The Leaf Market has been a tradition of Tay Ninh for the last 10 years. However, this year, a market day was organized for the first time in HCM City.

There is no fixed place for a Leaf Market. It can be convened anywhere, mostly in residential quarters near traditional markets. Everyone can attend.

This year’s event was held in district 5, HCM City. As it fell on the weekend, it attracted many visitors.

Everyone was given 7-10 Bodhi leaves to buy the goods they wanted. There was no need to ask about the face value of the ‘money’. Customers bought a lot of goods, and sellers sold many products. Customers just had to give the seller one leaf to buy a product.

The market day included 70 stalls where a wide range of products was available, from detergent, toothpaste, rice and fruit juice to boiled sticky rice. Both sellers and buyers were happy not because of money received but of the simple joys of receiving and giving. 

Gemstone market

Luc Yen in Yen Bai province is well known as one of the largest gemstone metropolises of Vietnam, where a gemstone market has been maintained to satisfy demand. Only gemstones are available there.

At the market, rubies, or ‘da do’ (red stone) as called by locals, are displayed in the open air, on tables’ surface with no protective measure, though it is a precious product. Buyers are free to choose and examine the stones. 

Transactions are conducted in a gentle manner, without noise, shouting or insults. This is a special characteristic of the Luc Yen gemstone market.

The products are diverse in design and price. The raw stones which have not undergone manipulation sell for VND50,000, while big sophisticated manipulated stones are priced from tens of millions to billions of VND.

Pink buffalo in HCM City 

Dang Van Ghen, a farmer in Cu Chi district, HCM City, has a rare buffalo with the pink skin.

Ghen said the buffalo is 36 years old. It belongs to a Thai buffalo species, was brought to Cambodia, and then to Tay Ninh province of Vietnam.

In 2001, Ghen’s father bought the pink buffalo at VND12 million, or 2.5 taels of gold. Some people thought the buffalo is an albino, but his father affirmed that the buffalo bears the pink color since its birth.

Some people wanted to buy the special buffalo at billions of VND, but Ghen refused to sell it.

Hanh Nguyen