Sai Gon tours

Cua Dai Beach

Hoi An is very beautiful town in Vietnam. Though Hoi An is small in size, its scenic beauty and tourist attractions attract thousands of tourists throughout the year. There are numerous exotic beaches in this small town. One of them is the famous Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An. The pristine beach is located in the about 5 kilometers away from the town of Hoi An. While visiting the place in Vietnam, you must not miss the chance to visit this amazing Cua Dai Beach.

Roaming around this pristine beach is in itself a charming experience. Walking through the white sand of the beach is awesome. The environment is very peaceful and relaxing. You can reach this pleasant beach only in few minutes by riding a bicycle. Except this natural beauty, the Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An also holds many resorts and hotels in its lap. Some of these resorts are Dong An Beach Hotel, Glory Hotel, Hoi An Trails Resort, Indochine Hotel Hoi An, Phu Thinh 2 Hotel, Swiss – Belhotel Golden Sand Resort and so on. All these resorts are located in the center of the Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An. You may stay in these hotels so that you can spend some peaceful time in the lap of the beach.

Along with the pleasant accommodation in the Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An, you will also get several restaurants and bars. The beach is well known for its seafood and various other food items. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead with your holiday planning and spend your weekend in the Cua Dai Beach, Hoi An.

Water bodies in general are an important part of Vietnam as a whole. More so for this shore town of Hoi An. The Thu Bon River in Hoi An plays an important role in the geography, culture as well as the history of Hoi An. The town which was better known as Fai Fo in the days of antiquity, is situated on the banks of this river. Located at a distance of 30Km away form Vietnam’s 4th largest city, Danang, this small town is positioned in the estuary of the Thu Bon River in Hoi An. Moreover, the Thu Bon River in Hoi An is not just the chief culminating point for most festivals and events that are held at Hoi An but also the chief source of livelihood for many residents of the town.

The Thu Bon River in Hoi An is the largest of its kind in the Khannam Danang Province of Vietnam. The Thu Bon River in Hoi An is also famous by another name among the people of Vietnam: “Kuadai”. The river is responsible in a big way for the traditional and historical heritage of the town of Hoi An. The now fishing town of Hoi An was a popular international trade destination and also a convenient stopover for many merchant ships bound to and for China and other countries. This was chiefly because of the simple reason that the Thu Bon River in Hoi An flowed into the East Sea. Trade in the town via the Thu Bon River in Hoi An thrived from the 16th to the 18th centuries. In fact, most of the current populations of the town are descendents of traders and merchants who chose to settle down in the town. It is believed that in those days the Thu Bon River in Hoi An had a larger estuary area that facilitated trade and communication. The formation of the bays and shores of the river today that are made of sandbanks and guarded by lagoons indicate to this.

The classified Cultural Heritage of Hoi An Ancient Town is a marvel of centuries of preservation and propagation. The Hoi An Ancient Town that measures a good 60 Sq Km in area is located in the Hoi An City. Located on the banks of the Thu Bon River, it was a place where several cultures merged to bring about the unique heritage that it has today. What is more important than this is the fact that this coalesced culture has survived several centuries of flux to remain uncorrupt and grow over time. The Hoi An Ancient Town site is located 30 Km away from Vietnam’s fourth largest city Danang.

Renowned as Fai Fo in the ancient days, Hoi An was a trading hub and also a significant and convenient stopover for tradesmen and merchants who were mostly bound for and from China. And so this town metamorphosed into a port town for Southeast Asian trade. In fact, remnants of trading houses, club-houses of merchants and many other such structures indicated to the past that the Hoi An Ancient Town is steeped in. One of the most famous of these is the Emperor Kwang’s Shrine. Established between the 15th and the 19th centuries, the Hoi An Ancient Town also houses remnants of a Japanese settlement in the form of excavated Imari Ceramic wares. Another direct result of the many cultures that permeated the Hoi An Ancient Town are the enormous numbers of temples, shrines, pagodas, assembly halls and other prominent establishments. Not just prominent buildings, but also common houses and shops in the Hoi An Ancient Town stand testimony of it. Most of them are Vietnamese structures with doses of Chinese design and Japanese styles thrown in for good measure.

The Tran Family Home and Chapel, Hoi An is one of those chapels in Hoi An, Vietnam that belong to the early nineteenth century. The chapel is a reflection of Vietnamese aristocracy and it also bears cultural and traditional values in it. To the visitors, The Tran Family Home and Chapel is a famous tourist attraction. People from all over the world come to visit this chapel.

The chapel is located in the 21 Le Loi, Hoi An in Vietnam. The chapel got its name from its own builder named Tran Tu Nhuc. In the year 1802, this person made this home and chapel for the purpose of worshiping his ancestors. The chapel is designed beautifully. The design of the building reflects genius of Chinese architecture. There are many antiques and traditional gifts in the Tran Family Home and Chapel. The chapel is also a reflection of the period it was built. It has two openings in it. One of the drawing room and other is the ancestral part of the chapel.

