Hoi An Things to Do

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This assembly hall was built by Chinese overseas coming from Trieu Chau (China) in 1845. It is dedicated to the God of Wind and Big Waves. The house's owners hope this God will always bring luck to them and help them travel smoothly on the sea. Formerly, people often went to the house at night to pray because they thought that all their wishes would come true. The most outstanding features of the house are a sophisticatedly carved wooden frame, decorative designs, beautiful wooden patterns and embossed patterns made of porcelain pieces.

The main hall is dedicated to General Phuc Ba (Bon Dau Quan), a god of mastering waters. The two sides of Phuc Ba's altar are refined for worshipping the Gods of Wealth and Luck. The east-wing house is dedicated to former sages, chiefs and deputy-chiefs of the house. Every year, descendants of the Trieu Chau people gather at the house from the 1st to the 16th of the first lunar month to worship their ancestors.

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This assembly hall was built 150 years ago in memory of 108 Chinese people who were killed when crossing the sea. Passing through the metal gate and the square pavilion considered as a sitting room, you reach a large courtyard where many ornamental trees are planted, and where the east-wing and west-wing houses and main hall are located. The founders of the house are worshipped on the left of the main hall, and of God of Wealth is honoured on the right. The house is roofed with tube-tiles and its frame is made of wood. A quan ban (a kind of hanging) was transported to Hoi An from China.

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Built in 1653, this temple is dedicated to Quan Cong, a highly esteemed Chinese general who became the symbol of loyalty, sincerity, integrity and justice. Highlights inside are two gargantuan 3m-high (10-ft.) wooden statues flanking the main altar, one of Quan Cong's protector and one of his adopted son. They are fearsome and impressive. Reportedly the temple was a stop for merchants who came in from the nearby river to pay their respects and pray for the general's attributes.

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Opened in 1989, the building used as the museum today is a former Pagoda and contains 212 exhibits and documents concerning the formation and development of Hoi An. The exhibits include pottery, ceramics, bronze, iron, paper, wood and so on, which are classified into three eras - prehistory, Champa Period and Dai Viet Period. These phases correspond to Sa Huynh Culture (before 2nd century AD), Champa Culture (2nd-15th century AD) and Dai Viet, Dai Nam Culture (16th-19th century) respectively.

The documents displayed here constitute a numerous and diverse cultural treasure that testifies the formation and development of Hoi An through the great creativity of many generations of local residents.

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This house, located on the road to the west of the Japanese Covered Bridge, is in a rather disused state of habitation but was, in fact, used as a small factory for making the famous lanterns that Hoi An is famous for.

This old house was built in 1780 and is located just to the west of the Japanese Covered Bridge. It's a traditional two-storey wooden house, inhabited over 100 years by eight generations of the same family.

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This is Hoi An's most famous attraction and it has become the tourist symbol of the town. No one is quite sure of the exact age of this bridge, but it was probably constructed in the early years of the Edo Shogunate (the early 17th century). Also known as the Pagoda Bridge (Chua Cau), it was built by Japanese craftsmen who were part of a larger community of Japanese merchants active in Hoi-An.

The Japanese settled in here in large numbers following a treaty with local Nguyen lords signed in the early 1600s. Hoi An at that time was underdeveloped, but the Japanese envisioned transforming the town into a great trading centre. The Nguyen lords allowed the Japanese to construct streets, pagodas, and other infrastructure, along with housing for the merchants. The bridge is one of a handful of architectural treasures still extant from that era.

The bridge doubles as a temple, with shrines to several deities located inside. One theory of the bridge's religious purpose is that it was built to subdue a world-spanning the 'mamazu' dragon monster, whose head was located in India and its tail in Japan. The movement of the tail was believed to cause earthquakes in Japan. As Vietnam was located in the area of the mamazu's back, the bridge was intended to pin the mamazu down, thus preventing any earthquakes.

This museum was opened in 1995 and displays 216 exhibits of Sa Huynh culture, which were found in Hoi An and that date back to 2,000 years ago. They are terra-cotta jars that were found by archaeologists in their excavations between 1989 and 1994, at such sites as Hau Xa, Thanh Chiem, An Bang and Xuan Lam. These jars are about one meter high and were used to keep ashes of cremated human bodies, and their possessions to be burnt with them, such as jewellery or weapons. Also displayed are various tools for production, hunting and fishing, as well as jewellery. The museum is the most interesting collection of Sa Huynh cultural objects in Vietnam, and a treasure of precious materials concerning the ancient inhabitants of this civilisation.