Wedding Practices of Dao Nga Hoang Ethnic Group in Yen Bai Province

Posted on May 7, 2012 by admin

The Dao Nga Hoang are one of 13 ethnic groups residing in Yen Bai Province. They are also known as “Dao quan chet” or “Dao son dau”, names inspired by the characteristics of their traditional clothing and decorations.

Unique wedding of Dao Nga Hoang ethnic peopleLike other ethnic groups, the Dao Nga Hoang have their own traditional features which add to the colourful ethnic minority culture in Yen Bai. Their wedding ceremonies are an important highlight in their culture.

A Dao Nga Hoang wedding can be in several forms, including the traditional style or a wedding in combination with the “le cap sac” initiation ritual marking a young man’s entry into manhood. The most popular traditional form of wedding, representing an important landmark in one’s life, includes various formalities unique to Dao Nga Hoang culture.
In preparing for a wedding, the ceremony of age comparison comes first. A small ceremony prepared by the groom’s family is held to formally ask for the bride’s age. A ceremony master then is invited to decide whether the bride and the groom are suitable, and can live happily according to local concepts.

The custom of requesting permission of the bride’s family has long been a part of Dao Nga Hoang traditional weddings.  Previously, the bride’s family was often paid for bringing up and educating the bride, and they sometimes demanded a high bride price. However, the wedding offering asked by the bride’s family sometimes resulted in a large debt burdening the newly married couple. At present, this requesting of permission has become a cultural tradition, with the amount of money offered to the bride’s family more of a token than an exchange of value.

The formal engagement ceremony is known as “tuc bon ngo”. On a set date, the groom’s family visits the bride’s home with an indigo cloth holding a white silk coin and a silk ring inside, symbolizing a strong commitment for the wedding.
At the bride’s home, there is an important worship ceremony held at night. The worship master informs the ancestors, deities and land gods that from the time the bride is married, she is no longer under the management of the spirits of her parent’s land. This formal ceremony includes specific folk songs and traditional dances.

One unique feature of a Dao Nga Hoang wedding ceremony is the rest stops along the way when bringing home the bride. Even the local elders do not know the origin of this custom. Regardless of the short distance between the two family homes, when the groom’s family representatives go to the bride’s house to greet her and escort her to the groom’s home, along the way they must stop for a rest, drinking wine and enjoying dishes prepared by the groom’s family.

For anyone interested in Vietnamese ethnic minority traditional cultures, a Dao Nga Hoang wedding in Yen Bai is like a gold mine of discovery. Please contact us at Haivenu to see how we can arrange such an experience for you.

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Join the New Rice Festival of the Thai Trang People in Lai Chau!

Posted on May 5, 2012 by admin
The community of ethnic minorities in northwest Vietnam includes a wide variety of cultures. Cuisine culture is a special traditional feature of the Thai Trang people in Lai Chau Province and throughout the northwest region. Local cuisine is often the highlight of festivals, which carry on the cultural traditions in each area.
New Rice Festival of the Thai Trang People The new rice festival held by the Thai Trang people in Lai Chau originated long ago. In this festival, local people pray for good weather and a bountiful harvest. The festival is an occasion when ethnic minority communities in Lai Chau meet together to exchange goods and communicate. For a long time, the festival was not held and was gradually being lost in people’s memory. After the festival in 1961, it was 46 years until the next new rice festival was held in Lai Chau. The practice has now been renewed, and today the festival is again held annually at Huoi En Village, Muong So Commune, Phong Tho District of Lai Chau. The new rice festival celebrates the crossroads of earth and space, and the combination of factors necessary for a good harvest. While this theme is common to community festivals across the northwest, each local festival has its own unique features.
Coming to Huoi En Village in September of the lunar calendar, you will find broad rice paddies with stalks bending under the weight of the maturing grains. This is the best time to make green rice. Long ago, upland rice was always used to make green rice because it kept the sweet flavour and stickiness best. Today, the amount of upland rice is limited, so local people make green rice from common sticky rice or Luong Phuong rice instead. Local people survey the rice fields to find a suitable paddy before collecting rice for making green rice. The amount of green rice depends on the demand of the festival.
Before the day of the festival, an old woman from the village who is experienced in making green rice goes to the rice paddy with a group of girls to choose good rice. The old woman stands in the rice paddy and reads a vow. After the reading of the vow, she cuts a little rice and directs the girls to cut a suitable amount of rice. Everyone used sickles to cut the rice. The chosen girls must be virgins or happily married women. In local people’s opinion, green rice made by these people will help bring a happy and prosperous year for them, as well as express their respect to the gods.
The new rice festival is a special cultural event of the Thai Trang people in Lai Chau. Thanks to this festival, Phong Tho becomes an attractive destination for tourists every fall. If you’re interested in experiencing the peaceful atmosphere of this rural festival, get in touch with Haivenu Tours and we’ll work out all the details.
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Join the Ritual Buddha Bathing Festival in Laos

