In the Vietnamese floating markets, hundreds of boats and sampans, full of fruit and vegetables,flowers, and handicraft products, gather to trade their various goods, making for crowded andfrenetic scenery.These busy floating markets have longshaped the delta’s well-known “watercivilization.”More importantly, the cultural and historical values that the markets reflect are considered a key to understandingthe Mekong Delta inhabitants’ identity and traditions. This paper first highlights the importance of Mekong Delta floating markets in shaping the local water cultures and lifestyles. In this respect, the paper further sheds new light on what actually make Vietnamese floating markets distinct from their counterparts in other parts of Southeast Asia. It then examines the threats and challenges facing those markets and traders depend on. In the last part, we discuss some promises and lessons that Vietnam could consider in order to keep these markets alive under the forces of urbanization and modernization.