Hàng Đậu - Street Of Grains

Hang Dau street is about 272m long,in Dong Xuan Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. With east-west direction, the short street starts from Tran Nhat Duat street to Van Xuan park on Phan Dinh Phung street. Formerly, there were many shops selling all kinds of beans (green beans, soybeans, black beans ...) and soy products (tofu, bean sprouts ...). These all were the harvested products of the people living near Red River bank. In the French colonial period, the street was called “Rue des Graines” by French, which means “streets of grains”. After the August Revolution in 1945, the government decided to restore the old name Hang Dau.

Nowadays, there is no longer any house on Hang Dau street trading beans as they switched their business to other items such as auto sparparts, motorcycles, drugs, mobile phones, and aquarium. What types of stalls selling beans turned to Tran Nhat Duat Street.

The most remarkable relicon the street is Hang Dau Water Tower which locates at the big junction of Hang Dau -Hang Than-Quan Thanh -Phan Dinh Phung- Hang Cot-Hang Giay. In 1894, the water tower was built from scrap stone. The imposing structure looks like a fortress tower with three storey of 19-meter diameter and 25 metre high, under the cone- shaped roof, surrounded by small windows of Gothic style. Next to the water tower, Hang Dau park has a large space with flowers, tree and a big fountain. On the occasion of Tet, florists from Hang Luoc street often brings flower works and spring trees there for selling. It’s a very special beauty of Hanoi on this street.