THE ACIENT HOI AN TOWN

THE ACIENT HOI AN TOWN Good afternoon, lady and gentlemen Nice to meet you today! My name’s Ha I’m very happy to be your tourguide to visit the ancient town Hoi An You can see the map And today, we will visit many destinations such as: Fujian assembly hall, the Nguyen Tuong family chapel, Cam Pho commune hall, Bai Choi singing etc and i hope you are happy with this tour in Hoi An • LOCATION AND HISTORY: Hoi An ancient town is located on the banks of the Thu Bon river central Quang Nam province, 30 kilometers south of Da Nang, Hoi An ancient town is an Eastern oriental classic captivation As you see, Hoi An has been though a few centuries of history, but still remains in the very first days of its being born Its two main historical landmarks are occupying of the Japanese & Chinese, and the Western ( Dutch and Spanish) during the 16th and 17th centuries During the period of the China trade, the town was called Hai Pho ( Sea Town) in Vietnamese Originally Hai Pho was a divided town, because across the “Japanese Bridge”, it used to be the Japanese settlement (16th -17th century) Then it was known to the French and Spanish as Faifo, a major international port city Thanks to these days, the foreign comprehensively positive and special pastimes and culture had made deep influences on the today’s Hoi An • ARCHITECTURE Coming here, tourists can see series of old-architectured lanes and houses with nearly 100% cristinely left from their initial building with mossgrown walls, deeply plain roofs, old furniture in their past arrangement ect Hoi An is fortunate to be a cultural crossroads of the Cham culture in the very first southward expansion of Dai Viet( the Vietnamese nation more than centuries ago encroaching on the Indianized Kingdom of Champa, which covered much of what is now central Vietnam), the Asian ( Japanese, Indian), and the Western ones during their trading here in the 16 th century These diverse cultural influences remain visible today Colourful guildhalls, founded by ethnic chinese from Guangdong and Fujian provinces ,stand quietly, a testament to the town’s trading roots While Hoi An’s old – fashioned charm is always visible, on the 14th of every lunar month modernity takes another step back Most premium oriental and western style of architecture who are eager for classic beauty! Even you are not classic styled, you still want to see by yourself how a lively ancient world can cristinely survive in this new modern and high-tech era this monster, because the dog and the monkey are sacred animals according to their Totem religion 1 THE BRIDGE PAGODA In front of us is a 18m roofed brigde across a rivulet of the Thu Bon river Well, I am pretty sure that all of you have familiar feelings when setting foot here, right? Why is it so? I am holding a polymer bill of 20.000 dongs And as you can see, the image which printed on this bill is Hoi An Bridge Pagoda This is also the reason why Bridge pagoda become familiar to all of us It is called Cau bridge because the combination between a bridge and a temple is found in this building But, according to Hoi An people, the building with place for worshiping and incense burning is called “pagoda” So the bridge and the pagoda combine to make the “ Bridge pagoda” And this bridge has had three times of restorations Noticeably, athough through the building underwent many times of restorations as such, its foundation has never been restored It has been kept unchanged from the begining And no one knows exactly the time it was built, but legend has it that at the two end of the brigde there were two statues of the dog and the monkey Just, it is said that this pagoda was built within years The construction started in the year of the monkey and ended in the year of the dog, in the 15th century However for Hoi An people, the couple of stone statues symbolizes luck As you can see, the stone statues in the ready position dispel misfotunes , and guard people peaceful life Now, we come in to the pagoda Ok, now all of you please follow me to go to see the bridge On the main entrance, there is a large plate embossed Chinese characters “ Lai Vien Kieu” which means “ Bridge of Friends From Afar” or “ Welcoming the bridge” as a reminder of warm friendship between Vietnam and Japan in the years of the 16th century Please look at there, you’ll see the “ door eyes” (mắt cửa) Almost old house in Hoi An have “door eyes” It is considered the soul of the house This is the wooden circle blocks engraved with yin-yang symbol, the diagram of the eight divinatory sign ( Bat Quai), the tiger the dragon etc people believe that it may scare away evil spirits and bring good luck to their houses Inside, the style is more Sino- Vietnamese The bridge is arched and paved with blocks of wood On both small plinths were once used to display goods for sales.The patterns and decorations, lacquered and sculpted, harmoniously integrate Sino-Nippon Western art Please gather at