The township of
Móng Cái is 178 km from Ha Long City and 350 km from Hà Nội; situated in a
prominent position in north-east Vietnam. The market is comprised of
three zones; all situated in the sub-district of Hoà Lac, 1 km from the Bắc Luân border crossing. There are thousands of
households here, almost all of which are bilingual in Chinese and
Vietnamese.
Goods traded in the market and
exchanged across the border are varied. Chinese goods imported
into Vietnam include: speciality fabrics, ready-made dresses,
mosquito nets, shoes, sandals, electronics, toys, candies and
fruit. Vietnamese goods exported to China are mainly seafood products and agricultural foodstuffs such as tea,
coffee and sesame.
Also in the market are traditional
northern medicinal ingredient stalls, with Chinese physicians
feeling your pulse and writing out prescriptions for the correct
medicine.
The Móng Cái Border Market has
developed not only into a trade centre for the exchange of goods,
but also a place for cultural meetings and exchange between China
and Vietnam.
It is located on the banks of the
beautiful Ka Long River; the international border to the Chinese
province of Kwang Si. Móng Cái is a place of direct trade and economic and cultural exchange
between the provinces of Quảng Ninh and Kwang Si.
Previously, Móng Cái was the
provincial capital of the former Hai Ninh Province. Following
border hostilities between Vietnam and China on February 1979, the
township was destroyed, seeing the loss of many economic and
cultural traits; in particular the ancient quarter along the Ka
Long River. Since 1991, following the betterment of relationships
between the two countries, trade exchange at the border has
increased substantially.
After shopping, tourists can enjoy
Vietnamese and Chinese dishes. Many famous Chinese restaurants
offer dishes and wines from famous Mao Đài wine to normal wines:
Thần Phụ tửu, Khổng Phụ Tửu, Ngũ lương dịch... Chinese
specialities: Beijing roasted duck, cay tê soya cheese.
