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Chinese Lanterns
The entrance to the old town of Hội An is marked by colourful silk lanterns against a winter sky.
Irony: the future of the little city of Hội An has literally been saved by it’s own past demise.
Hội An (會安) means “peaceful meeting place”. Once upon a time, particularly between the seventh and 10th centuries, this strategic port near the mouth of the Thu Bon River was part of the Chăm Pa Kingdom (192-1832). The Cham, who were seafarers and traders, controlled the spice trade, and so commanded great wealth and territory before being absorbed and annexed by the Đại Việt (Great Viet) under the Lê dynasty.
Around 1595, under the feudal Nguyễn lord Nguyễn Hoàng, Hội An was established as an international trading port. By the 18th century, the city was considered by many to be the most important trade port on the East Vietnam Sea, or even in all of Asia. Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Dutch merchants had made their homes there, as had Portuguese Jesuits. Their architectural legacy remains in the “well-preserved complex of 1,107 timber frame buildings, with brick or wooden walls” that are still standing in the old town.
The collapse of Nguyễn rule following the Tây Sơn uprising (1770-1802) marked the end of Hội An’s importance. The Tây Sơn brothers, who saw themselves as champions of the common people, were opposed to foreign trade. When Emperor Gia Long (Nguyễn Phúc Ánh of Nguyễn) defeated the Tây Sơn in 1802, he gave the French exclusive trading rights to nearby Đà Nẵng. That, and the silting up of the Thu Bon river mouth, sealed the fate of Hội An, ensuring its status as a backwater that remained frozen in time.
This is what has saved the little city: with no pressure for modern development, the original street plan – with its two-story shop-front buildings backing onto the waterways to facilitate transport of goods – remains intact. The wooden buildings themselves have predominantly been repaired using traditional methods and materials. In 1999, Hoi An Ancient Town was “recognized as an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century” and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A single entry ticket to the Ancient Town, costing 120,000 dong, or just over $5 USD, gives you entrance to five of the museums or designated old buildings within the precinct. I don’t think we actually used all five coupons: we spent a lot of our time trying on assorted bamboo-fibre and woven-silk clothing, and visiting some of the countless souvenir and coffee shops that now occupy the old shophouses.
Join me for a relaxing afternoon/evening wandering the ancient streets of old Hội An.
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Hội An Old Town Street
The streets are tree-lined and shady – it must be lovely (but crowded) in summer! Alas for us, is is still winter, and unseasonably cold. The streets are fairly quiet.
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“Ticker”
Our first stop is at the Đình Cẩm Phô Đình, the Dinh Cam Pho Communal House, where the Ticket Taker is careful to vet us before we enter.
Dinh Cam Pho
The Cam Pho Communal House was restored in 1817 – there is no information inside the temple courtyard to tell us when it was originally built.
Inside the Dinh Cam Pho Communal House
Apparently, the communal house was built in the shape of the Chinese character that means “country” – the only information I could find about the building was badly translated, and difficult to understand. Certainly, the roof-ridge and gable ornamentation are Chinese-style.
Mickey Mouse Plant (Ochna Serrulata)
Colourful flowers bloom where they are planted in their terracotta pots around the courtyard.
Shrine
The Dinh Cam Pho Communal House was built as a shrine for the god of the village, and later included worship of Cam Pho Village ancestors – hence the alternate name: “Cam Pho Huong Hien” (Ancestors of Cam Pho Village).
Street Food
Outside the Dinh Cam Pho Communal House, women sit selling freshly cooked corn.
Linh Pham Shop
Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai road is lined with shops selling manufactured goods and handicrafts. The clothing stores, with silk, cotton, wool, and bamboo-fibre products, seemed particularly good value, and we came home with several items.
Hoi An Shop
Paintings, pottery and handicrafts are on offer – as are intricate cards of paper decoupage.
Hoi An Gallery
The shophouses are beautiful maintained.
Old Town Laneway
Descendent
Our next stop was at the Nguyen Tuong Ancient Family Chapel – also called the “Ong Lon Palace” (Dinh Ông Lớn) – where a young descendent of Nguyen Tuong, who build the temple in the beginning of the 19th century, shows us around.
Betel Juice Grannie
Old Chinese coins and other trinkets are for sale in the street.
Guide in the Phung Hung House
The old Phung Hung House is one of several open to the public.
Embroiderer
Although the Phung Hung Old House is beautiful with its open stairways and dark timbers, the focus of the tour is the production and sale of hand embroidered tablecloths and handkerchiefs.
View from the Phung Hung Old House
The balcony on the second floor is rickety, but gives a good vantage point over the street markets.
Thu Bồn Riverfront
Japanese Covered Bridge
The Japanese had a community on one side of a small stream. In 1593, they built a unique covered bridge (Chùa cầu) to connect them to the Chinese community on the other side of the water.
Shrine: Japanese Covered Bridge
Inside the bridge is a shrine to Tran Vo Bac De, the Taoist deity of storms and weather.
Bảo tàng Văn hóa Sa Huỳnh
The Sa Huynh Culture Museum contains pottery and other artefacts from the Sa Huỳnh culture, dating back over 2000 years.
View of the Street from the Sa Huynh Culture Museum
The exhibits in the museum are dark and dusty; I amused myself by taking street photos through the railings in the courtyard.
Fresh Vegetable Markets
As night fell, the markets got busier …
Silk Lanterns
… and the silk lanterns came into their own.
The Japanese Bridge
One of Hoi An’s most popular tourist attractions, the covered Japanese Bridge is beautiful under lights, …
Lovers at the Japanese Bridge
… making it a perfect spot for romantic, after-dark photographs.
It is, indeed, like walking into the past –
– but with good food and excellent souvenir shopping.
A perfect day out!
Cheers!
Pictures: 24February2016
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