As Steve hadn't been well enough to go on the organised walking tour to Hoi An the previous day, we took ourselves off on the hotel shuttle bus to Hoi An with our guide book.
The early history of Hội An is that of the Cham. These Austronesian-speaking Malayo-Polynesian peoples created the Champa Empire which occupied much of what is now central and lower Vietnam. Hội An was the commercial capital of the Champa Empire.
In 1535 Portuguese explorer and sea captain António de Faria, coming from Đà Nẵng, tried to establish a major trading center at the port village of Faifo. Hội An flourished as a trading port and became the most important trade port on the South China Sea. In the 18th century, Hội An was considered by Chinese and Japanese merchants to be the best destination for trading in all of Southeast Asia, even Asia. Japanese believed the heart of all of Asia (the dragon) lay beneath the earth of Hội An.
Hội An's importance waned sharply at the end of the 18th century because of the collapse of Nguyễn rule. With the triumph of Emperor Gia Long, he repaid the French for their aid by giving them exclusive trade rights to the nearby port town of Đà Nẵng which became the new centre of trade (and later French influence) in central Vietnam while Hội An was a forgotten backwater.
Hoi An has a ticket scheme whereby for the price of a single ticket you can visit up to 5 of its most famous sights daily. Proceeds from ticket sales go to the cost of preserving the sights.
Japanese Covered Bridge:
This small arched bridge of red-painted wood has been adopted as Hoi An's emblem. It was known to have existed in the mid-sixteenth century and has been reconstructed several times since then to the same simple design.
Local folklore has it that the bridge was erected after Japan suffered a series of violent earthquakes which were attributed to a restless monster lying with its head in India, tail in Japan and heart in Hoi An. The only remedy was to build a bridge whose stone piles would drive a metaphorical sword through the beast's heart and fortuitously provide a handy passage across the muddy creek.
Cantonese Assembly Hall:
Just east of the Japanese Bridge is the late 18th century hall built by immigrants from Guandong. The gaudy entrance arch is a recent embellishment.
Inside the plant-filled courtyard, ornamented with dragon and carp carvings, was still peaceful despite the number of visitors:
Inside the assembly hall:
Tan Ky:
The merchants' houses make up the majority of Hoi An's original wooden buildings.
Again near the covered bridge was this beautifully preserved example of a two-storey, late 18th century shophouse, amalgamating Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese influences in an architectural style typical of Hoi An.
The present house was built by a second-generation member of the Tan Ky family, who fled China as political refugees in the late 16th century, and took 8 years to complete. The long narrow building has shop space at the front, a tiny central courtyard and direct access to the river at the back, from where merchandise would be hauled upstairs to storerooms safe above the annual floods.
Exceptionally high floods, the latest being 1964, are marked on a pillar, giving a good understanding of just how disruptive the water is.
The house is cluttered with the accumulated possessions of seven generations grown wealthy from trading silk, tea and rice.
Hy Hoa Temple:
This doesn't feature in the guide books and isn't one of the sights covered by the ticket system but it looked, and sounded, interesting.
You walk through a small courtyard
into an art gallery.
Quang Cong Temple:
Founded in 1653, this small temple is dedicated to Quan Cong, an esteemed Chinese general who is worshipped as a symbol of loyalty, sincerity, integrity and justice. His partially gilded statue, made of papier-mâché on a wooden frame, is on the central altar at the back of the sanctuary. When someone makes an offering to the portly looking Quan Cong, the caretaker solemnly strikes a bronze bowl that makes a bell-like sound, though sadly not when we were there.
The life-sized white horse recalls a mount ridden by Quan Cong.
Minh Hu'ong Family Chapel:
The house, at 14 Tran Phu Street, is dedicated to the founders of Minh Huong Village.
"Minh Huong" stands for the Chinese who fled from China during the Qin Dynasty, and were granted political asylum in Vietnam by the Nguyen Lords.
Trieu Chau Assembly Hall:
The Chaozhou Hall (Trieu Chau) is located at 157 Nguyen Duy Hieu Street. The assembly hall was primarily a congregational hall, built in 1845 by the Chaozhou Chinese. The General Phuc Ba, who was claimed to be able to make winds calm and waves quiet, was worshipped there.
Silk:
Hoi An is renowned for its silk and there are an abundance of small, and not-so-small, shops where you can see ancient silk looms .........
and the silkworms munching away on their mulberry leaves.
The Old Town:
In Hoi An you are never far from the river:
Nor are you ever far from the tourist trade.
 |
| Lots of evidence of Russian tourists. |
And although during our coach trips we saw plenty of fishing using this traditional method, this man only performed at specified times for the tourists.
And, of course, there were reminders of the war, in this case the devastating effect of the Americans seemingly indiscriminate use of Agent Orange as a defoliant. The deadly effects of the contamination are still being suffered by the people in the area today.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23497563
It's a fascinating town to walk around.
The wiring is chaotic.
There's barely a car to be seen on the roads but you take your life in your hands crossing the street!
There's a vibrant commercial feel to the town, with small workshops everywhere:
Yet, despite the heat and the bustle, the town also has a serene feeling:
And a definite French feel.
It's hard to believe that we were only there for less than 4 hours as we packed so much in!
Ideally we would have loved to have eaten a bowl of cao lau, (a Hoi An speciality of thick rice-flour noodles, bean sprouts and pork-rind croutons in a light soup flavoured with mint and star anice topped with thin slices of pork) but time and Steve's stomach ruled it out.
But there was time for a cool beer. Sue had seen just the place soon after we arrived so we headed back to the river and climbed aboard.
The other customers were a family from Paris, who politely put up with our attempts to speak to them in French and kindly agreed to take our picture.
Then a man got off the boat and started hacking a coconut with a cleaver.
It was for the couple who had sat down next to us: a lawyer from Hanoi, recently transferred to Da Nang, and her mother.
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