Posted on April 29, 2012 by admin

The Buddha Bathing Festival is one of the popular yearly rituals among traditional Buddhist festivals. This ritual has long been practiced in Laos, India, Central Asia and China, and is found today in Buddhist communities around the world. It is an occasion for Buddha’s children to pay their respects to the appearance of the Enlightened Being 2600 years ago.

The legend is told that one day the sky was clear with brilliant sunshine, flowers blooming and birds singing, when dragons appeared in the sky and emitted two streams of purified water, gently cascading down to bathe the Prince Siddhartha when he was born to Queen Madadan.

After the prince was born, seven lotus flowers sprung up beneath his feet as he walked. The prince pointed one hand to the sky and one to the ground, and vowed to liberate all who suffer in the three realms.

The Buddha Bathing Festival in Laos lasts 3 days, from April 13 to 15. During the festival, pagodas and temples are decorated with colourful flags and flowers. Statues are placed out in the middle of the yard so that people can contemplate and bathe the Buddha. People use fragrant water to bathe the statues. Fragrant water is made from purified water, fragrance and gold scorpion flowers that bloom everywhere in Laos around the New Year Festival. Lao people believe that this festival will give them a happy, prosperous life so they share Buddha bathing water to drink after the festival.

Why do people bathe Buddha? The Buddha Bathing Festival celebrates the birth of the Buddha. Many people think that bathing the Buddha is a step toward becoming Buddha in the future, and it lets us aspire to cleanse our minds of greed, hatred and temptation, and incline to the good.

The Buddha Bathing Festival is deeply embedded in the religious life of Lao people. There are many activities marking the celebration of the birthday of Buddha. Monks gather together in their temples and place the Buddha statue into a basin, in which fragrant water is prepared with red sandalwood and turmeric. Then the monks bathe the figure of the Buddha with the scented water while they sing sutras. Finally, the monks sprinkle the water on themselves to ward off future disasters.

For all those interested in the rituals of Buddhism, or in a hands-on experience with one of the most important festivals in Laos, Haivenu Tours recommends adding this event to your destination list.

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Day Cake of the Red Dao People on Han Thuc Tet Holiday

Posted on April 27, 2012 by admin

Day Cake, a sticky rice cake, of the Red Dao ethnic group living in Quan Chet, Thanh Phat Commune (Son Duong, Tuyen Quang Province) is indispensable for celebrating Han Thuc (Cold Food) Tet holiday on the 3rd of March on the lunar calendar.

The Red Dao people often celebrate Han Thuc Tet beginning from March 1st of the lunar calendar. The taste of sticky rice, the glistening young green banana leaves, and the aroma of rich green beans make this holiday uniquely memorable.

Preparing for this special occasion, local people are jubilant and boisterous when grinding rice to make flour for Day Cake. It takes skill and practice to master the different stages to make a totally white Day Cake with a good aroma. The rice must be pure glutinous rice, of which the grain is round, highly flexible and aromatic when boiled. In order to make good cakes, the Red Dao people pay close attention to the rice quality, even when harvesting. The rice is dried using only moderate temperatures, producing the best rice for grinding.

About 5 kg of sticky rice is ground at a time to make the cake, while two steamers work at the same time. Hot steamers of sticky rice are put into a mortar and the delicious aroma fills the village.
Mortars are made of thick wooden tree trunks which are hollowed out inside. The rice pounding pestle is rubbed with fat on both ends so that it won’t be sticky during the grinding. Energetic young men are selected to pound the rice, while women are responsible for preparing leaves to wrap the cakes. The banana leaves gathered from the forest are dark green. First they are cleaned with stream water or pure rainwater stored in carefully covered tanks, then the leaves are wiped dry with a clean towel.
After the pounding process, the village young people skilfully use the pestle to roll the rice paste evenly. Day Cakes are made plain or filled with a mixture of spices and meat. Day Cake with meat inside is much tastier, with the delicate mix of pork, fragrant coconut and pungent pepper. The white Day Cakes are prominently placed in the middle of a banana leaf for serving, which makes them much more attractive.

