The 223-year-old house in Hoi An contains many valuable items preserved like treasures.

The 223-year-old house, built by a high-ranking official of the Nguyen Dynasty in Hoi An (Quang Nam), still retains its unique architecture and many valuable artifacts that are preserved like treasures.

According to the Quang Nam Tourism Association, the Tran clan's ancestral temple was built 223 years ago by the official Tran Tu Nhac. In late 1802, before being sent as an envoy to China by King Gia Long, he built this temple to worship his ancestors and later left it to his descendants.

For over 200 years, the house has retained its original architectural style, harmoniously blending three cultures: traditional Vietnamese architecture, distinctive Chinese design, and Japanese feng shui. This is a testament to a golden age of development in the history of Hoi An.

Notably, the house contains hundreds of precious artifacts carefully preserved by the family over many generations. Among them are two relics of a high-ranking official of the Nguyen dynasty: a ceremonial sword and a family genealogy book he wrote in 1812.

Ms. Tran Thao Phuong, the 12th-generation descendant of official Tran Tu Nhac, said that every year during holidays, Tet (Lunar New Year), and ancestral commemoration days, all relatives gather to offer incense and express gratitude to their grandparents and ancestors. This is also an opportunity to strengthen the bonds between members of the family.

Currently, the Tran clan church has been included in the list of registered protected historical relics by the Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee. It is also one of the seven ancient houses recognized by Hoi An.

Here are some pictures of the famous old church in Hoi An:

With its 1,500m2 grounds, surrounded by high walls, the Tran clan church sits peacefully in the heart of bustling Hoi An, seemingly isolated from the outside world .

According to ancient East Asian beliefs, people are born in the East and die in the West (Western Paradise), so the house's facade faces West.

The house was built in the traditional style of three bays, two sections, one main entrance and two side entrances. The front yard was planted with many flowers and ornamental plants.

The main door is used on holidays, festivals, or ancestral worship days, while the two side doors are for everyone to enter and exit the house, following the concept of "male on the left, female on the right."

The dome is in the Chinese architectural style of "crab skin and turtle shell," with exquisite carvings.

The main part of the house is the ancestral altar, prominently placed in the center. It is surrounded by antique lanterns, some over a hundred years old.

There were many wooden boxes on the altar. Inside each box was the biography of the deceased, along with some important personal belongings.

On the side of the guesthouse is an altar dedicated to the official Tran Tu Nhac.

The sword left behind by the Nguyen Dynasty official is carefully preserved by his descendants.

Here, the Trần family genealogy, written by Mr. Trần Tứ Nhạc in 1812, is still preserved.

Many tables, chairs, horizontal plaques, couplets, and landscape paintings, some hundreds of years old, have been preserved almost intact.

Behind the ancestral altar is a space displaying the family's rare antiques.

The belongings and artifacts of previous generations are carefully preserved and protected.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nha-co-223-tuoi-chua-nhieu-co-vat-quy-duoc-giu-gin-nhu-bau-vat-o-hoi-an-2381694.html