Dong Ba Market — 125 Years, and the Fullest Place to Buy Hue Specialities

Dong Ba Market stands on the north bank of the Perfume River, at the end of Truong Tien Bridge beside the citadel. It is the largest and oldest market in Hue.

A hundred and twenty-five years

The market moved to its present site in 1899, under Emperor Thành Thái, from outside the Chánh Đông gate to the southeast front of the citadel. In 2024 it marked 125 years.

Which means Dong Ba is older than most of what visitors come to Hue to see — younger only than the citadel and the royal tombs. And it has never stopped trading in all that time.

What to buy

Dong Ba is the one place in Hue where you can find nearly everything in a single trip:

• Mè xửng — the classic Hue sesame candy
• Tôm chua (sour fermented shrimp), mắm ruốc (shrimp paste) and the other Hue fermented sauces
• Imperial tea, lotus seeds from Tịnh Tâm lake, Kim Long candied ginger
• Poem conical hats, ready-made áo dài and fabric
• Mung bean cakes, areca candy, Hue sausage and cured pork
• Cajuput oil — used for infants, a local speciality

How to shop without exhausting yourself or overpaying

Dong Ba is large and busy. A few practical points:

When to go. Early morning or early afternoon is the most comfortable. Mid-morning is the busiest and the hottest.

Haggling. In the souvenir and fabric sections prices are usually negotiable. In food and dried goods, less so. The simple approach: ask at two or three stalls before buying — the spread tells you what is reasonable.

Check the dates. With fermented sauces and cakes, look at the label and the expiry date, especially if you are carrying them a long way.

Bring cash. Many of the smaller stalls still do not take transfers.

In fairness, it should be said: Dong Ba had a reputation for quoting visitors high. The management has tightened this considerably in recent years, with displayed prices at many stalls and a complaints line. But the principle of asking the price first still holds, as at any market.

Eating inside the market

The part most visitors skip: the food section inside the market is among the most authentic and the cheapest eating in the city.

You will find bún bò Huế, cơm hến, the bánh bèo–nậm–lọc set, Hue chè and bánh canh cá lóc — eaten on plastic stools, a few tens of thousands of đồng a dish.

This is where people from Hue eat, not a place built for visitors. If you want to try several dishes in one sitting, this is the most efficient way to do it.

Location and what is nearby

The market is central and easy to combine with everything else:

• Truong Tien Bridge is directly in front; walk across to the south bank.
• The Imperial City is about 1.5km away.
• Thien Mu Pagoda is roughly 5km upriver.
• The dragon boat pier for traditional Hue music is close by.

If you are flying home with fermented sauce, remember it cannot go in cabin baggage — it has to be checked, up to three litres or three kilos per person.