Why don’t you take the opportunity to visit Vietnam; Haivenu will bring you the chance to experience the memorable tastes of Vietnamese cuisine, of which Day Cakes are just one example.

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Battambang – A Promising New Destination in Cambodia

Posted on April 26, 2012 by admin

Many tourists are familiar with famous destinations in Cambodia such as Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace and remnants of the Khmer Rouge, and Sihanoukville’s quiet beaches, but more than a few visitors have not had the chance to visit such a new destination as Battambang.

Battambang, known as the largest granary of Cambodia, is located by the Sangker River among fertile alluvial rice paddies. Battambang is different from other modern Cambodian cities, such as Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, with its fresh air and natural landscapes. Coming to Battambang, tourists can set up a fascinating and meaningful eco-tourism experience. Visitors here also have the chance to visit famous sights such as pagodas and the tombs of kings.

Battambang is known as the capital city in Northwestern Cambodia, with a population of more than 250,000. It was founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, and Battambang is still today the main hub of the Northwest, connecting the entire region with Phnom Penh and Thailand.
Battambang was colonized by the French, and French colonial architecture is an attractive bonus of the city. It is home to some of the best preserved French architecture in the country. In the city’s first urban development plan in colonial times, the French constructed a grid pattern of well-defined streets, put in urban structures and built three main streets parallel to the Sangker River. A second urban development plan 19 years later brought a newly constructed railway linking Battangbam with Phnom Penh. And the third plan extended urban areas to the north, east and south of the original city.  The layouts were technically planned and required long-term thinking to create an urban axis corresponding to the existing layouts from the former period. Experiencing three urban development periods, Battambang was established as an important trading city and grew into a modern provincial capital to become one of the most developed of all the provinces in Cambodia.

Haivenu tours would like to introduce some famous attractions in Battambang, such as Kamping Puoy Lake, Baset Temple, Wat Ek, Prasat Banan, Prasat Snung and Phnom Sampov.
Phnom Sampov, about twenty-five kilometers along the road to Pailin, offers pagodas, war remnants and holocaust memories. Ten kilometers out is Kamping Puoy, one of the few Khmer Rouge-era dams, which was built by hand at the cost of thousands of lives. Today Kamping Puoy is a popular swimming hole and weekend picnic site. If you have a passion for Buddhism, follow Haivenu’s professional guides to Baset Temple which was built during the reign of King Suryavarman II situated on a hill at Baset Village, Ta Pun Commune, 15 kilometers from the provincial town. Baset Temple exhibits 11th century architecture and there is a pond, 20 meters by 12 meters, and 10 meters deep. This pond is never dried up, even in the dry season.

Thanks to the advantages of its natural landscapes and historic traditions, Battambang is an attractive town. Tourists should not miss the chance to explore this new destination in Cambodia with Haivenu tours.

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Foreigner Street is not only for Foreigners!

Posted on April 25, 2012 by admin

Pham Ngu Lao, De Tham and Bui Vien Streets in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, have long been known as ‘foreigner streets’.

Many people might quickly assume, by this name, that the area is only for foreigners. But in fact, this street nowadays also attracts many Vietnamese. Ms. Nguyen Thu Hien, a staff member at a nongovernmental organization with a branch in Danang, says that whenever she visits Ho Chi Minh City, she always chooses Pham Ngu Lao Street as an exciting stop: “In this street, I feel very delighted, comfortable and convenient. In other streets, I am often hesitant to go out and return late at night, but the nightlife in this street is fascinating.” She adds that it is convenient to stay here: “All types of tourism services are available here, ranging from motorbike and bicycle rental to make-up services and eateries. There is no need for me to go far to find what I want, as everything is near my hotel.”

In addition to the advantages mentioned by Ms. Hien, “Foreigner Street” is chosen by many domestic tourists because of the unique features only available in this area. Accommodation prices here cover the full range, from several million VND / night to a few hundred thousand VND / night. There are even double rooms available for less than 100,000 VND / night.