Here the description doesn’t end. The drawing room of the chapel has separate entries for men and women. The left door is for the men and the door at the right side is only for the women. There is another door in the center of the room except these two. This door is made for the purpose of festivals like Tet etc. this is a traditional festival in which they believe that their ancestors return by the central door of the room.

Hoi An is a very famous tourist spot. People from allover the world are attracted to the natural beauty of the small town and also to the various interesting tourist attractions. The town is rich with numerous, museums, temples, twenty assembly halls and various other historical places. However, the Chaozhou Hall (Trieu Chau), Hoi An among all these is the most unique assembly hall in Hoi An. You must visit this hall while traveling through Hoi An. This assembly hall is not only a tourist place, but it is also a heritage building bearing historical significance and cultural values.

The Chaozhou Hall (Trieu Chau) is located in the 157 Nguyen Duy Hieu Street in Hoi An town. The assembly hall is primarily a congregational hall. The building was established in the year 1845. Records say that the Chaozhou Chinese had built this assembly hall. The building of Chaozhou Hall (Trieu Chau) is a great example of Vietnamese architecture. The Chaozhou Hall (Trieu Chau) is in fact a place, where people worship the god General Phuc Ba. It is condsiderd that he is capable of maintaining the tranquility of the sea.

So what are you waiting for? Go and visit this beautiful Chaozhou Hall (Trieu Chau) in Hoi An, which is a unique combination of both culture and tradition of Vietnam.

Among the various popular assembly halls in Hoi An, Vietnam, the Fukian Assembly Hall (Phuc Kien), Hoi An is the exceptional one. Hoi An is a small town in Vietnam that is full of excitements and tourist attractions. You must visit this assembly hall to encounter an excellent work of architecture that is also considered as a heritage of historical significance.

The Fukian Assembly Hall (Phuc Kien), Hoi An was established in the year 1697. It is a great example of the Chinese architecture. The Chinese merchants of the Fukian Province are believed to build this huge assembly hall. However, some changes have been made to this Fukian Assembly Hall (Phuc Kien) in the course of time. As for example, the first entrance of the assembly hall was made in the year 1975.

The Assembly Hall in fact is a temple that holds the sea goddess Thien Hau. Then there is goddess Thuan Phong Nhi, who is able to listen to the sound of a ship even at a distance of thousand miles. At last the goddess Thien Ly Nhan is also in the altar and she is able to see those distant ships.

There are lots of animal symbols in the design and architecture of the Fukian Assembly Hall (Phuc Kien) in Hoi An. The mosaic fountain inside the assembly hall bears a fish sculpture that is a symbol of achievement. Besides the fish, there are other animals such as dragon, unicorn, phoenix, turtle and so on. All these animals signify different features of the Chinese culture. The dragon is symbol of power and the turtle signifies endurance. On the other hand the unicorn is a symbol of knowledge and the phoenix represents nobility.

The Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall, Hoi An is one of the most famous historical buildings in Hoi An, Vietnam. Along with the historical significance, the hall is also a popular tourist attraction in the small town of Hoi An. While touring the town you must visit this Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall to get the pleasure of viewing this architectural heritage of Vietnam.

This colorful Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall was established in the year 1885. Records say that the Chinese Cantonese merchants built this hall. The different parts of the building are separately made in China. After finishing the work, those parts were transferred here and joined together to build the The Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall in Hoi An.

The Assembly Hall holds an amazing fountain that features a dragon. The dragon is a beautiful creation made out of pottery. Besides that, there are more attractions waiting for you inside the Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall in Hoi An. Various Cantonese statues are spread out all over the hall. Some of these statues reflect the musical dramas of he Cantonese culture. Outside the Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall, you will find various shops and markets. The main attractions to the tourists are the silk dresses. So go ahead and buy some silk pajamas for yourself

The Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An is one of the famous tourist attractions in Hoi An, Vietnam. The original Vietnamese name of this bridge is “Lai Vien Kieu”. The word can be interpreted as “Pagoda in Japan”. It is considered that the Japanese Covered Bridge, Hoi An is a possession of the Japanese community of Hoi An.

The bridge was built in the early seventeenth century. However, the builder of the bridge is still anonymous to the people of Hoi An. The Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An is a beautiful example of Japanese architecture. At one end of the bridge, there is a sculpture of dog and on the other end of the bridge here is a sculpture of monkey. These two animals are symbol of sacredness in Japanese culture. Another reason behind these animal sculptures is that according to the Asian zodiac signs, in the year of monkey and the year of dog many of the Japanese emperors were born. Records also say that the construction of the bridge was initiated in the dog year and was finished in the monkey year.

