Unique Chinese Assembly Hall in the heart of Hue Ancient Capital

According to historical records, around the 17th century, when the Manchu Qing Dynasty replaced the Ming Dynasty in China, many Chinese people who refused to live under the new regime migrated to our country, asking the local government to settle down and become Vietnamese citizens. In that context, Hue was the place that received many ethnic groups from the southern coastal region of China.

When Hue became the capital under the Nguyen Dynasty, the Chinese people gathered in the eastern quarter of the Citadel for convenience in doing business and living. With their dynamic and hard-working nature, combined with the reasonable trade policies of the court, the Chinese people here prospered visibly.

Along with the mandarins, intellectuals, monks, laborers, craftsmen, etc., there was a large presence of merchants. Therefore, they established guild halls for each local community to exchange work, cultural exchange and ancestor worship. These architectural works have brought a new color, a new breath of culture to the Hue Capital until today.

The Hainanese Assembly Hall (also known as the Quynh Phu Assembly Hall) worships Lady Ma Chau, located at the corner of Ho Xuan Huong and Chi Lang streets. This is a Chinese spiritual figure who often appears to help fishermen on unsuccessful sea voyages.

The Chaozhou Assembly Hall - a very large building, is the largest and richest cultural venue compared to other Chinese assembly halls.

Next to it is the Fujian Assembly Hall, which is said to have been built during the reign of King Tu Duc. According to some observers, the building's architecture, although very elaborate, majestic and magnificent, has changed quite a bit from the original. Here, the Thien Hau Thanh Mau is worshiped, said to be the incarnation of Quan The Am Bodhisattva who helped merchants overcome storms and trade safely on the ocean.

The Quang Trieu Assembly Hall is owned by the Chinese community from the Trieu Khanh area of Guangdong province. The assembly hall worships Quan Cong - a general of the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. People consider him a symbol of chivalry, righteousness and loyalty.

This is also a well-preserved Assembly Hall, so it still retains its ancient beauty. The four words at the main gate to the front hall are “Quoc Thai - Dan An”. The horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences at the Assembly Hall all reflect the philosophy of life of many generations of people through many eras.

The most important highlight on this ancient street is Chieu Ung Temple - an ancient temple with rare and ornate architecture of Hainanese Chinese. The entire facade of the main gate of the temple is made of wood and splendidly gilded.

The temple is located in a relatively large campus, decorated very elaborately and splendidly by the hands of artisans from Hainan Island in China with paintings and motifs bearing the mark of Chinese culture. On the gate there is a sign engraved with 3 Chinese characters "Chieu Ung Tu".

Although these assembly halls have almost retained their original ancient appearance after 200 years, the ancient town of Chi Lang - Gia Hoi is still deserted, with its doors and windows locked, far behind other tourist assembly halls in Hoi An or Ho Chi Minh City.

Hopefully in the near future, Hue will build a reasonable tourist route, with tour guides and a complete information system so that all visitors can go inside the assembly halls to admire and fully understand these attractive cultural and historical values.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/doc-dao-hoi-quan-nguoi-hoa-giua-long-co-do-hue