Hoi An Ancient Town is touristy, but nontheless charming. Much to our delight after days of rain and overcast, the sun was shining brightly evaporating most of the puddles, when we caught the shuttle into town. We had a guided walking tour planned to see the highlights of this UNESCO World Heritage site with ample time to explore and shop on our own.
Hoi An means peaceful meeting place. Although part of the Champa kingdom for over one thousand years, the area was conquered by the invading Vietnamese in the 15th century and the city’s Ancient Town was established as a major trading port in 1471. As a consequence of its network of rivers, Hoi An became an important station on the Silk Road from China and Japan and yet another place where multiple cultures intersected. Eventually, Japanese and Chinese traders permanently settled in Hoi An creating vibrant communities.
We paid our admission to enter the Old Town – it was early afternoon and the streets were quiet. Hoi An becomes busier and more touristy as evening approaches, so it was pleasant to stroll though empty streets of shops, with only the occasional browsing tourist.
Even the pedicab drivers appeared to enjoy this quiet time – catching a quick nap until business picked up!
We quickly realized that Hoi An, adhering to its early trading roots, was a shopper’s paradise – handbags, custom clothing, hats, art, kitchenware, you name it, and everywhere we looked, silk lanterns. Silk lanterns were brought by Chinese and Japanese merchants to Hoi An in the late 14th century and came to represent people’s wishes for luck and happiness in life.
Today the silk lantern is one of Hoi An’s most famous symbols. Traditional lantern crafting in Hoi An has occurred for over 400 years with 32 lantern production workshops in operation today. In fact, on the fourteenth day of every lunar month, Hoi An hosts a lantern festival. Sadly, our timing was off but during the festival which coincides with each month’s full moon, all electrical lights from residences and businesses are turned off. The entire ancient town is lit only by the full moon and hundreds of silk lanterns, creating a magical ambience.
The majority of Hoi An’s buildings were built between the 15th and 19th centuries and today its historic district is recognized by UNESCO as an exceptionally well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port. Its buildings reflect a blend of both local and foreign influences. Walking around the Old Town our guide pointed out Japanese and Chinese architectural effects along with those of Portuguese, Vietnamese and French from late 19th century.
Hurrying us past the shops, our guide ushered us to our first point of interest, the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge. During the 16th century, Japanese merchants established residence in the port city and began building a covered bridge to cross a neighborhood canal. Construction finished in 1595 improving access for not only the Japanse merchants but the Chinese community on the other side of the canal.
In 1653, Japanese residents built a temple atop the bridge. Legend has it that this was to placate the earthquake-inducing monster Namazu. The temple was rebuilt in 1817, 1865, 1915, and again in 1986, gradually integrating elements of Vietnamese and Chinese design ultimately replacing its original Japanese elements.
Several commercial traders’ houses from the 1700s still operate in Hoi An today as ‘living museums’. We visited the Tan Ky ‘old house’, built in 1741, still home to the 7th generation of the original founding family. The Le family lives on the upper floor while the lower floor is open for visitors to explore to get a sense of how commerce took place here. This house was used to trade agricultural goods so had its front facing the street to sell and its rear facing the river to supply. Ornately carved wood panels adorned the dimly light front room. An ancient Mr. Lee stood nearby welcoming visitors with a short waisted bow.
A small atrium opened to the right. Water dripped slowly down a moss covered stone altar intricately carved with pastoral scenes, nourishing the potted geraniums below. Amazing that this little piece of nature inside a dark crowded house could provide a brief respite.
In the back room of the house, a woman outfitted in black and white checks intently focused on making Hoi An’s famous white rose dumplings, seemingly oblivious to the lines of gawking tourists filing past. Made with translucent rice paper, the dumpling is stuffed with mixture of rice, shrimp, mushrooms, bean sprouts and onions and wrapped in the shape of a flower, hence the name white rose. This dumpling is said to be made with water from a certain well in the area and is unique to Hoi An.
As Chinese merchants and traders settled in Hoi An in the 1700’s, they began constructing assembly halls and temples where they could congregate, worship and preserve age-old traditions. Today, Hoi An still hosts five Chinese Assembly Halls, all constructed on streets facing the water.
We visited one of the most beautiful assembly halls, Fuijan, on our tour. Constructed in 1759 by rich Fuijan merchants, the dominant group of traderes at the time, the Fuijan Assembly Hall was dedicated to the sea goddess Thien Hau. The courtyard of this ornate rose colored pagoda had multiple tiled animal figures – fish, seabirds, a large sea searpent and a beautiful bubbling fountain surrounded by bunches of blooming flowers.
Inside the temple were gods associated with wealth, fortune and the sea; ships and sea captains were also honored showing the importance of the maritime trade to this community. Many of these figures looked diabolical and not unlike in midevil churches, there was a mix of good and evil looking dieties.
An assortment of animal sculptures were scattered throughout the hall. These animals are symbolic of noble qualities in Chinese culture – for example, dragon for power, unicorn for knowledge and turtle for endurance.
Large coils of incense hung from the ceiling, available for purchase to light in honor of an ancenstor. The lit coils burned slowly wafting a sweet, smoky fragrance throughout the temple. Not just historical, Fujian and its sister assembly halls are still important places for local Chinese and other pilgrims to pay homage to their gods and ancestors.
Our tour concluded after the visit to the Fuijan Assembly Hall giving us a few hours to explore the town on our own. As the afternoon progressed, the streets became more and more crowded, the peidcab drivers roused themselves and began a brisk business ferrying tourists around the city.
Ancient Hoi An is crosscrossed with narrow alleys that intersect the various main streets. Shaded and with walls covered in moss and leafy vegetation, these alleys allowed us to shortcut streets and avoid crowds, while walking into a naturally air conditioned tunnel. One just needed to be a little careful about where you put your feet!
Massage parlors were plentiful in town so we finished our afternoon in Hoi An with a foot massage, well deserved after all the walking we’d done. Pleasurable almost to the point of pain, a young man deeply massaged my calves and feet with light oil. Refreshed and relaxed with tingling feet , we had a quick drink in a small cafe near the water before catching the shuttle back to our hotel.
Our last night in Vietnam was special, almost as if the hotel was trying to recreate a version of the lunar lantern festival that we’d missed. Decorative lanterns adorned the grassy plaza near the outdoor restaurant. Carts with various types of Vietnamese street food surrounded the perimeter of the plaza allowing us to stroll and sample. My favorites were spring rolls and of course, the white rose dumplings.
With sparkling wine in hand, we even tried our hand at making a silk lantern; of course, a professional was on hand to help with the fabric cutting and glueing and like with a child’s art project, fix the mistakes to give us a presentable souviner to take home.
During dinner, several musicians performed on a small stage with traditional instruments. A young lady in a beautifully flowered ao dai, a silk tunic with pants that is the national dress of Vietnam, performed on a zither like instrument. Other performers made music with a vairety of lute like instruments. The lights, the music, the food, all made for a beautiful evening and a memorable way to end our time in Vietnam. Tomorrow after breakfast with just enough time for one last bike ride around the resort, we head to India.
March, 2023