Inside the Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An, there is a temple of the northern god Tran Vo Bac De. This god is considered to be the god of weather. People believe that He controls all kinds of weather changes and natural calamities. So the sailors worship this god and also fear Him.

The name Old House of Tan Ky itself suggests that the building is one of the remotest historical buildings in Hoi An. The age of the old house is approximately a couple of centuries. The old house reflects the combination of both Japanese and Chinese architectural geniuses. So while visiting the small town Hoi An, in Vietnam, you must also visit this Old House of Tan Ky to encounter great historical and cultural significance of Vietnam.

There are four rooms in the Old House of Tan Ky, Hoi An. All these rooms are small in size, but packed with various beautiful antiques. These antiques are mainly made of wood. These four rooms are for four different purposes. One is for welcoming the Chinese merchants and the other are living room, courtyard and the bedroom. You can enter the other three rooms except the bedroom. It will be better if you take a guide with you. He can give you all the details of the old house.

The Old House of Tan Ky, Hoi An has a unique combination of three types of architecture. The beams of the roof are curve and they display some Chinese information in an elaborate way. On the other hand the peak roof bears Japanese characteristics in it and the Vietnamese crosshatch stands as a support to the roof of the old house. The walls of the house are also decorated with unique mosaic arts.

The Museum of Trade Ceramics in Hoi An like the other museums around Hoi An is an establishment that houses the relics of a bygone civilization. The Museum of Trade Ceramics in Hoi An, keeps the track record of the history and the origins of this port town. The building that serves as a museum itself is a very beautiful building constructed in traditional Vietnamese architectural style. The Museum of Trade Ceramics in Hoi An is a two storey building with a courtyard and an anteroom – all of which are open to the public. The exhibits of the Museum of Trade Ceramics in Hoi An is made up of fragments of pottery.

Though the town of Hoi An is currently a fishing town, it once used to be a trade hub. Either way, the sea continues to play a major role in the life of the people of Hoi An. In the early days when Hoi An was called Fai Fo, the chief article of trade to and from the town consisted mainly of pottery; because of this, international exchange, pottery of different nations, including Chinese, Thai and Japanese, have been discovered. Most of the displays are fragments of what once used to be decorative or other wares and they date back to between the 13th and the 17th centuries. The Museum of Trade Ceramics in Hoi An in its turn is quite helpful and informative, as every article on display comes with a description of its background. There are a total of about 430 ceramic artifacts that stand as a testimony of the ceramic trade network. Visitors are allowed to view the display every day between 8:00am and 5:00pm.

The Sa Huynh Culture Museum in Hoi An is a bearer of a legacy that is both rich and rare. The Sa Huynh Culture Museum in Hoi An is one of the most important museums located in Hoi An. Located in the Tran Thu Street of the Hoi An heritage center, the museum houses crucial and revealing relics of the Sa Huynh culture. The Sa Huynh culture is a pre historic Bronze Age civilization that occurred in Vietnam, and more particularly in the central region of the country near the coast.

The Sa Huynh culture specialized in metal wares – especially bronze and iron – and ceramics. The majority of the display in the museum comprises of articles like jewelry, weapons like daggers and useful implements like axes. All recovered evidence of these facts are seen preserved and displayed in the Sa Huynh Culture Museum in Hoi An. There is another feature that the Sa Huynh had perfected enough to the level of art; and that is the funerary rituals and rites. Discovery of jar burials of over 200 in number from 50 or more different sites are recorded in the Sa Huynh Culture Museum in Hoi An. Most of the articles on display in the Sa Huynh Culture Museum in Hoi An date back to the 1st Millennium BC which is better known as the Iron Age. There are a total of 216 exhibits in the museum. They were all acquired from the Hau Xa, Thanh Chiem, An Bang and Xuan Lam villages.

Pottery is not just a significant and traditional craft in Vietnam, but also an important means of livelihood. The Thanh Ha Pottery Village in Hoi An is a famous example in this type of an establishment that aims at furthering tradition as well as employment. The Thanh Ha Pottery Village in Hoi An is located in the Quang Nam Province in the Thanh Ha ward; Hoi An lies 3 Km to the east of it. The pottery village has a long historical legacy attached to it.

The tradition dated back to the time when the Nguyen Dynasty of Hue invited craftsmen from the Thanh Ha Pottery Village to fashion some decorative as well as useful articles for the palace. This one event gained them sufficient renown to last them a lifetime. Henceforth, the village began a Mandrain system of grading craftsmen according to their talent. The most talented held the ninth position. The pottery at the Thanh Ha Pottery Village in Hoi An are all manually crafted and are exported world over. The techniques that they use are unique from those prevalent in other provinces. The Thanh Ha Pottery Village in Hoi An crafts decorative articles along with useful items like cups, jars, bowls and pots. The flower pots made here are particularly sought after.

