Phố Tàu Sài Gòn (Chợ Lớn Quận 5)
Phố Tàu Sài Gòn (Chợ Lớn Quận 5)
3.5
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
About
The western part of the city is dominated by Cholon (Chinatown), a thickly settled district rife with teahouses and pagodas and the famous Binh Tay Market.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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3.5
747 reviews
Excellent
173
Very good
260
Average
199
Poor
73
Terrible
42
John F
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico72 contributions
Jan 2020 • Solo
Mexico has dirty fresh markets and streets... Ho Chí Minh makes Mexico city look like paradise. .. This market... Oh my Buddha.. Filthy.. Polluted.. Crazy... But not crazy in a good way. Avoid. In fact.. Avoid HCMC!
Written 21 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wonder A
Singapore421 contributions
Nov 2022
Was amazed at the variety of goods sold at this market. The price was definitely very much cheaper than those sold at department stalls or the airport. We managed to snap up several good buys and were extremely satisfied with the trip!
Written 12 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Quyen Quach
6 contributions
Mar 2024 • Family
Thanh Xuan took us on a Cho Lon walking tour. Per our last minute request, she took us on local restaurant to have black sesame pudding, peanut pudding & almond jello. She also took us to the school that we attended. She was excellent, very accommodating and flexible. Thanks Thanh Xuan and Hotpot. This tour brought back alot of memories for us.
Written 7 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
josephpA9806WL
Cary, NC8 contributions
Nov 2023 • Solo
This part of HCMC is a complete waste of your time. Sure, there are a few temples here. But, the neighborhood is filthy, the people aggressive (not accustomed to foreigners here) , the scooter drivers especially aggressive and rude, 99%of the architecture is second -rate.
If your time is limited skip the neighborhood. If you have all the time in the world, skip the neighborhood.
If your time is limited skip the neighborhood. If you have all the time in the world, skip the neighborhood.
Written 12 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve W
Sydney, Australia125 contributions
Jun 2013 • Couples
If you are looking for well priced authentic jade jewellery then go to An Dong plaza under the Windsor plaza hotel. We purchased a number of items here for between AUS 40 -50. They have been authenticated as the real thing back home. The same bangles etc in larger shopping centres in the CBD were ten times the price. Individual merchants in the An Dong travel to old Burma and purchase direct and don't try to rip you off to the extent of others.
Written 21 June 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lukas B
Prostejov, Czech Republic165 contributions
Apr 2014 • Solo
If you are staying in district 1 and want to save 120.000vnd take a bus #1 from Ben Thanh Market to China Town bus terminal, 5.000vnd, approximately 15 min. Don't worry where to get off cause the bus terminates exactly where you need to get off.
Not more that 150m south from bus terminal is interesting Binh Tay Market.
I have seen ALL the sights in China Town, but those worth seeking are these: Quan Am Pagoda, Thien Hau Pagoda.
To get back to your hotel again take a bus #1 either from the same place you got off or from any bus station along DL Hai Thuong Lan Ong street.
Not more that 150m south from bus terminal is interesting Binh Tay Market.
I have seen ALL the sights in China Town, but those worth seeking are these: Quan Am Pagoda, Thien Hau Pagoda.
To get back to your hotel again take a bus #1 either from the same place you got off or from any bus station along DL Hai Thuong Lan Ong street.
Written 17 April 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew W
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia1 contribution
Oct 2012 • Solo
I have been reading many of your comments and have to strongly disagree cholon is a most wonderful and interesting place if you give a little time to explore. If you expect to be dropped off by taxi and have everything in your face as soon as you step out you are sadly mistaken, you need to spend a little time and explore and walk and sit with others eating at comunal tables, the experience is fantastic and it will make you a better person for it. And not wanting to buy anything there is surely a joke as you can purchase some of the best food and food ingredients anywhere on the planet, Ok some of the chinese clothing is a bit "How's your mother" but it is the same in any market around the world. Just take time and get out of the taxi use your feet or a sicklo and remember this is not your little part of America or Europe in is uniquely Viet-Nam. So take time and enjoy.
Written 16 May 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SirCyrus
Asia187 contributions
Jul 2012 • Friends
I read the reviews on tripadviser and almost didn't go to Cholon, but I'm glad I did.
Cholon is one of those places that is not all pretty and sanitised for the bulk of the tourists.
As it did each day during my stay in HCM, it rained heavily and turned roads into small streams, and dirt into mud. It was like that outside my hotel in District 1, and it was like that when I got to Chinatown's main marketplace Cho Binh Tay.
The lanes and small roads around the market were filled with dirty deep puddles and water.
And you can see how Vietnamese really live. Vietnam is not just what tourists see in District 1 with the Spas you see listed in the top 20 attractions in HCM.
Walk around the Chinatown market and you can see tin shed huts, old women wearing the traditional wide based conical hats serving pho for 20,000 dong. I know the price because I had some and was sitting on those tiny stools next to several office staff from a nearby bank. Even the locals eat this way. You may not see this in district 1 if you just go to the spas and Bitexco skytower.
Nearby, people were just throwing rubbish onto a spot on the road.
Go inside the market and you will find hundreds of stalls crammed in. Downstairs, the ones on the outliers only have tarpaulins for cover so the corridor is black with mud and water. Yet the stall owners sit there because that's their job.
Go upstairs and it become drier, much stiller and humid. And again there are hundreds of people working. Where the products are clothing, the area can become very quiet, as the clothing acts as sound deadening.
In the middle of the market is an open courtyard with an area buddhists can place their joss sticks.
And in these narrow corridors, people are busy packing or unpacking boxes and bags, filling their orders.