the corridor of the bridge to listen to the presentation Cau pagoda is another name of “Japan” bridge It was called Japan brigde because it was built by japanese The builders of the bridge believed that Hoi An was the middle section of the back of a giant “mamazu”, a monster similar to the Asian dragon which was believed to be the cause of all earthquakes in Japan and whose head was supposed to be in Indian, the body in Vietnam and whose tail was said to be in Japan The bridge built at that very pleace to act like a aword planted into the back of the monster to expel it and bring a peace full life for people People said that after the construction of Bridge Pagoda, there was a remarkable decrease in the number of earthquakes in Japan My dear ladies and gentlemen, let’s move forward a little bit to see how sophisticatedly the bridge was designed In the middle, it is the way which was designed to be domed, and the two sides are small corridors where visitors can stop for a rest The bridge was designed with “House above , bridge below” which means that the house is above the bridge Another unique point at bridge pagoda lies in the pagoda built at this pagoda This is a special thing only in Bridge Pagoda in Hoi An Yeah I just caught some of your finding eyes Are you looking for Buddha statue? Though it is called “pagoda”, the temple hasn’t Buddha statue In the middle of the main hall, there is only one place for worshiping Bac De Tran Vo – a protector God of the region who can protect inhabitants from disaters and help them live peacefully and prosperously Finally,with invaluable merits mentioned above, the Bridge Pagoda was recognized by UNESCO as a past of the wordl’s culture heritage in December 1999 Ok my dear ladies and gentlemen,observations is the best teacher And now please spend 15 minutes sighseeing freely Then I will meet you at the left door of Bridge Pagoda to continue to see the Nguyen Tuong family chapel THE NGUYEN TUONG FAMILY CHAPEL Welcome to the Nguyen Tuong Family Chapel The Nguyen Tuong Family Chapel is located at 8/2 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street,Hoi An city Next to Japanese Covered Bridge, Monument Ethnic Church of Nguyen Tuong has become a new tourist spot in the architectural complex of Ancient Town Hoi An – a World Cultural Heritage It was built in 1806 more than 200 years ago The local people often call the Nguyen Tuong Family Temple “Ong Lon Palace” (Dinh Ông Lớn), which was built in the beginning of 19 th century The Nguyen Tuong Family Chapel was recognized as a provincial historic, cultural and architectural vestige by the People’s Committee of Quang Nam It is said that the Ong Lon Palace had been embellished in the 3rd Duy Tan year of 1909 and was renovated in 2005 by the State Currently, it has been well-kept and preserved by the 10th descendants This family Chapel was built of our ancestor Nguyen Tuong Van (1774-1882).He was Headmaster of Royal Army(defense minister) of Nguyen dynasty in 19th century, Sir Nguyen Tuong Van, born in Thanh Hoa province, who had followed King Nguyen Anh moving Southward and settled down at Gia Dinh town Later he accompanied King Nguyen Anh to go and fight enemies in Quang Nam province After winning the battle, Sir Van stopped at Dai Chiem beach, Hoian town and he decided to settle down there for a long time Up to now,Sir Van’s family has passed with fourteen generations It was one of the unique, old houses in Hoi An, with a mixture of architectural features from Viet Nam, China and Japan.In the roof you can look some Chinese letters on one wooden stick The house was constructed based on an old design taken from a royal house and on the principle of Ying-Yang The roof, columns, doors and girders are all laid out with perfect balance and symmetry Frame house was made by many wooden sticks and foundation of house was made by many stones.It make safe for house if it is stormy or flooding There are two steps the male,the female,leading to the chapel entrace, separation patio furniture section work as the three-door “But lowering the upper” each of which has for wings The first interrior follows the stye “hidden pillars” beams on pillars.Beams combined were space following the style of”VietNamese traditional house” The second interior follows the style with beams according to shape of pumpkin all look vivid The third interior follows the stye of roof with craft show shape with the effect of supporting the higher spatial parts creating more airiness.The prop for roof with crab shell shape was built to create carved daisy holed shape with the meaning of eternity,longevity, In the centre,it is main altar.You can look portrait of Sir Nguyen Tuong Van,Head Master of Royal Army.He built this chapel in 1806.It was drawn by Chinese artist when he came to China and was ambassador there in 19th century In main altar,you can look about 40 original decrees that our Kings to give Sir Vambn in the old day when he worked There