Hanoi train street: Reminisce the splendid past of a unique place
Hanoi train street is one of the most curious places to discover in this city, which attracts flocks of tourists every day. Is it still open to tourists now? Below is the latest information about this street.
1. Hanoi train street at a glance
Hanoi train street used to be one of the most renowned tourist destinations in the capital. It is a tiny, winding street tucked away in one of Hanoi’s back streets, surrounded by tightly clustered, tall, narrow houses. The train travels by the backyards of these families a couple times each day.
Many tourists love coming to Hanoi train street to enjoy coffee at the sidewalk and take a great number of stunning pictures. However, when you read this article, the street is no longer open to tourists. The safety of this place has created a huge concern for the local authorities. Therefore, all the check-in spots and cafes along the train street have been closed with caution signs on the street.
Though, it will be great if you can spend time to look back on the splendid past of this destination and find many interesting things about it. Take a trip down memory lane to see how special Hanoi train street is and why it attracted flocks of tourists in the good old days.
2 Hanoi train street location
Looking back at Hanoi train street history, the single-track railway that runs through the streets of Hanoi Old Quarter has been there since the 20th century, during the French colonial period. The railway is still active nowadays. The hot spot that used to drive photoholics crazy is the railway section on Phung Hung, Dien Bien Phu, and Le Duan streets.
3. What makes Hanoi train street so famous?
The interesting thing about Hanoi train street is that the local houses are built just about a meter away from the railway. Many people who used to come to this place express their amazement that if they took 2 – 3 steps from the house, they would find themselves standing on the railway.
The pictures of trains passing through the narrow Hanoi train street used to create a boom on social media. This is the reason why in recent years, till the time it is closed for tourists, Hanoi train street has drawn the attention of people all over the world.
Many sightseers who had a chance to explore this place could sit at Hanoi train street cafes and watch the train passing by up-close. Although there will be no chance like this from now on, the highlights of this street will surely be memorized by many tourists, especially through the pictures that they took at this place on their trips.
Hanoi train street still crowded despite ban
Owners of coffee shops along Hanoi’s train street have continued to serve tourists, despite the ban from local authorities.
A cafe owner guides customers to her railside businesses.
A month since barriers were put up to prevent visitors to the area, cafe owners have managed to guide their customers to their railside businesses.
Speaking with Dantri/Dtinews on October 26, a police officer in Hang Bong Ward said that visitors were still taken to cafes along the street through small lanes.
“We’ve arranged some barricades and checkpoints at two ends of the streets but cafe owners have found other ways to guide their customers,” the police officer said.
Tourists are still seen walking along the railway or having coffee at the shops along the track. Many cafes are still very crowded with tourists.
Some foreign tourists came to ask a policeman why they were not allowed to go inside while others were visiting the area.
Chairman of Hang Bong Ward People’s Committee, Nguyen Vu Linh, said that after hearing about visitors coming to the banned area, they have sent teams to install more checkpoints.
“We’re facing more difficulties when cafe owners are trying to continue their practice,” the official said. “We’ll continue to tighten rules and ask travel companies not to take tourists to this area.”
Train street, which attracts lots of visitors, was closed again in mid-September and all the cafes had their licenses revoked following rail safety concerns from the Vietnam Railway Authority.
However, owners of coffee shops along the train street in Hanoi later sent a group letter asking for local authorities to allow them to continue to operate. They expressed the hope that local authorities would not eliminate the popular tourist spot.
According to these businessmen, they are mostly retired railway staff and were given apartments in the buildings along the railway between 1965 and 1974.
“Right after moving here, we saw many foreign tourists coming to our house’s veranda waiting to watch the passing trains,” the letter said. “They talked about it and shared the photos on many travel forums, making this place famous. We decided to open coffee shops to serve the rising number of visitors.”
The residents said they really hoped that local authorities would have suitable measures to make this place a safe tourist attraction and at the same time ensure regular business activities for local people.
Hanoi police have placed barriers on the street since September 14 following an announcement on the temporary closure of all coffee shops in the area.
There are more than 30 coffee shops along the two-kilometre street which starts from Le Duan, goes through Tran Phu and Cua Dong and ends at Phung Hung Street.
Source of VietnamNet