Duc An Ancient House, Hoi An

Duc An Ancient House – one of the ancient houses preserved until today is taken into Hoi An Ancient Town tour of many traveling organizations as well as visited by lots of tourists themselves. This place not only attracts tourists by its bold oriental design, but it also contains deep historical meaning.
Duc An Ancient House is located at 129 Tran Phu Street – right in the center of Hoi An Ancient Town. It is also very close to the Bridge Pagoda, so it has received a lot of attention to visitors when coming to Hoi An. With a life expectancy of over 180 years old, the house has ancient and quiet features, showing the imprint of time as well as the old culture in every detail.

The family here preserves not only the house architecture but also small objects carefully, which shows devotion to the ancestor. Up to now, there have been 8 generations living in this house, and every year, it is restored to preserve almost the beauty of the ancient era.
Duc An ancient house has a combination of ancient Vietnamese, Chinese and Japan architecture style. Its overall area is quite large compared to houses in the center of the ancient town with the length of 39m, and the width of 7m. The front and back of the house are adjacent to the streets. It belongs to tube house type.

The facade of the house is made of wood, in the middle is the door and the 2 sides are 2 large windows only about 70 cm – 80 cm from the ground. Moreover, unlike other old houses, the main door uses a low door type, not taller than an adult’s head. And the two windows are not usual windows but are wooden horizontal boards.

Like other old houses in Hoi An Ancient Town, Duc An Ancient House is covered with familiar yin and yang tiles. Below that tile layer is the frame made of precious wood, a wood kind only has in Quang Nam. With that kind of wood, the house has the ability to withstand both hot and humid weather of this sunny and windy central land. The house has a sky yard, taking advantage of natural light, bringing nature into its structure.
Not only bearing the beauty of ancient architecture, but Duc An Ancient House is also a historical witness, associated with the name of Mr. Cao Hong Lanh during the war of Vietnam during the French colonial period. In the years 1925 – 1926, this house became a meeting and discussing place of patriotic intellectuals. It also retains many works of the famous patriot Phan Chau Trinh, and especially the famous books and newspapers such as the New Century and the Eastern France Time.

Generally, Duc An Ancient House has a tube house architectural style, belonging to the Oriental architectural style. It used to be a gathering place for patriots. This is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hoi An Ancient Town. Coming to Hoi An, don’t forget this attraction!

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