If you want to travel from this street, you can choose from many tourism companies nearby, register and start your trip promptly. You can catch a bus here or arrange a private car to provinces and cities such as NhaTrang, Da Lat, Phan Thiet and Da Nang, all easily arranged at the offices of well-known travel agents. As an alternative to using taxis or motorcycle taxis to get around, and to save money, there are many bus routes from here to neighbouring suburban districts and provinces. Now, many foreign visitors take advantage of the bus system for their travels.
A walk of a few minutes brings you to the city’s famous shopping centres such as Ben Thanh Market and Saigon Square. Join in morning exercises with the locals, just across Pham Ngu Lao in 23 September Park, which is a great public space with outdoor exercise equipment. Everyone knows where “foreign street” is, your friends will have no trouble finding you!

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Discover the Wildness of Nam Ka Nature Reserve

Posted on April 16, 2012 by admin

Founded in 1986, Nam Ka is a nature reserve in Dak Lak province covering an area of 24,555 ha. The bulk of the forest in the reserve is part of Nam Ka commune, Dak Lak district.

This is a protected area with abundant flora and fauna, and lush landscapes. The rainforest ecosystem covers mountains, valleys and marshes. Nam Ka is at the confluence of the two rivers of Krong No and Krong Na (Male and Female), which join to form the Serepok River, the longest and most prominent river of Dak Lak.
Nam Ka Nature Reserve is situated near the highest mountains in Dak Lak province, reaching 2,442m just to the west, separating Dak Lak from the highlands of Dak Nong. The Heogen sediment boundary of Cat Tien is to the South and the valley of Krong Pak – Lak is to the North.

On the slope of a range, Nam Ka ranges in altitude from 100 – 1,100m. The climate is considered tropical plateau monsoon, and includes two distinctive seasons each year: dry and rainy.
Thanks to high humidity and tropical monsoons, the plant life in Nam Ka is various and abundant. There have now been some 587 high level plants listed in the area, of which 382 types have potentially high value for use as medicines.

Besides, there are 78 species of ornamental plants excellent for interior decoration, such as amplexicaul tea and orchids, along with many kinds of rare trees.

Animals in the forest are also diversified with 140 species of birds, including green-winged teal, great white egret, burrowing owl, gambel’s quail, and pyrrhuloxia. Other notable fauna are the black gibbon, red-eyed monkey, Asian black bear, sun bear, elephant, muntjac and other deer, and wild pigs.

Regarding amphibians and reptiles, over 50 kinds have been recorded, for instance, fresh water crocodile, Southern trionychid turtle, python, snakes and frogs.

Nam Ka is home to many rare species listed in Vietnam’s Red Book with calls for conservation, namely: elephant, civet, crocodile, tiger and bear.

Thanks to the wildness and mystery of Nam Ka, it has become an attractive tourist destination for those interested in nature, whether for research or simply to explore. Many types of tours have been designed; the most popular are trekking and homestay tours.

For these tours, you can transfer by car to Nam Ka conservation centre. After being welcomed at Rai Village, you can trek through the surrounding forests for one, or several, days. Rai Village is the most isolated and least populous in the area, where the traditional M’nong culture is alive and well. Adventurous travellers love to explore this area and see the origins of Central Highland culture.
Tourists can stay in Rai Village at homestays, enjoy family meals and sleep in the traditional stilt houses of the M’nong people. Sitting by the cooking fire, tourists can taste delicious meals with the traditional style rice liquor while delighting in gong performances and songs by local artists.

Haivenu Tours is eager to welcome you and work out all the details so you can enjoy the memorable experience of visiting Nam Ka Nature Reserve.

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Visiting Rattan and Bamboo Craft Villages in Tang Tien

Posted on April 14, 2012 by admin

Tang Tien Commune in Viet Yen District, Bac Giang Province, is just off Highway 1A, a great location for the transaction and exchange of the area’s special products.

This commune is widely known for its durable rattan and bamboo products, most prominently in the two villages of Phuc Long and Phuc Tang.

Woven rattan and bamboo are used to produce different types of baskets which have been used by generations of Vietnamese. The villagers make continuous efforts to improve their product quality and create the best designs to meet the needs of every customer.

Every product can only be made after a series of steps is completed, including: selecting, splitting, drying and weaving the bamboo, and especially important is the smoking technique. The smoking process is the key for a product with good form and colour.

Bamboo can be smoked in two ways, to be either white or yellow. The former process is done using chemical materials, while the latter simply uses straw.