are two windows in this chapel.One these window, we can see fruit”Buddha hand”and chrysanthemum,it symbol of shaking hand symbolize for peace,wealth and friendly for everybody In state of 1930s-1945,one writer group was established.They are writer:Nhat Linh,Thach Lam,Hoang Dao(Tu Luc Van Doan)they are fifth generation of Sir Van.They wrote many famous novels which we put in three bookcase,you can look Behind of chapel, still keep three famous original paintings of one of them,writer Nhat Linh,they was draw in 1946-1950 Therewith,We can see, Vases couple made by wooden carving was an altorelievo of dragon,more than 100 years old However, this chapel is quite different from other old houses in the city Ancient houses in the downtown area are long with a tubular shape and were built on small areas of land in a crowded city But the Nguyen Tuong family house is a mixed design for a worshipping house It's typical of “nha ruong” architecture (a ruong house is built with many beams and pillars and includes a surrounding garden) which is a trademark in the former imperial capital of Hue City Tourists can visit the house while wandering in the old quarter in Hoi An City The Nguyen Tuong family chapel opens from 8am to 9pm daily 3 CAM PHO COMMUNE HALL: Ladies and gentlemen, now, we continue the journey to discover the ancient Hoi An We will visit one is the most old commune hall in Hoi An Its name is Cam Pho commune hall Now, we are standing in front of the gate of the commune hall You can look up at the gate A stone incription is fastened with four large Chinese character “ Cam Pho Huong Hien” Now, please, follow me inside it The Dinh was built rather early and took on shape of Chinese character Quoc with the praying hall and two sides are west and east house Before, The dinh is for worshipping Thanh Hoang, Lady Dai Can and the gods were reclaim this village After the dinh was the frist restored in the nineth century ( 1897), the dinh is for worshipping tien hien – whose merits were etablishing the village You can look up at the roof, are you look two beams: red beam and yellow beam? They had made to mark the restoration of the dinh The red beam inscription with words Chinese character: in the year Mau Dan, the seventeenth year of Gia Long era ( 1818), the officer, old villager, officals are be long to Cam Pho commune were restored the dinh togethere The yellow beam inscription with words :in the Mao Dan, the fifteenth year of Thanh Thai era , good day, the Cam Pho commune was restored the dinh Every year, the villager opens festival twice a year on the sixteenth day of the frist lunar month and on the sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month THE MUSEUM OF SA HUYNH CULTURE : Next, we continue go to visit a sighsee in Hoi An Dear ladies and gentlemen, we are standing in the Museum of Sa Huynh culture, a typical museum of th ancient Hoi An The museum was established in 1994, and displays a unique collection of artefacts from Sa Huynh culture, considered to be the first settlers of the port town, who cooperated and traded with countries in Southeast Asia, South India and China This collection provides visitors with useful information about the ancient Sa Huynh culture's inhabitants and is mostly related to burial customs, conceptions of life and death, the developmental history of the region, and relationships with other cultures Of particular significance is a collection from Bai Ong - a site on Cham Island - which traces Sa Huynh culture back by 3000 years These collections are considered the largest and most unique collection of Sa Huynh artefacts in Vietnam There are a total of 216 exhibits in the museum with approximately 2000 years Archaeological features of Sa Huynh culture was buried burnt pottery jars used as coffins And here are the types of tombs belonging Sa Huynh culture: tomb pot, tomb pyramid shape, urms, And you can visit museum a round, photograph THE FOOD AND DRINK Continuning the journey, we will go eat one kind of famous sweet gruel at here Are you agree? Yes, let’s go Food in Hoi An is, even by high Vietnamese standards, cheap and tasty and i will introduction to you, this is Ba Nam’s seet gruel shop This shop is exist long time and very famous at Hoi An Each bowl sweet lotus seed gruel at here is priced ten thousand dong In addition, Hoi An is particularly famous for: sweet corn grurl, tao pho, the best Madam Phuong’s bread in the world , Cao lầu: a dish of rice noodles which are not quite as slippery as and a bit closer in texture to pasta The secret is the water used to make it, and authentic cao lau uses only water from a special well in the city The noodles are topped with slices of roast pork, dough fritters, and this being Vietnam, lots of fresh herbs and veggies And noodles Quang, I hope that with this sweet lotus seed gruel bowl, we are more strength to continue us journey in today And, we continue to move to the next sighsee FUJIAN ASSEMBLY HALL IN HOI AN Hoi