 |
| The boat passes through the section with the Moonlight Bridge - a "check-in" spot in Hoi An. |
In my heart, there is always an image of Hoi An sparkling with lights. There, time seems to stop. There, like a familiar place that I want to return to after a long time.
We arrived at Hoi An Ancient Town ( Quang Nam ) when the sun was starting to set. As soon as we arrived at the old town, a woman quickly invited us, “Let’s take a boat ride on the Hoai River to see the old town. This is the best time to take a boat ride to see the scenery and take beautiful photos.”
The invitation sounded quite appealing so we bought some snacks and quickly got on the boat. The boat was decorated with lanterns very Hoi An, the boatman who was also the tour guide introduced the scenery of Hoi An, including the area "Hoi An Memory Island" which has been invested in to develop green tourism along with unique cultural and tourism experiences for visitors.
The boat passed by the stage where the live show Hoi An Memories took place. The boatman said, “At night, tourists flock to the stage to watch the show. It’s very interesting!”. First launched in 2018 with the largest live show in Vietnam, by 2022, Hoi An officially included Hoi An Memories in the ancient town tour.
The boat reached the foot of the Moonlight Pedestrian Bridge, the boatman turned off the engine, lit candles and gave us some pretty lanterns. Nearby, tourists on other boats were also releasing lanterns and praying. The light from the boats full of lanterns and the lanterns reflected on the river mixed with the light from the “green trees made of lanterns” and the sparkling streets on the banks, creating a magical and romantic scene.
According to some documents, 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 in the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, the ancient town of Hoi An is a special example of a traditional port in Southeast Asia that has been preserved intact and carefully.
Most of the houses here are traditional architectures dating from the 17th-19th centuries, distributed along narrow streets. Interspersed between the townhouses are religious and belief architectural works that demonstrate the process of formation and development.
Hoi An is also a land of many imprints of cultural blending and exchange. Assembly halls and temples bearing traces of the Chinese are located next to traditional Vietnamese townhouses and houses with French architectural style. Besides the cultural values through architectural works, Hoi An also preserves a diverse and rich intangible culture.
The daily life of the ancient town residents with their customs, religious activities, folk arts, and cultural festivals are still being preserved and developed. Hoi An is considered a living museum of architecture and urban lifestyle. With its outstanding values, in 1999, UNESCO recognized the ancient town of Hoi An as a world cultural heritage.
Hoi An ancient town not only attracts tourists by its ancient architecture, quiet beauty bearing the mark of the past but also captivates visitors by its unique cuisine such as: Hoi An chicken rice, Banh Dap - stir-fried mussels, Hoi An pancakes, Hoi An water fern cakes, Cao Lau... Among them, Cao Lau is a dish that has existed for a long time, with rich flavors from meat, shrimp and spices mixed with chewy noodles that attract tourists.
Besides the crowded restaurants and food stalls, clothing, fabric, and lantern shops also attract customers. Among them, lanterns are a very familiar symbol in the old quarter. Nowadays, people have created more types of lanterns that can be folded and carried easily, convenient for tourists to buy as gifts.
 |
| Hoi An night is sparkling. |
At night on Hoi An street, besides walking, riding a cyclo… sightseeing, enjoying food, buying souvenirs. Tourists also cannot miss the experience of riding a small wooden boat rowed by one person on the river right next to the street and of course… releasing flower lanterns, feeling the very unique and peaceful beauty of a hundreds-year-old ancient town.
After many years, Hoi An still has an ancient, pristine beauty that encapsulates the space and time of the old days. However, Hoi An people know how to create new things on the ancient foundation while still keeping Hoi An's peaceful, enchanting beauty. I was absorbed in admiring and feeling the peaceful beauty of Hoi An and honestly, I felt a little regretful when I had to leave this place. Suddenly, I hummed a few lines from "Quang love song" by Tran Que Son:
“If you love the floating, then take a boat ride on the Thu River.
If you like sacred places, go to My Son and see.
Then wait for summer to come, listen to each hot wind
Then sat on the moonlit porch listening to his mother sing...
(Song Love the Saltiness)
Article and photos: SONG HAU
Source link
Comment (0)