Mooncake stands occupy sidewalk in Ho Chi Minh City district
Sunday, September 10, 2017, 18:05 GMT+7
Stands selling mooncakes have been erected along the sidewalk of a street in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 10 recently, forcing pedestrians to walk on the roadway.
As of Saturday, dozens of such stands owned by different food brands could be seen encroaching on the entire width of a long stretch of pavement on Ba Thang Hai Street in the district.
Carpets were rolled out on the greensward in front of the stands as a makeshift walkway for customers.
Pedestrians, most of whom are students from the nearby National Academy of Administration, were forced to walk on the roadway as a result.
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| Mooncake stands occupy the sidewalk on Ba Thang Hai Street in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
However, according to Phan Vu Son, deputy chairman of District 10’s Ward 12, the operators of the mooncake stands had received approval from the district’s administration to be temporarily erected during the Mid-Autumn Festival season.
Pavement rent paid by the operators would be used to support children of poor backgrounds in the district, and to organize mid-autumn activities for local kids, Son explained.
Stand owners are responsible for returning the sidewalk and greensward to their former state at the end of the lease term, he added.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest festival observed on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar in Vietnam. The festival falls on October 4 this year.
On this full-moon night, children in Vietnam join lantern successions singing folk songs, as friends and relatives are reunited to eat mooncakes – round pastries with rich thick fillings of different flavors – and watch the moon, a symbol of harmony and unity.
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| A carpet is rolled out on the greensward as a makeshift walkway. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
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| Mooncake stands occupy the sidewalk on Ba Thang Hai Street in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
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| Shattered glass is seen on the sidewalk near a mooncake stand. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
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| A pedestrian is forced to walk on the roadway. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
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| Mooncake stands occupy the sidewalk on Ba Thang Hai Street in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
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