A slice of memory of the heart of Cho Lon

1.

More than 40 years ago, starting with her family from Hanoi capital to Ho Chi Minh City to live, regularly more than 10 seasons, on the afternoon of the first day of the New Year or on the morning of the 2nd New Year, I reeled from District 3 Cholon.

Go down to Tran Hung Dao street, around the streets of Phung Hung, Hai Thuong Lan Ong, Chau Van Liem, Ha Ton Quyen, Trang Tu, Mac Thien Tich ... running across the two markets of Binh Tay and An Dong. Following the straight circuit of Nguyen Trai street, across Ba Thien Hau Pagoda (Ba Cho Lon Pagoda, Tue Thanh Association), there are five times to visit incense, there are five no.

The street at the beginning of the year, the car, I was absent, I was very slow to look at the beautiful French -French architectural houses, looking at the signs of the red and Vietnamese capital store; Suddenly turning into a few small alleys, sometimes somewhere to see a two old man busy in the cloak, the white -haired lady cut short, a few middle -aged women were busy with the elegant flower -printed fabric neck standing standing standing. Under the flag, beside the flower pots in front of the house, the trough listened to them "foolish" a couple of questions - then asked to know it was Guangdong Chinese.

The "traveling" trips to Cho Lon in school always gave me the feeling that it seemed like the beginning of the year I was ... going abroad. Looking at those who live in the same city with them - Vietnamese -Chinese people - they are both familiar and strange, like in another world, there is something that makes me need to find out.

Not to mention, the joy of seeing water paintings, Chinese calligraphy, especially some Chinese drinks, I feel delicious, then I like to learn about the big market of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City The bigger I became in me.

Lang somewhere, I have some knowledge according to the document: Cho Lon was formed from the 17th to 19th centuries, when the Chinese community came to settle and build a busy urban; Cho Lon City was established on 6.6.1865; Saigon - Cholon Nhat Nhat in 1956 ...

2.

For a long time, until the afternoon of Xuan At Ty 2025, I did not go down to the "backpacking" of Cho Lon, but "piercing", through "there was a time in the market" of Pham Cong Luan - "" The book was formed after many years the author went to Cho Lon, searched for documents, recorded the memories of some residents who have been living here. ”

And I suddenly "startled" when I read the sharing of Pham Cong Luan, it was the same as I was like me (I made that, maybe many people living in Ho Chi Minh City, caring and loved Cho Lon area also saw that) : "Until now, every time I go to Cho Lon, I still feel like visiting a strange city"; "Vietnamese has been said a lot now, but it feels that it has not changed the atmosphere that is both familiar and strange around me."

I read a circuit of more than 30 articles by Pham Cong Luan, the author recorded, books and newspapers ... about the old and present Cholon.

I no longer ran horizontally on the houses, on some of the big market roads, the articles in the book brought me deep into the "world" of the Chinese Cho Lon. From a small story like delicious dishes (although some dishes are slightly greasy, eat more bored) to larger, is the history of formation (short) of the Chinese community for hundreds of years in the past year. with Vietnamese (origin of Guangdong, Trieu Chau, Fujian, Chives, Hainan); to a few prominent faces for a while ...

In the story of the history of some Chinese -Vietnamese families, it has contributed to the growth of the community, building and developing Saigon - Gia Dinh, I find it interesting details: the husband is Chinese, Most of the wife (Lady) are Vietnamese women (often very beautiful) - If they are not the "key box" in the family, they are always the ones respected by the husbands for the dignity, the woman. Help her husband at work ...

The essays - memories of Pham Cong Luan rebuilt the portraits of Vietnamese -Chinese people living in small alleys - imbued with human love. They "are mostly people who need labor", idyllic people with memories of remembering "old and fragrant neighborhood", "hamlet", "field", "A" Self -Self "Thuan Duc". ...

One of the articles with many newspapers, I find it interesting, helping me to add knowledge, "the rebuilding one of the big markets with souvenirs".

Pham Cong Luan told the story of journalist Duong Rach Sanh (the pen name of Ky Lan, whose father was a Guangdong Chinese, a Vietnamese mother from Bien Hoa) who worked at Saigon Newspaper to liberate the pattern.

From June 2019, Ky Lan journalist gathered household items from the past to the present of the Saigon - Cholon Chinese community; With the support of friends, he established a gallery of the Chinese Cultural Culture Saigon - Cho Lon (at the end of 2020), so far there are more than 2,500 souvenirs and papers ...

Behind every memorant, simple like a carrier, the hue of the Chaozhou people, the pillow of the hole ... is the story of many emotions about the fate of the expatriates of the country to wander to Vietnam, choose Saigon - Gia Dinh is a second home ...

An interesting feature of "There is a time in the market" with readers is the image, in addition to historical documents, photos taken by the author, illustrating the watercolor painting of artist Pham Cong Tam - brother .

As Pham Cong Luan humbly claims: "The book is just a slice of the life of Cho Lon area ...", with the stories "all over the time to enter Vietnamese life naturally, doing it, doing it naturally, doing it naturally, doing it naturally, doing it naturally Rich in diverse life in Saigon - Gia Dinh ”.