an in the past was the trading port gathering many chinese and japanese traders Noticeably, there are many assembly halls Let’s come to an assembly hall to learn more about cultural life of traders in the 17th – 18th centuries In font of us is Fujian assembly hall The Fujian assembly halls in Hoi An was estabished in the year 1697 This was the rendezvous of traders who were native to Fukian and did business in Quang Nam in the 18th century On february 17th , 1990, this assembly hall was recognized as a national relic of history and culture Fujian Assembly Hall bears all the fundamental features in structure of a Chinese Assembly Hall Its ornate gate and colourful courtyard with fountains make the temple very photogenic Built around 1690 with the main gate added much later, the assembly hall is also a World Cultural Heritage site and is much visited today by those seeking a glimpse of this superb piece of architecture Stepping inside the Assembly Hall, tourists can comfortably contemplate the impressive apricot blossoms-shaped aquarium, the picture of "the carp turns into the dragon", the entrance gate with unique architecture, and the forecourt with numerous breathtaking ornamental plants Setting foot in the assembly hall, tourists would be surprised at the skillful hands of ancient artisans who have created magnificent architectural works Assembly Hall architecture is according to “Tam” typeface in the order: gate – courtyard – lake – ornamental plants – two blocks in the east and west – the front hall – the back yard – and the back hall As you see, above us are large –scale insence coils Each coil burns for about month You will write your wish on small pieces of paper and hang them on coils here to pray for good luck, peacefulness and happiness • THE MAIN HALL Fujian assembly hall was built in 1697, delicated to the goddess of Thien Hau Thanh Mau and other goddess of river, fortune and childbirth(thần bảo gộ sông nước, tiền của, cái) This is not only the rendezvous(đồng hương) of Fujian natives but also a temple for the worship of goddesses At the assembly hall, you can admire original architectural buildings with sparkling beauty and elaborately carved motifs The main hall is delicated to the goddess of Thien Hau holy mother, Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva(quan âm bồ tát) , god of wealth(thần tài) , fairies of childbirth(3 vị chúa sanh thai) and 12 heavenly midwives (12 bà mụ) There are also many statues, bronze drums , bronze bells, huge insence burners, 14 horizontal lacquered boards(14 hoành phi) and many other valuable items • SAILING BOAT On the left, there is a model of a 1875 sailing boat This is the model of ship of chinese traders who came to business in Hoi An As you know, from the 15th to 18th centuries, when Hoi An was known as a trading port in the “ Dang Trong” area Many traders came to seek business opportunities here To get to Hoi An at that time, they had to follow the silk road which crossed the sea This is the model of the ship that carried those chinese traders here You can see chinese characters on the ship: “Nhất” “Phàm” “Phong” “Thủy” in every trip to the sea means safety and good luck Thus the altar for the goddess of Thien Hau Thanh Mau played an important role in this ship For chinese people, this is the goddess of sea They worship this goddess as same as we worship the Whale It means that the worship for this goddess is of great importance to those who are going to go out to the sea You can see the kitchen on the ship It took about month from china to Viet Nam Therefore, this hold was equipped fully with the kitchen , the dining room, and bedrooms Which were neccesary for month journey from china to Viet Nam • THE BACK SANTUARY As you see, the assembly hall is delicated to the goddess of Thien Hau Thanh Mau Behind the main hall is the back sanctuary At the front is a small lake for raising ornamental fish A big dragon whose head is grafted with turquoise enamel porcelain and colorful glass pieces twists around the lake The head looks very lively and beautiful A unicorn embossed on the wall, at the back of the hall, is depicted playing with the dragon above the lake, to form the scene of “dancing dragon and unicorn” In the santuary hall, there are altar platforms: One is delicated to six esteemed generals who joined the movement to overthrow the Qing dynasty and restore the glory of the Ming dynasty; the right altar is delicated to the god of wealth, and the left one is delicated to fairies of childbirth and 12 heavenly midwives There are lots of animal symbols in the design and architecture of the Fujian assembly hall in Hoi An The mosaic fountain inside the assembly hall bears a fish sculpture that is a symbol of achievement Besides the fish, there are other animals such as dragon, unicorn, phoenix turtle, and so on All there animals signify different features of the chinese culture The dragon is symbol of power and the turtle signifies