Binh Tay Market
Covered market hall topped by a dragon clock tower, funded by a merchant who never saw it open.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Binh Tay Market in Ho Chi Minh City traces the life of Quach Dam, a Chaozhou immigrant who arrived in Saigon with nothing, started out collecting garbage and trading hides, and rose within twenty years into one of Cholon's two richest rice merchants, running a trading house called Thong Hiep alongside rubber plantations and a fleet of steamships. When Saigon's old market grew too cramped, he decided to build its replacement himself, with one condition attached before he would hand it over.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Ben Thanh Market
Sprawling covered market of French-colonial ironwork, with a landmark clock tower over a maze of food and craft stalls.
Cholon
Historic Chinese quarter of canals and markets, born from refugees fleeing war and rebuilt after massacre and fire.
Tân Định Market
Open-hall French colonial market on reinforced concrete pillars, famed for its silk and fabric stalls.
An Dong Market
Multi-storey Chinatown fabric and fashion market with a basement food court of local street dishes.
Nhà thờ Huyện Sỹ
Gothic Revival church funded by a colonial-era tycoon, whose marble tomb lies behind the altar.
Hội Quán Nghĩa An
Chaozhou guildhall shrine to a deified general, with gilded statues and a towering red horse effigy.