Hoi, an Ancient Town - Vietnam in the Dawn Sunlight

Hoi An Ancient Town is an ancient town located in the lower reaches of the Thu Bon River, in the coastal plain of Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, about 30 km south of Da Nang City. Thanks to favorable geographical and climatic factors, Hoi An was once a bustling international trading port, a meeting place for Japanese, Chinese and Western merchant ships during the 17th and 18th centuries. Before this period, there were also traces of the Champa trading port, often mentioned along the maritime silk road. In the 19th century, due to inconvenient waterway transportation here, Hoi An port gradually declined, giving way to Da Nang, which was then being built by the French. Hoi An was fortunate to have been spared the destruction of two wars and the massive urbanization of the late 20th century. Starting in the 1980s, the architectural and cultural values ​​of Hoi An ancient town gradually attracted the attention of scholars and tourists, making it one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Vietnam.

With its outstanding values, at the 23rd session at the end of 1999 (December 4), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the ancient town of Hoi An as a world cultural heritage, based on two criteria:

Hoi An is an outstanding physical manifestation of the combination of cultures through the periods in an international trading port.

Hoi An is a typical example of a traditional Asian port that has been perfectly preserved.