Hoi An town is located on the Thu Bon River. This place was once known as Faifoo, which the merchants of Japan, China, Portugal, Italy, etc. have known since the 16th, 17th centuries. At the time, the commercial port of Hoi An became prosperous and a major trading center of Southeast Asia, one of the main stations of the Far East merchant ships …
Hoi An is the old town where is considered as one of the cultural heritage sites in the world
This tiny town on the land of Quang Nam witnessed two major cultural interactions in Vietnamese history: the first time was more than 5 centuries ago when Dai Viet (the former name of Vietnam) expanded the country, and the second time was two centuries ago when the westerners followed the warships and merchant ships to set foot on this land with intentions of propaganda and annexation. Both these great events have brought about a great cultural interaction and Vietnamese culture has overcome the challenge of assimilation to adapt and survive with the time.
Nowadays, visitors go to Hoi An, in addition to discovering the true simplicity in the soul of the people of Hoi An, will take time to admire the ancient beauty and tranquility of the roof tiles covered with green moss and sharp sophisticated carvings in the bungalows which have existed more than three hundred rotations of the spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Hoa Dang (Flower garlands and colored lanterns) Festival in Hoi An
Stepping into the old town, visitors will truly marvel at a secluded world. There is no roar of vehicles, the noise emitted by factories, factories, or no-one lights glows in color. All of them have gone away; instead, space and time seem to be settled on the old mossy tile roofs, old wooden houses, Bridge Pagoda, Phuc Kien, Quang Dong club- houses, … which quietly exist to remind people of the past. Here, tourists can enjoy the rustic food and visit the traditional villages, meet the “ancient” people. Apart from that, visitors can also make their own pots, glasses, cups… from pottery as gifts for relatives.
Lantern festival is organized in the rivers of Hoi An on the lunar 14th every month
Perhaps, the moment most beautiful in Hoi An’s town is at night. This small town becomes more romantic and deeper carrying a nostalgia and is hard to describe. The idea of restoring the tradition of hanging lanterns in the autumn of 1998 was surprisingly effective. In the evening, after about 8 o’clock, people in the old town return to the life of three hundred years ago. They turn off their neon lights by themselves and replace the lights by the mysterious light from the lanterns. The sphere, hexagonal Chinese-style lanterns are hung on the main doors, the rhombic-shaped lanterns or long tube lanterns of Japan pasted with white paper are hung on the porch. At night, everyone must turn off all electrical appliances. However, they did not feel uncomfortable at all.
Cau (Bridge) Pagoda – the symbol of Hoi An
Located adjacent to Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street and Tran Phu Street, Hoi An, Cau Pagoda (also known as Japanese Covered Pagoda) is an architectural work built by Japanese merchants trading in Hoi An a built around the middle of the 16th century. Due to the influence of natural disaster, the Bridge has been restored many times and gradually lost the elements of Japanese architecture and replaced with the architecture of Vietnamese style.
Cau (Bridge) Pagoda or still called Japanese Pagoda is a historical site very famous where you must visit when travel Hoi An
The bridge is shaped like the character Cong in Chinese with wooden planks curved in the middle crossing the creek leading to Hoai River. The bridge has softly curved roofs and is carved with many fine details. On the main door of the Cau Pagoda, there are 3 Han characters “ Lai Vien Kieu” (which means the bridge of friends from far) named by Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu on a visit to Hoi An in 1719. There is a small shrine worshiping the God of Tran Vu – the god controlling and preventing the storms, the flood in the belief of Chinese people. The two sides of the bridge are placed with wooden monkey and dog statues.
The history of the Bridge Pagoda is associated with the legend of Cu – a monster whose head was in India, the body was in Vietnam and its tail was in Japan. Every time Cu wriggled, it caused floods, earthquakes in these places. Therefore, in addition to building a bridge to serve traffic, the ancient people also implied that it helped to obstruct the sea monster, keep life peaceful. Cau Pagoda is an invaluable asset and has officially been chosen as the symbol of Hoi An.