To make a bamboo product with good durability, the bamboo strips must be dried in the sunlight after being split, then carefully flexed before weaving. In this way, the product becomes glossy and beautiful.

When the bamboo strips are smoked, their colour becomes polished and yellow. However, if the drying process was not long enough, they turn to an unattractive dark colour. Most of the craft products of Tang Tien Village are retail consumer products for daily use. However, some local artisans have created new goods, such as mirror frames and fruit trays, to diversify the village’s products.

Currently there are about 4,000 employees working in the field of traditional woven rattan and bamboo products. The handicraft products of the village not only meet the requirements of consumers in the country, but are also exported to countries such as Japan and Taiwan.

The handicraft products of Tang Tien are becoming a popular brand in both domestic and international markets, making Tang Tien a famous traditional craft village of Bac Giang Province.
Recently, increasing numbers of foreign partners have visited local enterprises and signed agreements for buying and selling products.

In fact, now over 70% of the commune’s products are exported. Bamboo and rattan products of Tang Tien have been displayed widely at trade fairs: Van Ho – Giang Vo in 1999, Green Peace Fair in Ho Chi Minh City in 2000, and the Fair in Nghia Do in Hanoi in 2001. The village is advertised on the mass media at the central and local levels.

These craft products require relatively little in terms of input materials and the process leaves little waste. Therefore, production is stable with a reliable source of materials and no problems with waste disposal, ensuring the sustainability of this industry long into the future.

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Drum-making – A Unique Occupation of the Red Dao

Posted on April 13, 2012 by admin

He is considered a rarity in Sapa and the northern provinces; one who still makes drums, an indispensable musical instrument for the spiritual lives of the Red Dao ethnic group.

A Unique Occupation of the Red DaoI met with Mr. Ly Phu Quyen, a famous drum maker of the Red Dao ethnic group, in Sa Chai village, Ta Phin commune, Sapa district, Lao Cai province on an October day. He was making drums with his sons; there were dozens of partly finished drums on the yard.

He continued cutting and sharpening the drum material while telling us about his work.

In the Red Dao tradition, drum making requires much effort and skill. The drumheads are made from cow or buffalo skin, which should not be too thick. The skin will then be dried in the sun, and put onto the kitchen roof for about 10 to 15 days.
Jackfruit wood is used to make the body of the drums. After the inside of a length of wood is pierced, it is whittled round, polished and made thinner to be light, but strong and firm. A typical Vietnamese drum has two drumheads, nailed onto the wooden body, but Red Dao drums use stretched rattan twine to keep the drumheads taut.

The drum maker will use small hand-made wooden wedges fastened onto two sides of the drum and pull all the rattan strings to stretch the drum faces to the utmost. As a result, the drum will have a suitable resonance and be able to produce both a high and low pitch. The wooden wedges surround the drumhead like petals of a flower, giving Red Dao drums a unique appearance.
Our host tells us that, to produce a drum with excellent sound, the drum maker must have both skilful hands and sharp ears to create the essential high and low pitches.

It’s customary for every Red Dao family to have at least one set of drums and musical pipes used for cultural festivals or rituals like the New Year holiday, wedding ceremonies or funerals.
Drum making methods are passed on to the family’s male members. When asked about how his business was doing, Mr. Quyen said there are 5 workers at his drum workshop currently and about 60 to 70 drums are ordered weekly. Price varies from 300 to 400 thousand VND or even up to 2 million VND each, depending on the requested type of skin and the drum’s size. However his drum workshop can’t meet all the orders of both Red Dao people and tourists.

Apart from drums, his family is also specialized in producing other local products such as musical pipes, knives and hooks.
The occupation of drum making is a unique cultural feature of the Red Dao ethnic people which is increasingly rare. Thus, Mr. Quyen’s drum workshop is not only for business, but also for tourists to see and learn about the traditions of the Red Dao people.

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Vietnam’s Unique Tile-roofed Bridges

Posted on April 12, 2012 by admin

Tile-roofed bridges, not as common as those made of iron or stone, have become a special architectural attraction from Vietnam’s past. Many of these bridges have been in place for hundreds of years; curving like rainbows, roofed with ancient tile, and reflecting clear river water, they bring memorable beauty to the traditional villages of Vietnam.
Tile-roofed bridge in Phat Diem, Ninh Binh Province
Tile-roofed bridge in Phat Diem, Ninh Binh Province

Together with a well-known stone cathedral, the tile-roofed bridge in Phat Diem is a prominent traditional architectural work in the Kim Son area. Not only for transportation, is it also served as an ancient communal house and is familiar to all local people.

