Hanoi (VNA) – Along with famous destinations like Ngoc SonTemple, Hoa Lo prison historical relic site, and Bach Ma Temple, the pedestrianzone around Hoan Kiem Lake in downtown Hanoi has become an attraction that lurethrongs of visitors to the capital on the weekends.

According to the Hoan Kiem district People’s Committee, after two years ofoperation, the pedestrian street has become a magnet for both domestic andforeign visitors, with some 3,000 - 5,000 arrivals during daytime, and 15,000 -20,000 in evening.

Streets around Hoan Kiem Lake suchas Dinh Tien Hoang, Le Thai To, Hang Khay, Hang Bai, Trang Tien, Dinh Le,Nguyen Xi, Le Lai, Le Thach, Tran Nguyen Han, Hang Dau, Lo Su, Luong Van Canand Bao Khanh have been turned into walking space on the weekends. They areclosed to traffic on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7pm to 2am in summer and6pm to 2am in winter.

A variety of cultural, tourism, and service activities are taking along thestreets to meet demand for recreation. Those include photo exhibitions, dragondancing, performances of traditional musical instruments, traditional singing,and calligraphy writing.

In July, the Department of Culture and Sports and the Centre of Preservationand Development of Theatre Art organised the Tinh Hoa Hanoi-Hoi Tu va Toa Sang(The Quintessence Hanoi-Converging and Shining) in the pedestrian zone, thebiggest festival held in the area.

Drawing the participation of 800 artisans andthousands of people, the event created an exciting atmosphere among Hanoiansand visitors to the capital. It was an opportunity to honour the culturalheritage, promote local tourism potential and attract more tourists to thecity.

TsubasaMaeda, a tourist from Tokyo (Japan), said she felt it interesting to experiencetraditional games, and street arts in the waking zone. She believed that thepedestrian zone is a cannot-miss destination when visiting Hanoi.

Thanks to the attractiveness of the waking streets, the number of visitorsstaying in Hoan Kiem district has increased significantly. More than 1.7million people made stay in the downtown district in 2017, up 33 percent fromthe previous year. Meanwhile, the figure recorded in the first eight months of2018 was over 1.4 percent, up 18 percent from the same time in 2017.

The results make significant contributions to Hoan Kiem district’s budgetcollection. The district earned 5.2 trillion VND (223.6 million USD) fromtourism services in 2016 and the collection amounted to more than 6 trillionVND (258 million USD) in 2017, and is expected to reach over 7.5 trillion VND (322.5million USD) in 2018.

Although the street has offered a new sense of tranquility and arousedapplauses from tourists, not all of the feedback is positive. Parking lots withhigh fees, illegal street vendors and litter dropping, among others remainformidable challenges for the local authority.

Vice Chairman of the district People’s Committee Dinh Hong Phong affirmed thatthe district will work with relevant agencies and departments to install camerasystem along the streets, and set up general planning for the business andtourism service zones.

The district is making efforts to beautify and upgrade areas around Hoan KiemLake, he said, adding that it is asking the municipal People’s Committee forallowance to expand the walking space to Dinh Liet street from this October 10.

Also, it is studying to expand the pedestrian area to the east of Hoan KiemLake to connect with the Opera House, the Vietnam History Museum, and theMuseum of Revolution, he said.-VNA