Is it a clean modern air conditioned place? No.
Is it a snapshot of the real Vietnam? Yes. Something you won't see necessarily at home and it'll give you another holiday story to tell.
As a previous reviewer, Simon, wrote, the markets are dirty, but the culture is still very interesting for foreigners.
Cholon is one of those places that is not all pretty and sanitised for the bulk of the tourists.
As it did each day during my stay in HCM, it rained heavily and turned roads into small streams, and dirt into mud. It was like that outside my hotel in District 1, and it was like that when I got to Chinatown's main marketplace Cho Binh Tay.
The lanes and small roads around the market were filled with dirty deep puddles and water.
And you can see how Vietnamese really live. Vietnam is not just what tourists see in District 1 with the Spas you see listed in the top 20 attractions in HCM.
Walk around the Chinatown market and you can see tin shed huts, old women wearing the traditional wide based conical hats serving pho for 20,000 dong. I know the price because I had some and was sitting on those tiny stools next to several office staff from a nearby bank. Even the locals eat this way. You may not see this in district 1 if you just go to the spas and Bitexco skytower.
Nearby, people were just throwing rubbish onto a spot on the road.
Go inside the market and you will find hundreds of stalls crammed in. Downstairs, the ones on the outliers only have tarpaulins for cover so the corridor is black with mud and water. Yet the stall owners sit there because that's their job.
Go upstairs and it become drier, much stiller and humid. And again there are hundreds of people working. Where the products are clothing, the area can become very quiet, as the clothing acts as sound deadening.
In the middle of the market is an open courtyard with an area buddhists can place their joss sticks.
And in these narrow corridors, people are busy packing or unpacking boxes and bags, filling their orders.
Is it a clean modern air conditioned place? No.
Is it a snapshot of the real Vietnam? Yes. Something you won't see necessarily at home and it'll give you another holiday story to tell.
As a previous reviewer, Simon, wrote, the markets are dirty, but the culture is still very interesting for foreigners.
Written 25 July 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kiwitravlers
Wellington, New Zealand76 contributions
If you want to experience the real HCMC, get a feel for some local commerce, see what keeps the city ticking and get out of tourist alley then check this place out. Catch a #1 bus from the bus station opposite Ben Thahn market over the crazy roundabout. Stay on the bus till it reaches the last stop. 150m South is the main market. It's dirty, crammed and real. Put down your can of 333 and escape the pushy locals to experience some true HCMC.
Written 28 December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ron D
Marshall, TX5 contributions
May 2013 • Solo
After reading the reviews I felt I must not have been in the same Cholon. I had been in Cholon 47 years ago and I saw very little change except for the sidewalks that are mostly cleared except for the excellent street vendor food and the traffic lights that show seconds left before light changes. The traffic is orderly and moves well. Two days into my trip while walking to the Nhac Tre Tea Shop from the Arc en Ciel Hotel I began laughing because the people had not changed in fifty years. They don't see as many Americans as Saigon but when you smile they smile back. I was fascinated to interact with the original Vietnamese who came south from China many centuries ago. The people are very friendly and helpful. I only saw one policeman and no crime or anyone unpleasant to another. I felt peaceful my entire stay even at 1 AM on the street or in alleys. I even had breakfast with the hotel owner three times and he treated me like family just as my Vietnamese army friend had done during the war. The hotel is where American ambassador's ate evening meals on the rooftop with General Westmoreland. Sit down and have a glass of tea with a Vietnamese. Look beyond the sites and buildings and experience the hospitality of a people that endured many hardships without complaining. This is the finanancial center of Vietnam but the treasure is really in the people. This trip was to be a one time thing but I will return in two years and stay for 6 months at a time.
Written 27 November 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi, does anyone know if Cho Lon is active on Sunday? Or is it the type of place that winds down on Sundays? Thank you!
Written 28 February 2018
It is a crowded city with lots of going on. Nothing would "wind down" on any day except the New Year day or so.
Written 28 February 2018
Anyone have some good place to get traditional Chinese baozi, jiaozi, and hand pulled noodles in D5? Xinjiang noodles especially if there is a Halal stall or restaurant would be amazing!
Written 9 December 2017
Yes, Christina’s Info has it: Restaurants recommendations
Go to blog, period, christinas, period, vn, backslash, Chinatown-in-Saigon
Sounds delicious! Enjoy ... Dave
Written 9 December 2017
Hi, going to HCM in April, would like to go to Chinatown to do shopping is it worth the time or should I stick with Ben Thanh & shopping centres. Also would like to go to other markets around area.
Written 7 January 2017
It is worth every minute to spend your time visiting Cholon. The price tend to be cheaper than Ben Thanh Market area.
Written 7 January 2017
Alguien sabe si se pueden comprar allí instrumentos budistas? En este caso necesito un Mokugyo.
Written 25 November 2016
Hi, I will be going to HCMC this weekend and it will be my first trip to VN. I am interested in going to Cholon and wondering if there are buses that goes from Cho Ben Tanh to Cholon or nearby Cho Binh Tay. Thanks.
Written 23 January 2015
Hi, we grabbed a taxi from our hotel- cheap. But I'm sure there'd be a local bus route which would get you there. There's a large bus depot not far from Ben Tanh market, with buses going in all directions. Don't expect too much from Chinatown- not a great place to visit. I'm fine with adventures and challenges, but Chinatown was dirty, seedy, unfriendly and didn't really offer much at all. The market is very much local shopping only- probably very cheap, but really not my thing. The dragon fountain in the park in Chinatown was the only thing that I thought was appealing. You might see things very differently- have fun.
Written 26 January 2015
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