Phung Hung Street Art Murals @ Hanoi Old Quarter [Vietnam]

There's something about street art that captivates when one is overseas and coupled with a nice, not so warm weather in early April; I happily went to check out Phung Hung Street at Hanoi Old Quarter.

I did a double take when I reached the street; it was pretty empty, unlike places in Penang where such street murals would have attracted long queue of tourists waiting to have a shot. 

The murals were a Vietanam-Korea joint project known as the public art for better space! Problem was that the project was completed in 2018 and it's been a long five years since then, with about two years when the pandemic ravaged the tourism industry in the region. 

Mural of the Long Bien Bridge; what's the significance? Significance is that the wall murals were on all painted on the arch wall base along Phung Hung Street for connecting which built in the early 20th century. 

Key thing about art murals are that they represent the life of the locals, and that's what made them so endearing among tourists. For the above, it's the scene of the dragon dance which likely happen during lunar new year or important temple festival.

For a moment, I thought I managed to capture a local balancing two baskets of vegetables on her shoulder.  Turned out it was a life-sized cutout instead of an actual person! 

Reason why I know? I took a picture of the informative plaque, which I forgot until I scrolled further through the pictures. This was supposed to symbolize the life of Vietnamese women struggling to make money for their family.

Rare tourist who was checking out the murals as we were. Seriously, she was the only person we chanced upon who came to visit the Phung Hung Street Art Murals.

View of the old urban life of Vietnam through the eyes of the younger generation. I don't quite get the meaning as the same scene can still be seen in many alleys.  

This mural, based on the childhood memory of the painter, depicted the traditional shops along the nearby Hang Ma street, which was also known as the "street of mid autumn festival and folk games" in the past.  

According to the information panel, Hanoi is also the land of flowers! Well, not sure if I would agree with that wholesomely as places like Kunming in China appeared to have a lot more flowers. 

Work of a traditional Vietnamese calligrapher; you can find one, in real life, at the Temple of Literature! You may check out my post here.  

It's not just wall mural; you can find artwork like this golden Honda motorcycle, a dream for many Vietnamese in the past. Phung Hung Street was also home for the first motorcycle market in Hanoi.

Last few artworks along the 200-meter Phung Hung Street Art Murals. Frankly, the artwork did seem a bit dates and I guess trying to keep to the boundary of the arch walls kind of stifle the creativity of the artists.

What's more heartwarming was the use of space by a group of young kids who was simply playing football along the walkway. This reminded me of the past, when many Singaporean kids would play games at the void decks of HDB flats. 

Assigned goalkeeper disregarding all the artwork, and just concentrating on the ball. Responsible max!  

Best thing is that the so called ball wasn't even a soccer ball; it's made up of paper that was scotched taped together!  Such ingenuity to think out of the box is actually necessary for any kid's development.

As you can see, some of the arch walls were empty. Were they purposely left empty or the weather had washed out or diluted the artworks? Hope there would be some improvement works being planned to spruce up the area.. 

One scene that excited us more was the above food stall as the items for sale weren't commonly found in places like Singapore. Alex was curious enough to take a closer look; the stall was selling dog meat. Definitely a horrifying scene for any dog lovers. 

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Address

27 P. Phùng Hưng, Hàng Mã, 

Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Click here for my Week-Long Itinerary to Hanoi - City of Lakes @ Vietnam