Office workers rushing to Lang Son to purchase Chinese goods

Rushing to the border province of Lang Son to buy cheap Chinese goods is a popular activity, just three weeks before Tet.

The “shopping paradise”

Lang Son province has been well known as the “shopping paradise”, because all kinds of goods, from popular to luxury products can be bought there. Therefore, the province has attracted millions of shopping hungry tourists every year. Especially, the number of visitors and shoppers has been sharply increasing, as people are seeking to purchase goods to celebrate the lunar New Year.

“My company organizes “shopping tours” every year before Tet, and people always choose to go to Lang Son. The goods there are plentiful and cheap. I have been to Lang Son several times, but I want to return there every year,” said Nguyen Thi Thu from Thuy Loi Me Linh Company.

The three most important and well known market areas in Lang Son province are Tan Thanh, Dong Dang and Dong Kinh.

“The tour to Lang Son only takes us one day: we depart early in the morning and return in the afternoon of the same day,” Thu said.

Departing from Hanoi, Thu and her colleagues head for Tan Thanh to do shopping. After that, they go to Dong Dang and then to Dong Kinh. “Every market has its own special characteristics,” Thu said.

The Tan Thanh market area covers an area of 10 hectares, where 7000-8000 stalls and big trade centers are located.

“Everything can be found here. However, Vietnamese people still prefer clothing, blankets, footwear, eating bowls and sticks, and electronics,” Minh Hieu, a driver, who said he always carries people to Lang Son, said.

He added that the goods there are very plentiful at the end of the year. Retailers are trying to attract buyers by offering price discounts. “Big sale-off. Goods sourced from Guang Zhou”, “Surprisingly cheap goods” are the words that can be seen on many boards hung over the stalls at the markets.

Dong Dang Market, which is 8 kilometers far from Tan Thanh and Dong Kinh Market, just next to Lang Son bus station, are also full of visitors these days.

Hang, a retailer at Dong Kinh Market, said that at first, many people did not intend to buy Chinese goods because they thought that Chinese goods were low quality. However, they then changed their mind, because Chinese goods are so cheap. “No one leaves here without buying something,” she said.

Of course, the prices of goods there are much lower than in cities. With just several hundreds of thousands dong, one can purchase a set of blanket and cushion. The clothes available there are dirt cheap, but they are still fashionable. Especially, electronics are very cheap with prices just equal to a half of the prices products sold in the cities.

“I buy everything, including the things I do not really need. Everything is so cheap. I have also bought many things for my parents and friends,” said Trang in Cau Giay District in Hanoi.

In fact, it requires a “commercial art” to purchase goods in the border markets. Many people complained that they have bought counterfeit and low quality products.

Thu from Thuy Loi Me Linh Company said that the retailers at Tan Thanh, Dong Kinh and Dong Dang markets have “thousands of tricks” to cheat buyers. However, though people have been warned to watch out for the tricks, they still purchase counterfeit and bad goods.

One time, a friend of Thu’s purchased two irons. The friend wanted to buy another kind of iron, while the bought products were of a quite different kind. Another friend only discovered when he returned home that the blanket he bought was torn. Thu herself bought a bad electric cooker which has broken down.

“However, despite the problems, all of us still want to go to Lang Son this year and next year to do shopping. This is really a passion,” she said – Vietnamnet

Tags: Chinese goods