Crossing the An River, the bridge is located in Phat Diem Town, about 30km from the centre of Ninh Binh Province. The tile-roofed bridge is a wooden rainbow comprising three spans, each of which has 4 compartments, with a total length of 36m and width of 3m. There are two banisters and pillars all made of wood. The two sides of the bridge are connected to stairs down to the river.

Kim Son district was recorded on the map of Vietnam in 1829. Along with the village establishment, Vietnamese mandarin Nguyen Cong Tru carried on the construction of irrigation works. The first project was to dig the An River connecting Vac River with Can River to get fresh water. The canal was dug along with road construction, soil excavation, and settlement compensation. The tile-roofed bridge was built with only wood and tile in 1876. The floor was then made of sheets of timber 10 metres long, and the bridge has been continuously maintained since then to serve transportation demand. After weathering and normal wear-and-tear, its wooden floor was replaced, and the river banks were strengthened with concrete. However, the bridge itself, with the ancient tile roof, has always been a great pride of local people in Kim Son district.
Tile-roofed bridge of Luong Pagoda, Nam Dinh Province
Tile-roofed bridge of Luong Pagoda, Nam Dinh Province

The tile-roofed bridge of Luong Pagoda in Hai Anh commune, Hai Hau, Nam Dinh province, was built 300 to 400 years ago during the Le Dynasty, and is listed as one of the best remaining examples of such structures in northern Vietnam.

The bridge crosses the Trung Giang River, just 100 metres from Luong Pagoda, making a cluster of historical vestiges. Luong Pagoda or Tram Gian (pagoda of hundred compartments) was built in the Le Dynasty under King Le Hong Thuan (1509 – 1515).

The bridge is composed of 9 compartments, 40 round columns, all in wood, sided with banisters featuring built-in chairs so visitors can sit and relax. The bridge rests firmly on 18 square stone pillars; with its beam system revealing skilful design and graceful artistry. The bridge is shaped into a curve, with its artful tile roof like a flying dragon. The patterns, although simply engraved, harmoniously represent the traditional architecture style. The bridge is not only where people and vehicles pass by; it is also a good stop for pedestrians to take a rest and enjoy the scenes of the countryside.
Tile-roofed bridge of Thanh Toan in Hue City
Tile-roofed bridge of Thanh Toan in Hue City

This tile-roofed bridge comes across a canal going the length of Thanh Toan village, Thuy Thanh commune, Huong Thuy district, about 8km east of Hue city centre.

Immigrants from Thanh Hoa province followed Lord Nguyen Hoang to Thuan Hoa province where 12 patriarchs decided to settle for their careers, establishing 12 different family names at the very founding of this village. A woman belonging to the 6th generation of the Tran family, namely Tran Thi Dao, offered money to build a bridge, improving transport for villagers and avoiding the need for boats. The bridge is, still today, an ideal stop for both visitors and villagers.
Japanese Bridge – Symbol of Hoi An
Japanese Bridge – Symbol of Hoi An

Hoi An’s Japanese Bridge was first built by Japanese businessmen as early as the 17th Century. It bears another name, Pagoda Bridge or Lai Vien Bridge, which literally means that it welcomes visitors from far away coming to Hoi An.
Pagoda Bridge in Hoi An is closely linked to the legend of Cu (mamazu), a sea monster with its head in India, body in Vietnam and the tail in Japan. Every year the monster moves its body, causing floods, earthquakes and disasters. Pagoda Bridge in Hoi An symbolizes a sword pinning down the monster’s back, maintaining peaceful lives for local people.

Although it is called Pagoda Bridge, there is no statue of Buddha inside. There is only a wooden statue of Bac De Tran Vo in the central compartment. He is a protector and giver of happiness to humans.

Pagoda Bridge has been a symbol of Hoi An Ancient Town for over four centuries. While it has been renovated six times, it’s original and ancient appearance remains. First recognized as an historical and cultural vestige in 1900, the bridge’s image is now printed on Vietnam’s 20,000 VND denomination currency notes.

Anyone who visits Danang – Hoi An will expect to visit this bridge. Indeed, if you pass by without visiting the bridge, it might seem as though you haven’t really been to Hoi An Ancient Town!

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