Hoi an is situated in the Estury of multiple river and It’s old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site . It was a trading post in the time of champ kingdom between 7-8 th century . This port was famous for it’s spice trade outside of vietnam . There has been a lots of places to visit in hoi an ancient town , among them the Hoi an ancient town , Taylor shops in the Hoi An Central Market , the food stalls in the main market and the Night market beside the river are the most famous . Lots of old Houses and the Museums were present in this city .
How to reach HOI AN City ?
The only way to reach Hoi An City is by Road . As there is no train station or airport in the Hoi An City . Nearest train station and Airport is situated in Da Nang . There may be some water transportation but I have not seen it .
Nearest big city from Hoi An is the Da Nang city . Da nang is situated just 3o km distance from this city . Both the cities were connected by a proper High Way . I asked the locals about the Bus , they said that previously No 1 bus will operate between this two cities but After covid this bus has stopped operation . Now a days the only option to travel between this two cities are the Shuttle Bus , Taxi and the Motorbike taxi . By the Public Bus you can travel upto a certain extent but after that you must have to travel by those mode of transport .
For traveling inside the the Hoi An city there is front opened three wheeler cyclos or some antique cars traveling inside this city . This antique cars will looks like the earliest forms of the car in the 20 th century .
places to visit in hoi an ancient town :
All the main spots to visit in Hoi An were concentrated on the Old Town of Hoi An City . This town has been considered as the UNESCO’s World Heritage site as this city has some old Houses , Wooden Bridge and traditional building . Previously it has been the important trading post from the 15 th – 19th century . After that , due to the heavy silt on those river , the big ships cancelled this port . This port has lots of European influence specifically Japanes , Chines and the French .
For the Entry to the old town there is a ticket which costs 120000 VND for single traveler and valid for multiple days . In this ticket you can visit only 5 paid places inside the old town . There is also lots of free places to visit in the old Town also .
Cantonese Assembly Hall :
This chines architectured building is one of the most visited religious place inside the old town of Hoi an city . It was build in 18 th century . First this temple was used to worship chines deity Mazu godess but after 1911 Guan Yu has been worshiped here . Previously cantonese community held gathering to assist each other and discuss business activity of Hoi an city .
This place have been opened from 8 am to 5 pm daily . It is included inside the 120000 VND ticket for 5 places . better you search with the name Hoi Quan Quang Trieu in Vietnamese in google maps to find the exact location .
Bamboo Sculpture:
Near to the Hoi An Bridge there was artist named Huynh Phuong Do who made beautiful sculpture from the Bamboo Root .
First he collected the bamboo roots by the Bulldozer and the excavator and then cleaned the bamboo roots . After that he started to build the Sculpture with some manual tool . Every Sculpture of Mr Huynh are different from one another and have unique facial expression .
You can see him making sculpture on the spot .
Museum of trade and ceramics :
This old House was build in the later 19 th century and is now is a collection of different artifacts made by ceramic .
In this place there is a collection of items which were recovered from a ship wreck near to the cham island inside the soth china sea . This items were mostly made between 15 – 16 th century .
There is a beautiful ceramic sculpture of two beautiful ladies . They are looks very similar to living human beings .
This is a paid spot and opens from 8 am to 5 pm daily
Night Market in Hoi An :
Hoi An Night Market is one of the popular places to visit in the Hoi An City . Lots of people gathered there to celebrate the Vietnames New year . On this occasion they float the floating paper lantern inside the river . I have visited that place in the time of the Chines New Year and Lots of people float the paper lantern inside the river and board the manual wooden boats for river cruise .
Quan Cong Temple :
This temple was build in the year 1653 and dedicated to a army general Quan Cong(chines Guan yu ) is the veitnamized symbol of Loyalty , sincerity , Integrity and Justice . Previously , often chines marchants come to this temple to sign loan agreement as people fear the justice of Quan Cong .
This is a wooden temple . In the Gate you can find a multi colored drum . This temple is one of the oldest temple in the Hoi An City .
It opens from 8 am to 5pm daily and is a paid spot .
Japanes Covered Bridge :
It is one of the popular attraction in the Hoi An city and build in the 17 th century by the Japanes community to connect the Japanes Quarter with the chines Quarter .
There is a temple in one side of this bridge which is connected to this bridge . This temple is dedicated to Tran Vo Bac De the godess of Happiness in vietnam .
The entrance of the Bridge is guarded with a pair of monkey in one side and a pair of Dogs in another side . This are the symbols of the vietnames calendar . lots of japanes tourist come here to experience their heritage .
Japanes bridge is free and opens 24 hours but for visiting the temple you need a ticket as it is a paid spot.
Precious heritage by Rehhan :
This is a collection of a man Rehhan who traveled extensively in between all the 54 different tribes inside Vietnam . This museum is a collection of photograph , idols and different models .
This were the personal collection of the photographer Rehhan . He traveled inside the vietnam for almost 8 years and most of the collection in the museum are his personal collection .
Entry to this museum is free of cost .
Old House of Tan Ky :
Tan ky old house is one of the oldest and most visited house in the old town of Hoi an .This traditional wooden house has been build by the Tan Ky family in the 18 th century . Seven generations of this family used this building for trade .
It was a trade house and the items were shipped here by the Thu Bon River . Many merchants from Europe and south east asia come here for trade and at that time many big ships come here .
but in the 20 th century , due to heavy silt in the Thu Bon river big ships were unabled to come here and Hoi An city become a old trading port .
Museum of sa Huynh :
It is one of the museum in the old town of Hoi An and provides knowledge about the sa hyunh culture . This sa hyunh culture is over 2000 years old .
In this museum there is numerous artifacts , pictures and many more . The artifacts found in this area have historical and cultural significance .
After the death , sa hyunh people were put in this clay jars and buried under the ground . This is a unique burial rituals in this place . There are lots of ceramic pottery inside this Museum .
Custom tailor and shoe making shop :
Inside the Hoi An Market there are certain shops which make custom dresses within a day . Mostly they make suits but also make different dresses according to your demand . You will buy the cloth on that shop and they will deliver the final product within 24 hours .
There are also certain shops which make custom shoes for you . I must say this is very useful , as sometimes branded shoes does not exactly fit in your leg . So you can try it , if you faced that kind of problem with your shoes .
Long Tuyen tu :
This is a beautiful buddhist pagoda little far from the Hoi An Old Town . This pagoda is very well maintained . Here you can see amitabha buddha with thousand hands and a seven storied Buddhist pagoda . The wooden doors to the prayer hall are very well decorated .
Summary :
Hoi An is an UNESCO World Heritage town situated in the bank of the Thu Bon river . It’s old town is the an UNESCO world heritage site which was the hub for the Marchant traders in the 15 th century . There are lots of places to visit in Hoi An old town but with 120000 VND ticket you can visit only 5 spots .
