DISCOVERING RURAL CHARM: CYCLING TO NỒI RANG MARKET

Last week, while cycling to Duy Vinh, I passed by some old brick kilns and snapped a few photos to post on Facebook. A friend commented, asking if I had visited Nồi Rang Market. The unusual name immediately piqued my curiosity, so I googled it and decided to organize a weekend cycling trip with a few friends to explore it.

Nồi Rang Market is located in Thon 3, Duy Nghia Commune, Duy Xuyen District, Quang Nam Province. According to Google Maps, it’s just 36 km from Da Nang along the coastal road. A few years ago, visiting Nồi Rang Market meant stopping at the Hoi An boat terminal to cross the Thu Bon River; now, after riding past the newly inaugurated Cua Dai Bridge, you simply take a shabby concrete road for about 1 km to reach the market.

There are many legends about the name “Nồi Rang Market,” but the most credible one is linked to a once-popular product sold here at the dawn of settlement. The story goes that northern migrants, following the southern Nguyễn Lords to explore new lands, chose this area as their new home and set up a market by the Thu Bon River for trading with passing boats. In its early days, the market was famous for its beautifully crafted clay pots, which is why people began calling it Nồi Rang Market. Over time, although the market moved several times—from the riverbank deeper into the residential area—the simple name has been lovingly preserved by the locals.

No longer as bustling as it was centuries ago, Noi Rang Market now has the modest charm of many rural markets, yet it still retains the unique, rustic products of Quang Nam, such as kitchen ash, “đường bát” (bowl shaped sugar produced mainly in Quang Nam province ), and clay earthenware piggy banks.

The barren land of Duy Xuyen has always necessitated a steady supply of fertilizer for ornamental plants. In addition to manure, local farmers use ash to enrich their vegetable fields, which led to the flourishing trade of ash—a reliable means of earning a living for generations of impoverished women in the rural areas of Duy Nghia, Duy Vinh, and Duy Hai.

Strolling through the market, I noticed several stalls still selling “đường bát. The “đường bát” used for cooking black bean porridge is irresistibly delicious—a perennial favorite among children with sweet teeth. The very mention of “đường bát” brings back a flood of childhood memories: I remember darting around the yard as a child, occasionally sneaking a bite of the bowl sugar before dashing off, only to later find that by lunchtime, the large sugar had been reduced to a small, meager remnant, marked by teeth.

Nồi Rang Market still offers those clay earthenware piggy banks, known as “bùng binh.” In the past, when we visited the market, my mother would often buy one for my siblings and me to store our savings. Occasionally, she would slip a few coins into the bung binh, and when I was alone at home, I would use my mother’s hairpin to take them out and use the money to buy ice cream from a wandering vendor.

Noi Rang Market evokes countless childhood memories of accompanying my mother to the rural market, where she would buy treats—sometimes candies, sometimes seating us on a bamboo stall to enjoy chè (sweet porridge), mì Quảng (Quang noodle), or bánh xèo (rice pancake). Today, visiting Noi Rang Market allowed me to savor those nostalgic moments once again as I stopped by a stall selling bánh xèo and mì Quảng, chatting pleasantly with the friendly vendors.

Nồi Rang Market is a perfect destination for foreign visitors to Hoi An who wish to experience the charm of a traditional Vietnamese rural market. In recent months, due to the impact of COVID-19, the market has seen fewer visitors; however, a group of Vietnamese cycling enthusiasts recently dropped by, filling the market with lively chatter as the hospitable vendors cheerfully engaged with them.

I am determined that next time, I will return to Nồi Rang Market.

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Mr. Old Man, June 2020