A majority of the street names in the Hanoi Old
Quarter start with the word "hang". Hang means merchandise or shop. The guild
streets were named for their product, service or location. Gia Thinh hotel is
located in Hang Bac Street, one of the oldest streets in Vietnam, dates from at
least the 13th century.
Bac means silver, and appropriately, this street started
as a silver ingot factory under the reign of Le Thanh Tong (1469-1497)!