proverb. "Friendly in Commerce, sell in quarters".

And especially the flexibility, sensitivity to the market and the change of four seasons of the year.

In spring, Chau Van Liem street drops you with rows of ornamental flowers. When the summer comes, the sound of singing is loud, the tea shops, ginseng drink shops, chicken rice shops along both sides of Chau Van Liem street are crowded with people. Autumn is the season of Luong Nhu Hoc lantern street and now expanding to Hai Thuong Lan Ong. The rest of the year, people sell traditional medicine, stationery, etc. Rarely do you see the commercial area around Chau Van Liem - Nguyen Trai streets empty of people.

Moreover, perhaps, according to the author of the article, this hundred-year vitality will still echo forever, to preserve the memory of a time, facing with the changing world, when the skyscrapers continued to grow, as the little Davids stimulated and challenged the giant Goliath.