Quan Thang Ancient House (77 Tran Phu, Hoi An)
Quan Thang Ancient House is one of the most beautiful ancient houses in Hoi An today. The house is more than 150 years old with the architectural style of Hoa Ha area – China. Over the years, the house is still preserved in the intact status of architectural style and interior decoration, therefore, it helps us visualize the way of life of generations of business owners in the business class in Hoi An port before. All the architectural and sculpture pieces are very lively and are made by craftsmen in Kim Bong carpentry village, Hoi An. This is one of the main attractions in the journey to explore Hoi An, the world cultural heritage of visitors.
Tan Ky Ancient House (101 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hoi An)
Built over 200 years ago, Tan Ky ancient house has a tubular architecture – the typical architecture of Hoi An town house with furniture divided into many rooms, each room has its own function. The front of the house is the place to open the shop, the back side faces the river as the place to export and import goods. Interior decoration materials of the house are mainly precious wood and are carved with sculptures which are very sophisticated pictures of dragons, fruit, light weapons (for ornaments), silk… showing the affluence of the master generations. On February 17, 1990, Tan Ky ancient house was granted a national historical-cultural vestige.
Phung Hung ancient house (04 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Hoi An)
With a lifespan of more than 100 years, Phung Hung ancient house has a unique structure with high wooden logs and extensive corridors surrounding reflecting the development of architecture and the interplay of Asian architectural styles in Hoi An in centuries ago. The house contains much information about the lifestyle of traders in the old trading port of Hoi An. Although it is also made of a precious material, the ancient house of Phung Hung has no sculpture or carvings but is deliberately kept. Phung Hung ancient house was granted a national historical-cultural vestige in June 1993.
Phuc Kien (Fujian) Assembly Hall (46 Tran Phu, Hoi An)
Legend has it that, the origin of the club- house was a small shrine worshiping the statue of Thien Hau Thanh Mau (the Godness blessing the trader surpassing the ocean challenges) picked up on the coast of Hoi An in 1697. Through many restorations, with the main contribution of overseas Vietnamese Chinese, the Assembly Hall has become more and more crowded contributing to the beauty of Hoi An ancient architecture. goddess … Phuc Kien Assembly Hall deeply reflects the Oriental philosophy on human happiness through the layout of the worship halls of the figure…
Every year, on Lunar New Year (full moon day in lunar January), Via Luc Thanh (Lunar February 16), Thien Hau birthday (lunar March 23), the Assembly Hall attracts many domestic and foreign tourists to participate.
Ong Pagoda (24 Tran Phu, Hoi An)
Ong Pagoda was built in the middle of the 17th century. Ong Pagoda has magnificent monumental architecture and is used to worship General Quan Van Truong (a symbol of loyalty- faithfulness- virtue- courage), so the temple is also called Quan Cong shrine. Ong Pagoda was once the center of beliefs of ancient Quang Nam, and also the place where traders often came to negotiate the borrowing, trading, doing business and resort to sortilege.
Ong Pagoda was built in the middle of the 17th century and it is located in the central old town of Hoi An
Famous dishes in Hoi An
Hoi An is not only famous for the ancient mossy houses, but this place also sets a special impression on tourists’ mind with the unique cuisine which is simple but unforgettable.
Chicken Rice is one of Hoi An’s delicious dishes you should not miss once travel Hoi An . This dish is so popular that the travel brochures devote a whole lot for the introduction of the dish.
Chicken Rice is one of the most famous dishes you must try once travelling Hoi An
Hoi An chicken rice catches the eyes of diners with the fresh yellow of rice, green of raw vegetables and the general color of chicken, spicy eaters usually add some pepper paste. At first, diners may find this dish strange and not very exciting, but after tasting, you will soon realize it has an irresistible appeal.
Cao Lau is another name for a special type of yellowish brown noodles. This dish uses less water like Quang noodles but is eaten with scalded bean sprouts, meat, crispy fried pork skin, pork scratching. In addition to the above ingredients, the owner also adds a little special sauce, aromatic powder, raw vegetables. Diners only need to mix ingredients so that they blend together and start eating.
Cau Lau is the most famous dish you should not miss to try once traveling to Hoi An