The Thanh Ha Pottery Village in Hoi An used clay mixing techniques, burning and baking time and heat modulations to bring out different colors like pink, pinkish-yellow, red, light brown and ink-black in the wares. The craftsmen also modulate all these aspects to achieve immense durability in their products. Aside of the regular articles, the Thanh Ha Pottery Village in Hoi An is also renowned for its bricks and tiles of various shapes and sizes. In fact its bricks and tiles are sourced out to the entire local as well as many foreign regions. It is the most trusted name for contractors engaged in tasks of renovation.

Pagodas are an important part of Southeast Asian culture. In Vietnam pagodas are not just considered to be a place of worship but also a place where traditional and cultural functions and other festivities. The most ancient of these pagodas that have been contributing and continuing to uplift the traditional, cultural and religious aspects of the society is the Chu Thanh Pagoda in Hoi An. The Chu Thanh Pagoda in Hoi An is the oldest and the most respected pagoda in Hoi An.

Distanced from the centre of Hoi An by a good 2Km, the Chu Thanh Pagoda in Hoi An was instituted by a recluse from China. This monk named Minh Hai set up the Chu Thanh Pagoda in Hoi An in the year 1454. the exact location of the Chu Thanh Pagoda in Hoi An is in the Quang Nam Province, within the Tho Cam ward. The Chu Thanh Pagoda in Hoi An also significant for being the birthplace of the “Thien Tam Te” religion. The pagoda made of wood and the decorations are made up of lacquered panels, and boards with Chinese characters etched out on them. Moreover, the architectural style of the Chu Thanh Pagoda in Hoi An uniquely combines Chinese desighs with Vietnamese styles. The Chu Thanh Pagoda in Hoi An is a living relic in itself and has been restored along with many other establishments in Hoi An as a Heritage Building with funds provided by the UNESCO; the renovations took place twice, in 1956 z=and again in 1964.

The Chu Thanh Pagoda in Hoi An currently houses 5 monks, headed by a Buddhist priest called Thich Tri Nhan, who are the chief guardians of the Thien Tam Te religion and also the precious relics of the pagoda. The relics include a the bells within the pagoda, a two century old stone gong and another wooden gong in the shape of a carp that is even older that the stone gong. The Chu Thanh Pagoda in Hoi An houses the deities Tam The Phat, Di Lac, and La Han within the walls, while there is another deity – the ‘Goddess of Mercy’ Quan The Am Bo Tat – just outside the pagoda. Outside the Chu Thanh Pagoda in Hoi An are also the tombs of the renowned priests Minh Hai, Thiet Tho, An Bich, and Thien Qua.

The small fishing town of Hoi An situated on the banks of the Thu Bon River, is a quiet and place that affords its visitors ample scope for relaxation. The town’s other claim to fame is its many pagodas and shrines. Of them is the Ong Pagoda in Hoi An. The Ong Pagoda in Hoi An like most other pagodas in the region is a place engaged in not just a place of worship and meditation, but also a cultural hub, preserving the heritage of the land. The Ong Pagoda in Hoi An is also popularly called the “Chua Ong Pagoda”.

Located in the Quang Nam Province, the Ong Pagoda in Hoi An is to be found in the Tran Phu Street of the town. The Tran Phu Street is a typically old and traditional Chinese district; and so the presence of this 17th century pagoda in such a location indicated towards its heritage. The Ong Pagoda in Hoi An which is dedicated to “Quan Thanh De Quan” – also known as “Quan Van Truong” – was erected in 1653 in honor of its namesake, who was an ancient Chinese general. Quan Thanh De Quan was a prominent figure of the ‘three kingdom’ era of China. Because of its age and the subsequent resultant deterioration, the Ong Pagoda in Hoi An has undergone multiple renovations.

The Quan Kong Temple, Hoi An is a very famous temple in Hoi An. Built in the early seventeenth century, the temple bears a cultural and traditional significance of Hoi An. The temple is located beside the Nguyen Hue. Originally the Quan Kong Temple, Hoi An was created in the honor of the Chin dynasty. However, today the temple bears with it a great architectural genius and it is also a very famous tourist attraction.

There are many exciting things inside the Quan Kong Temple, Hoi An. There are two huge statues in the temple and these are made of wood. These statues are kept in the altar of the temple and the height of these statues is almost 10 feet. One of these statues is the idol of the protector of Quan Kong. On the other hand the other statue features the adopted son of the protector. Both these attractive specimens of architecture deserve the appreciation of the visitors.

Originally the Quan Kong Temple, Hoi An was made especially for the merchants. They used to come here and paid respect. Merchants from various places used to come in this temple. The temple is a symbol of their bravery, loyal, and virtue. Besides those two wooden statues in the temple, there is also a pond inside.