Location
Cai Rang floating market belongs to Cai Rang District, 6 km from the Can Tho City which is the capital of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. It is the place of trade in agricultural products, especially fruits of the Mekong Delta and an interesting destination in south of Vietnam.
Characteristics
Happening every day on the Mekong River, except during the celebration of Tet Holiday or Lunar calendar’s New Year, the Cai Rang floating market is the largest among similar markets in the Mekong Delta. Rather reserved exclusively to wholesalers, goods are concentrated in large numbers here.
Each kind of good is classified in groups of the same quality and in the same size. Farmers take their products to sell to traders on large barges. To show the products for sale on the boat, its samples are hung on a bamboo pole as a kind of advertising.
Cai Rang floating market is one of the most famous in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam which specializes in fruit trade, agricultural products in the region. Every morning, hundreds of boats come here, side by side. .
Due to the needs of merchants in the Cai Rang floating market, there are not only boats for agricultural products, but many boats that serve: Noodles soup, coffee…services are thoughtful, quick even on waters sometimes agitated. The uniqueness of the floating market leaves good impressions to travelers, especially foreigners.
Cai Rang floating market often begins early in the morning and up to about 8 or 9 am. These boats come here to buy agricultural products for sale elsewhere, even in Cambodia and China. There are also boats carrying other items to provide local inhabitants: Gas, oil, salted fish, medicines, confectionery, salt, etc.
In the 12 provinces of the Mekong Delta, the boat is the main means of transportation, movement of each family, such as bicycles, motorcycles of populations in the cities. These boats are operated with the formatting engine in shape of ‘shrimp tail’, rowed by hand or even by foot in a professional manner. Certainly, the Cai Rang floating market is an attractive destination for all travelers around the world.