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The ancient town
of Hoi An, 30 km south of Danang, lies on the banks of the Thu Bon
River. Occupied by
early western traders, Hoi An was one of the
major trading centers of Southeast Asia
in the 16th century.
Hoi An has a distinct Chinese atmosphere with low,
tile-roofed houses and narrow streets; the original structure of some
of these streets still remains almost intact. All the houses were made
of rare wood, decorated with lacquered boards and panels engraved with
Chinese characters. Pillars were also carved with ornamental
designs.Tourists can visit the relics of the Sa Huynh and Cham
cultures. They can also enjoy the beautiful scenery of the romantic Hoi
An River, Cua Dai Beach,
and Cham Island. Over the last few years,
Hoi An has become a very popular tourist
destination in Vietnam.
In a wood-fronted shops a woman in
traditional dress sits at a desk, bathed in the light of a lantern made
from a simple bamboo fish-trap. Outside, two old men are absorbed in a
candlelit game of Chinese checkers. These scenes, straight out of the
19th century, still take place in Hoi An, a sleepy riverside town in
the central province of Quang Nam.
Hoi An has long been a cultural crossroad. More than
five centuries ago the Vietnamese nation of Dai Viet expanded its
territory southwards, encroaching on the Indianized Kingdom of Champa,
which covered much of what is now central Vietnam. Hoi An, located on
the Hoai River, emerged when Japanese and
Chinese traders built a commercial district there in the 16th century.
These diverse
cultural influences remain visible today. Visitors will find Hoi An's
Old Quarter lined with two-storey Chinese shops, their elaborately
carved wooden facades and moss-covered tile roofs having withstood the
ravages of more than 300 years of weather and warfare. These proud old
buildings, which back onto the river, remind visitors of another era,
when Hoi An's market was filled with wares
from as far afield as India
and Europe. 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 15th of every lunar month
modernity takes another step back. On these evenings the town turns off
its street lamps and fluorescent lights, leaving the Old Quarter bathed
in the warm glow of coloured silk, glass and paper lanterns. In ancient
times, Vietnamese people made lamps out of shallow bowls filled with
oil. Later, foreign traders introduced lanterns, ranging from round and
hexagonal designs from China
to diamond and star shaped ones from Japan.
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When developing
plans to preserve their town's ancient character, Hoi An residents decided to revive the practice of using
coloured lanterns. Starting in the fall of 1998, one night each month
is declared a "lantern festival". On the 15th day of each lunar
month, residents on Tran Phu, Nguyen Thai Hoc, Le Loi and Bach Dang
streets switch off their lights and hang cloth and paper lanterns on
their porches and windows. Television sets, radios, street lights and
neon lights are turned off. In the ensuing quiet the streets of Hoi An are at their most romantic, the darkness broken
only by jeweltoned lanterns in all manner of shapes and sizes.
Strolling through the lantern-lit
streets is like walking into a fairytale. It is all the more
picturesque since motor vehicles are banned from Hoi An's
Old Quarter. On Trai Phu Street, stop at the beautifully preserved
Faifo Restaurant to sample some traditional Chinese-style pastries. Or
walk on to the Treated Caf6, where bamboo baskets, commonly used to
wash rice, have been transformed into unique lanterns. These basket
lamps are but one example of people's creativity as they experiment
with new shapes and materials, including lights made from hollow bamboo
tubes.
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