Shop owners on Hang Ma Street in Hanoi’s Old Quarter have asked visitors to pay fees for taking photos at their shops for the mid-Autumn festival, causing public outrage.
Hang Ma is known as Hanoi’s biggest mid-Autumn toy street. So, it often attracts large numbers of visitors who come to enjoy the festive atmosphere.
Recently, many shop owners installed signboards to ban visitors from taking photos or requiring them to pay VND50,000-100,000 (USD2.17-4.34) if they want pics.
Signboards installed to ban or charge visitors from taking photos
A shop owner said that she sees the Mid-Autumn Festival as a chance to earn money, but many people come to her stalls to just take photos and do not buy anything. Lots of visitors can pack the stalls, affecting those who want to buy products.
However, following the public opposition, local people requested the shop owners to not to repeat this again.
As of yesterday, September 30, no shops on Hang Ma Street had displayed the signs. Dtinews/Tienphong