Hoi An Ancient Town – Quang Nam province, Vietnam– The most beautiful ancient city in Asia. Hoi An old town was listed as a World Cultural Heritage by Unesco in 1999. As a famous city of Quang Nam province, an old town is kept almost intact with more than 1000 architectural monuments from streets, houses, assembly halls, communal houses, pagodas, temples, clan churches, ancient wells… to the traditional dishes, the soul of the people here because of the timeless beauty, extremely rustic and idyllic.
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Hoi An Ancient Town is an ancient town located downstream of the Thu Bon River, in the coastal plain of Quang Nam province, Vietnam, about 30 km south of Da Nang city. Thanks to favorable geographical and climatic factors, Hoi An was once a busy international trading port, a meeting place for Japanese, Chinese, and Western merchant ships during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The ancient town of Hoi An today is a special example of a traditional port town in Southeast Asia that is preserved intact and thoughtfully. Most of the houses here are traditional architecture dating from the 17th to 19th centuries, distributed along narrow streets. The most popular type of housing in Hoi An is the one or two-story townhouse with the characteristic of narrow width and very long depth creating a tubular house.
Interspersed between townhouses, religious and belief architectural works demonstrate the process of formation, development, and even decline of the city, Hoi An is also a land with many imprints of cultural mixing and interference. Assembly halls was bearing traces of the Chinese are located next to traditional Vietnamese townhouses and houses with French architectural style. In addition to the cultural values through architectural works, Hoi An also preserves a rich and diverse intangible culture. The daily life of the inhabitants of the old town with its customs, beliefs, folk art, and cultural festivals is still being preserved and developed. Hoi An Ancient Town remains an exceptionally well-preserved example of a Far Eastern port.
Japanese Covered Bridge (Chua Cau): The temple is located on the bridge of Hoi An ancient town and has existed for more than 400 years. The building is a place where Vietnamese – Japanese – Chinese architecture intersects. The Covered Bridge is 18m long, covered with a roof, and made of wood. Covered Bridge, also known as Japanese Covered Bridge, is a unique and typical architectural work here. The temple was built mainly by Japanese merchants who came here to trade in the mid-16th century. Due to the influence of natural disasters, the temple has undergone many restorations, so it gradually lost the details of Japanese architecture. Instead, there are Vietnamese-Chinese architectural features.
Assembly Halls
Minh Huong Pagoda is a place of ancestor worship for Chinese people living in Hoi An. It is the only remaining Buddhist temple in the heart of the Ancient Town of Hoi An. It preserves substantially intact wooden sculptures carved by the artisans of Hoi An Kim Bong carpentry village.
Cantonese Assembly Hall: Built-in 1885, the Cantonese Assembly Hall is located in the center of Hoi An old town. This assembly hall is a harmonious blend of materials of wood and stone. This place conserves many ceramic artifacts, which simulate and document the cultural life of the Cantonese community in Hoi An.
Fujian Assembly Hall: Among the 5 ancient assembly halls, Fujian, located at 46 Tran Phu, is the largest and most well-known. Visitors tend to light large incense rings and often hang wishing paper sheets to pray for health and fortune. The Hall was granted a national historical – cultural relic certification (February 17, 1990), adorning Hoi An ancient urban architecture.
Trieu Chau Assembly Hall: Trieu Chau Assembly Hall was built by the Chaozhou community in 1845 to worship the god Phuc Ba for a safe voyage and smooth sailing. Architectural motifs are decorated according to folk legends, many of which are embossed with porcelain.
Ancient houses
Tan Ky Old House: Discover an ancient house more than 200 years old – home to 7 generations of the Le family, with a cross between Vietnam – Japan – China architecture. This was the first house to be honored as a national heritage site and is also frequently visited by various governors. The wooden East Asian-inspired decorative patterns in the house are delicately carved, indicating the exchange between different architectural styles.
Phung Hung Old house: Phung Hung ancient house has a lifespan of more than 100 years with a unique structure which is also an outstanding architectural work of the old town. The house is completely built of expensive ironwood, bearing a traditional beauty and displaying the owner’s well-off life. Phung Hung Old House is the guardian of the rich knowledge about the merchants’ lifestyle in Hoi An old trading port. This ancient house was granted the certificate of historical-cultural relic in June 1993.
Quan Thang House: Built approximately around 300 years ago, it is one of the oldest houses in Hoi An. You can easily notice stunning wood carvings of peacocks and flowers on the walls. Those sculptures are the products of the Kim Bong carpentry village’s craftsmen, who are renowned for their sophisticated craftsmanship of the Hue garden houses.
Hoi An Lantern Street is a “memorable” place with colorful shimmering lights creating an impressive and fanciful scene in Hoi town. The neighborhood is always busy and most beautiful at night, especially on the 14th day of the lunar calendar every month.
Hoi An Lantern Festival (held at 6 pm on the 1st, 14th, and 15th of the lunar calendar and every Saturday): This is an opportunity for you to see the picture of Hoi An ancient town at night. Dropping pretty lanterns by hand and praying sincerely will definitely be a memorable experience.
Hoi An Ancient Town has its distinct beauty lying in every street corner, on every roof, and even in the small streets. This place has an ancient grace with features that cannot be found anywhere else. Coming here, visitors can feel the affection of the friendly locals. Don’t miss it when you come to travel in central Vietnam. Coming to Elephant Travel, we will take you to visit Hoi An ancient town and other attractive tourist attractions in the central region.
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