Want something to celebrate the Year of the Monkey, which starts on February 8? These bronze statuettes are a big hit in Hanoi ahead of the big holiday. People buy them not only to decorate their home during the Lunar New Year, but also as a good luck charm. Photos credit: Tien Phong
Some statuettes at the famous flower market of Hang Luoc Street in the Old Quarter.
These small statuettes are sold for VND800,000-900,000 ($35-40).
A monkey carrying a peach or a sycee -- a Chinese gold ingot -- is the most popular.
This statuette of a monkey carrying a peach on its back and riding a tortoise with a dragon head is sold at VND2.5 million ($111).
A monkey family sitting on a pile of gold costs VND3 million ($133).
Inspired by the proverb "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," these cute monkeys costs VND800,000 each.
This 50-centimeter high statuette is priced VND11 million ($488).
The Monkey King, the main character of "Journey to the West," a Chinese novel and TV series hit in Asia. It is sold at VND18 million ($800).
Original Vietnamese story can be found
here in Tien Phong