Many who are otherwise unaware of Czechia's history are surprised to learn that it has a large Vietnamese community. With around 70,000 Vietnamese in the country as of 2024, they are the third-largest ethnic minority there and the third-largest Vietnamese diaspora in Europe. They first came to the country during the communist period for education and as indentured workers. Since then, those Vietnamese who have stayed have often developed their own businesses catering to each other, as can be seen at TTTM Sapa.
Trung Tâm Thương Mại Sapa ("Sapa Trade Center"), also known in Czech as "Malá Hanoj" ("Little Hanoi"), is an outdoor shopping center opened on a former poultry farm in 2000. Built by a Vietnamese company, it has become a "city within a city" for Prague's Vietnamese and broader Asian population. In it, one can find restaurants, grocery stores, massage parlors, nail salons, and even a kindergarten and Buddhist temple here. Although some have unfairly given the market a reputation as a "wild Asian jungle," guided tours in Czech and English seek to clear such misconceptions.
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