Chợ Long Biên

This guide to Chợ Long Biên in Hanoi follows Mister Thanh, one of hundreds of porters hauling crates through the dark under the iron ribs of the old Long Bien bridge, long after the rest of the city has gone to sleep. It traces the market's start in 1992 and the nightly rhythm since, from the trucks arriving around midnight loaded with fruit from provinces to the east, to the women and porters who keep it moving before dawn. Listen for the scrape of loaded carts on concrete before the voices start.