Photo Exhibition: Hoi An

Several months ago, during our Teacher's Away Day trip with our school, we went to Danang, during which we got to visit the ancient town of Hội An, about 28 km away. Proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, Hội An is one of the must-see places on any traveler's itinerary in Vietnam. I already had a chance to visit the ancient town when I visited Vietnam for the first time with my family in 2007, but this second time, I was surprised to see how much revamping had gone into it since. The bridges at the entrance of the town had got renovated, albeit in a somewhat flashy-touristy fashion, and all the old houses in the village seemed like they received a complete round of maintenance work done on them. But as expected, the whole town was packed with tourists, both mainland and internationals, and perhaps a lot more than I remembered during my last trip.

 

Hội An has a rich history which dates as far back as the 2nd century BC, where it was an important trading port for the indigenous Sa Huynh people. The port once again rose to prominence during the 15th century, where it was the most important trade post for the powerful Champa Kingdom (with its capital as Indrapura, close to modern-day Danang); and it flourished as the central port of mercantile and cultural exchange for all of Southeast Asia from the 16th to 18th century, where the Japanese, Chinese, Dutch and Indian converged, and many settled. Thus, there are a lot of foreign influences in the architecture of the town, which has remained relatively intact since the 18th and 19th century, and is the only town in Vietnam to have preserved its traditional architecture and ambiance. The rise and eminence of other trading ports such as Danang, as well as some natural geological changes on the river that feeds Hội An, led to the eventual retirement of the town as the region's trading and cultural powerhouse, but to an amazingly preserved heritage site complete with old-world character and charm.

Here are some photos that I took during my recent trip.