Hội An, Vietnam

An ancient city 45 minutes drive from Da Nang is  Hội An. The still protected town bustles with tourists specially on its walking street.

History of Hoi An:

Hội An was founded in the mid-16th century. It developed from a small fishing village to a trading port attracting traders from China, Japan, Europe and Korea. Over a period of time, the influx of merchants gave rise to unique ancient houses which reflected the amalgamation of different cultural features in its architecture.

Soon, the Thu Bon river dried making it impossible for large ships to enter. The city started losing its status of trade and was almost forgotten for many years. But, this proved to be a blessing as the city did not change with the changing times and maintained its old culture. It later became a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1999.

Credit of preserving and giving it the status what it is today goes to none other than Kazimierz Kwiatkowski, a Polish architect. His perseverance and exchanges with authorities on keeping the old buildings remain in their original form is what we see today.

The old city is preserved and we see ancient houses and bustling vendors and shops as we pass through the streets.

entrance to walking street 

Red Seal Ship

The Red Seal ship were Japanese commercial sailboats during the 17th century.

Walking street, where no vehicle is permitted.

The street is lined by lanterns on both sides. The street looks very pretty when they are lit up at night.

The street is commonly known as Thi Minh Khai Street.

lantern street

a Chinese temple by roadside

lantern frames are ready

 Hội An is said to be famous for lanterns.

There is also a choice to take the ones on display.

The frames and fabric are ready in all shops.  You can chose the fabric, color and pattern of your choice. The customer decides on the type and size of frame. Once the fabric is finalized, the shop owner cuts the fabric and sticks them to the frame. It takes almost quarter of an hour to complete the lantern.

There is also a choice to take the ones on display.

girl making a lantern

The fabric is cut and stuck on bamboo frame using glue.

Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street

shops by roadside

more lanterns for sale

Phung Hung ancient house

The house was built around 1780, when Hội An was an important trading place. The owner named it Phung Hung, meaning prosperity.

It used to be a small shop selling spices as pepper, cinnamon, salt and also silk, glassware, ceramics. In 1993, it became a national monument.

There is an entrance ticket of 120,000 VND to see the place from inside.

reception area

The architecture shows a blend of Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese. The house has been constructed using 80 columns and the roof has interlocking tiles representing Yin and Yang

another old house

Japanese wooden bridge

walking down the same street is a bridge. The bridge was under renovation during our visit so could not see it properly.

The bridge was originally built in the late 16h century to connect the Japanese side to the Chinese part of town. The traders liked to use this bridge as it was a short distance and connected northside and southside of Hội An.

There is a small shrine in the middle of bridge.

Assembly Hall of the Cantonese Chinese Congregation

The Assembly Hall was constructed in the 18th century by Chinese traders coming from Guanzhou region. They were made with the purpose of gatherings and trading purpose.

It was initially made with the purpose to worship goddess Mazu( goddess of sea) and Confucius. Guan Yu, (Chinese military general) was added later to the hall.

It later became a center for assembly of traders for business purposes.

Kazik Park:

Walking down the street, a bust size image of Kazimierz Kwiatkowski is seen by the side of road.

Kazimierz was a Polish architect who was sent to Vietnam in 1981 when Vietnamese authorities asked to save their monuments which had been damaged during the war.

Monument of Kazimierz Kwiatkowski

Kazimierz, fondly known as Kazik worked for a very long time in Mỹ Sơn, protecting the remains of that place. It was only due to his efforts that Mỹ Sơn was recognized as World Cultural Heritage.

He negotiated with authorities to preserve Hội An and not to convert existing buildings to modern architecture as he saw the potential of tourism in this place. Some of the old buildings still exist here, which attracts a lot of people. It was solely his persistence that the ancient city of Hội An has become a thriving tourist place.

a man selling fish, birds from palm leaf

Thu Bon river

You see plenty of boats parked on the river to take tourists for a ride

View of ancient town of  Hội An with old yellow buildings,

old buildings in background

cute toy animals and magnets in a shop

taxis to take tourists around the city

We could have stayed a little late to see the lanterns light up but we had to return back to Da Nang. All in all it was a good experience.