Cho Lon in Depth: Private Chinatown Heritage Walking Tour
- 3–4 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Cho Lon is often introduced simply as Ho Chi Minh City's Chinatown. This private four-hour walk goes further, using its assembly halls, temples, trading streets, food and everyday neighborhood life to understand how different Chinese communities helped shape this part of Saigon. Rather than moving through a checklist of landmarks, the walk connects what you see to migration, commerce, belief and community life. Your guide is trained specifically for this route and its historical and cultural context, and the private format leaves plenty of room for questions and conversation along the way. The route takes in some of Cho Lon's most important religious and community sites, busy trading streets, local snacks, a long-running neighborhood coffee stop and Binh Tay Market. It is designed for travelers who want to understand the area, not simply see its highlights.
Inclusions
What's included
- Selected local street-food tastings along the route
- Coffee and a cold drink at a long-running local coffee stop
Itinerary
Our tour starts at the front courtyard of Nghia An Assembly Hall. Also known by various names such as Quan De Temple and Ong Pagoda, Nghia An Assembly Hall holds great significance within the Teochew community. It serves not only as a vital place of worship for Teochew people in Saigon but also as a precious architectural and artistic masterpiece from the late 19th to the early 20th century. This temple venerates Quan Vu, a renowned figure from the Three Kingdoms period, who symbolizes talent and moral excellence for the Chinese, hence its alternate names Quan De Temple and Ong Pagoda.
Tuệ Thành Assembly Hall, commonly referred to as Thien Hau Temple or Ba Chua Cholon Pagoda, is a religious institution dedicated to the worship of Thien Hau, the Holy Mother. It is one of the oldest places of worship established by the Cantonese Chinese community.
On Lang Pagoda, also known as Ôn Lăng Assembly Hall, Quan Âm Temple, or Ông Lào Temple, is a Vietnamese-Chinese temple belong to the Hokkien Chinese community. It was dedicated to the worship of Thiên Hậu Thánh Mẫu and various folk deities of the Chinese people. Later, the hall also enshrined Quan Âm Bodhisattva, hence the name Quan Âm Temple.
Enjoy the local market with street food, one of the oldest coffee stall in the city and a traditional Cantonese snack.
One of the oldest churches in the Chinatown area, St Francis Xavier Church is an excellent masterpiece of Franco-Chinese architecture with Vietnamese influence.
Also known as Cho Lon (the Grand Market), Binh Tay Market is famous for its unusual structure for an Asian market, with a big inner courtyard and Sino-French architecture. The market, which has been built in 1928, is one of Vietnam's most important wholesales markets. Our tour also concludes here.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
5.0
- 57
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Ratings come from 7 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Our Meeting Point will be Nghia An Hoi Quan, 678 Nguyen Trai, District 5, inside the courtyard.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- SaigonWalks by Scivi Travel
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- This is a walking tour, with approximately one hour of walking in total between the included stops and other points of interest along the route.
- Infants may join free of charge, but please note that the tour does not provide infant-specific facilities and includes extended walking outdoors in typical city conditions.
How it compares in Ho Chi Minh City
- Its from-price is 27% below the median of the 2927 experiences we list in Ho Chi Minh City.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 757 of 2927.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City, still widely called Saigon, is Vietnam's buzzing commercial hub of French colonial landmarks, war history and superb street food.
District 1 holds the main sights within walking distance: the red-brick Notre-Dame Cathedral, the elegant Central Post Office with its vaulted hall, the colonial Opera House and the ornate City Hall. The Independence Palace preserves its rooms as they were at the end of the war, and the War Remnants Museum tells the story of the conflict with sobering directness.
Top-ranked sights in Ho Chi Minh City: Cu Chi Tunnels, Saigon Opera House (Opéra de Saïgon), Saigon Central Post Office.
Special offers in Ho Chi Minh City
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
