JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

Nguyen Hue pedestrian street – a lovely new spot in Saigon

Nguyen Hue pedestrian street – a lovely new spot in Saigon

Sunday, June 21, 2015, 14:52 GMT+7

It was an ordinary night on the Nguyen Hue pedestrian street when thousands of local people and tourists flocked to the new spot in downtown Ho Chi Minh City for entertainment.

>> An audio version of the story is available here

Opening at the end of April, the area located in the heart of District 1 has added a new kind of relaxation for people of all ages in the city.

A number of young people said that they feel like being themselves coming here while the older generations said they also engage in the excitement of the youth.

“This area is more crowded than before,” said Tu, a street photographer who has more than ten years of experience in taking photos in the area. “All elderly people, youths, and kids can come here and relax.”

One of the much-awaited spotlights of the Nguyen Hue pedestrian street is the water fountains.

The fountains, decorated with color-changing lights, splash water in different styles, which always excites people and wows them.

Tran Thi Thanh Loan, 25, who often walks and roller skates around the street, said she really enjoys the feeling when breezes carry water droplets from the fountains to her face.

Loan added that every time she looks at and hears the sound of the water, she feels relived and her worries suddenly vanish.

The area at the end of the street toward the Bach Dang Wharf is also an attractive place with young people in-line skating and dancing, kids cycling, artists making stunning toys from balloons, and dog lovers showing off their best friends.

“It’s wonderful,” Khalid Abdullah, a tourist from Oman told Tuoi Tre News while he and his friend were sitting on the street and looking at families enjoying the relaxing atmosphere one day.

He said the friendliness of local people has left a strong impression on him and made him feel safe.

The man added another reason that makes him love the place is he could see the past, present and future of the city from it, represented by the old buildings and skyscrapers in the vicinity and the demand of keeping the city developing.

People from other provinces take time to come to the pedestrian street as well.

Vu Thi Vang Son, 68, from the north-central province of Nghe An, was really happy to take a picture of her with the statue of late President Ho Chi Minh in the background so she could show it to people in her hometown.

During two months staying in Ho Chi Minh City, Son said she got bored with the urban lifestyle at a condominium in District 2.

“I didn’t know that it’s so crowded and there’s so much fun here,” she gladly stated. “I can sit to rest everywhere I want when I’m tired, just like my hometown.”

Underground

The light system, the water fountains, and other activities on the Nguyen Hue pedestrian street are controlled from a management room located in a basement right under the street with 36 modern light sensor Mobotix cameras and six experts and engineers.

Luu Van Anh, a 24-year-old programmable automation engineer working in the room, said the management is improving with more services.

He also expressed his hope that people will pay attention to their behavior when visiting the street to maintain such a beautiful place.

“In general, people’s awareness is very good,” Anh said after watching pedestrians at the place for a while. “However, a few still litter and clog the water fountains.”

The management room’s working diary noted a case that a car crashed into and damaged a traffic light then its driver ran away, or a foreign tourist smoked in the street’s restroom and thus triggered the fire alarm system.

“Some take their dogs here and do not clean up their poop,” Anh added. “Some others still drive motorbikes through the street though they know it’s a pedestrian zone.”

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Tuoi Tre News

Read more

;

Photos

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta celebrates spring with ‘hat boi’ performances

The art form is so popular that it attracts people from all ages in the Mekong Delta

Vietnamese youngster travels back in time with clay miniatures

Each work is a scene caught by Dung and kept in his memories through his journeys across Vietnam

Latest news