endurance On the other hand, the unicorn is a symbol of knowledge and the phoenix represents nobility And This is all the beauty of the Phuc Kien assembly hall Now you can visit in there for 10 minutes HOI AN HANDICRAFT WORKSHOP Hoi An handicraft work shop located at Nguyen Thai Hoc street Now let’s come to an interesting destination: the Hoi An handicraft workshop This is the place where exhibits and introduces 12 traditional handicraft of Hoi An such as pottery, carpentry, lantern art, conical hat, woven rattan, woodcarving, Since the early years of 15-16th centuries, handicrafts was born and flourished in Hoi An over hundreds of years and has been handed down from generation to generation, handicraft products of Hoi An have reached virtuosity, contributed to the prosperity of Hoi An port town in previous centuries And today, Hoi An Handicraft Workshop reconstructs that traditional part, produced locally handcrafted products with high quality, not only supply for goods souvenir market of Hoi An but also spread everywhere Some products, such as lanterns, decoration wax lights, lacquer have found markets in Europe and America Visit Hoi An Handicraft Workshop, tourists will have a close look about the creation of beautiful handmade products, through the skillful hands of craftsmen, and may participate in some simple processes, getting interesting experiences during the trip to Hoi An ancient town And If you want, You can make by yourseft handicraft products as gift for your family and friends This is the Thanh Ha pottery It is one of traditional types of pottery in Quang Nam Now you can try making a pottery product for myseft with the enthusiatic help of a potter Besides, at this stall you can make colorful lanterns on your own Now we go to the exhibition Hoi An Handicraft Workshop is also a suitable place to buy some quality handicraft products with reasonable price In this space, silk or handmade embroidery paintings are also found They are part of Hoi An’s tourism products In addition, Hoi An Handicraft Workshop also has a cozy small theater, performing the repertoire of traditional arts for tourists to enjoy Beyond the retail aspect, you can experience local folk dances, mini operas and songs up close here Performances are free for those who have purchased on old town ticket In the front is your typical tourist-oriented cultural show (10.15am and 3.15pm) with traditional singers, dancers and musicians It makes a sufficiently diverting break from sightseeing OLD HOUSE OF TAN KY Located at 101 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, in the Old Quarter of Hoi An Ancient Town, Old house of Tan Ky is an almost perfect example of a 18th merchant’s residence in this major commercial port town The name old house of Tan Ky itself suggests that the building is one of the remotest historical building in Hoi An The age of the old house is approximately a couple of centuries The old house reflects the combination of both Japanese and Chinese architectural geniuses So while visiting the small town Hoi An, you must also visit this Old house of Tan Ky to encounter great historical and cultural significance of Viet Nam Old house of Tan Ky was built by a Minh Huong( a Chinese native) In spite of the decline in business of the town and the huge devastation of annual floods, seven generations of the family have continuously strive to keep the house in good condition Therefore though it’s not the oldest, Tan Ky is the most well-preserved in Hoi An When having built the house, Kim Bong carpenters perfectly coordinated three ancient architectural styles of Vietnam - Japan China The first pavilion is designed small apartments inside in accordance with traditional Vietnamese architecture with the yinyang tile-covered roof It is also a highlight of whole house with a series of trusses, rafters sophisticatedly carved with intricate shapes: pumpkins, mailboxes, bats, and ribbons These carvings hide their own symbolic significance… Japanese architectural style is evident in the structure of the old house; meanwhile Chinese architecture is shown in "crab shell" rafters Arch architecture with the ribbon wrapping around two swords is characteristic of ancient Chinese people The house strongly represents features of Oriental philosophy, such as the triple-beam structure (stands for heaven, earth and humans), the five round blocks (represent metal, wood, water, fire and earth – the five basic natural elements in Eastern philosophy) and several decorative carvings on the edge of the roof and furniture Amongst several pieces in the house, the most famous ones are two vertical panels next to the central courtyard, which are inscribed with parallel sentences What surprising about this piece is that each stroke of writing is an illustration of a bird One hundred birds in total represent perfection There are many of the house’s details, which have remained unchanged to this day, including the storage area, the outside structure made of bricks and tiles, floor covered with Bat Trang bricks The use of jack-fruit trees, ironwood and peck-wood for inside furniture with thick roofs and wooden walls has kept the house cool in summer and warm in winter There are four rooms in the Old house of Tan Ky, Hoi An All these rooms are small in size, but packed with various beautiful antiques These four rooms are for four diferent pusposes One is for welcoming the Chinese merchants and the other are living room, courtyard and the bedroom You can enter the other three rooms except the bedroom It will be better if you take a guide with you She can give you all the details of the old house Tan Ky Old House bearing tubular architecture is the typical architecture of the ancient town It is divided into many smaller apartments with its own functions None of them supports any windows However, unlike other pipe-shaped houses in new urban zones in Vietnam, ancient houses in Hoi An have no stifling feelings, thanks to the ventilation in the frontispiece, side rear and skylight In particular, the most impressive architecture in Old House of Tan Ky is the construction without the use of any tacks Tan Ky is also an unique old house in Hoi An welcoming leaders of Vietnam and international countries to visit: General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, President Tran Duc Luong, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, General Secretary - President of China Jiang Zemin (Giang Trach Dan), President of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra It is also one of a few houses remaining intact architectures and being the most beautiful in Vietnam today The back of the house faces the river and was rented out to foreign merchants Marks on one wall record recent flood heights, including the 1964 record when the water covered almost the entire ground level There are two pulleys attached to a beam in the loft – in the past they were used for moving goods into storage, and today for raising furniture for safekeeping from the floods The old house was recognized as a World Natural Heritage by UNESCO Taking a visit to Tan Ky Old House, tourists will have the opportunity to ascertain much more about typical architectures in building Hoi An commercial port which was once flourished BAI CHOI SINGING Hoi An is even more beautiful at night when hundreds of lanterns are lit The ancient town is lively thanks to popular games that take place in the streets attracting both residents and tourists The most popular traditional game is “bai choi”, a game similar to bingo accompanied by Vietnamese traditional folk music No one knows exactly when bai choi appeared It was dated from 300 - 400 years ago and played during every Spring Festival in Thua Thien Hue Province The show which takes place along the Hoai River attracts the attention of visitors with the exciting sounds of singing and audience applause The Bai Choi stage was first set up by the Hoi An Culture and Sports Center to recreate the atmosphere of a full-moon night in the ancient town and introduce tourists to the local culture Now the game is growing and more popular among local residents as well On the stage there are bamboo stands, each stand accommodating between and players, a “mother stand” with a bamboo tube containing cards, and flags and a stand in the center, where a music group plays The cards, pasted on bamboo sticks, are engraved with human figures, objects and animals Each card corresponds to a particular song A player sings a song and the host of the game listens and rings a wooden bell if he hears the song corresponding to the image on his card If the song is good, the player receives a yellow flag The singing continues and the player with the most flags wins The game is simple, but fun and exciting The songs promote patriotism, filial feelings, love, friendship and people’s fine qualities and criticize social evils and backward customs and practices The singers sometimes improvise their own words On the stage of Bai Choi, typical folk tunes of south-central Vietnam are performed The winner of the game receives a beautiful lantern, a specialty of Hoi An But wining and losing are not important What matters is being part of a lively and authentic show in one of Vietnam’s most charming cities The Bai Choi game and singing are like spiritual food for Hoi An people  ... to the next sighsee FUJIAN ASSEMBLY HALL IN HOI AN Hoi an in the past was the trading port gathering many chinese and japanese traders Noticeably, there are many assembly halls Let’s come to an. .. signifies endurance On the other hand, the unicorn is a symbol of knowledge and the phoenix represents nobility And This is all the beauty of the Phuc Kien assembly hall Now you can visit in there for... minutes HOI AN HANDICRAFT WORKSHOP Hoi An handicraft work shop located at Nguyen Thai Hoc street Now let’s come to an interesting destination: the Hoi An handicraft workshop This is the place