Dong Thap: Promoting cultural values in Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village

The Dong Hoa Hiep Ancient Village Cultural- Tourism Festival, with the theme: "Memories of the Ancient Village" will take place from December 3-7, 2025 in Cai Be commune (Dong Thap province), to preserve and promote the value of the ancient village's cultural heritage, contributing to the development of local tourism.

The main activities of the festival include a heritage journey connecting culture, tourism and craft villages; Famtrip program, seminar on developing tourism products of Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village; Digital journey to Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village; "Quintessence of the West" cuisine.

In addition, there are also folk dance programs; "Village Gate Storytelling" contest; "Dong Hoa Hiep Ancient Village Imprint Night" program; Vietnamese goods program to the countryside.

The highlight of this year's festival is the re-enactment of Cai Be floating market, offering visitors a unique culinary experience; stalls selling local handicrafts, specialties as gifts, along the riverbank leading to the ancient house and on the river are culinary boats serving a variety of traditional folk cakes and typical products of Dong Thap, helping visitors enjoy the taste of their homeland.

The architectural and artistic relic of Dong Hoa Hiep Ancient Village, Cai Be Commune, Dong Thap Province has been ranked as a National Monument by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism according to Decision No. 2080/QD-BVHTTDL in 2017.

Along with Duong Lam Ancient Village in Hanoi and Phuoc Tich Ancient Village in Thua Thien-Hue, Dong Hoa Hiep Ancient Village (Cai Be District, Tien Giang Province) was selected by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (now the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to invest in developing a rural tourism model.

One of the impressive points for tourists when coming to Dong Hoa Hiep Ancient Village is the image of ancient houses with the bold style of Southern garden houses.

Currently, Dong Hoa Hiep Ancient Village has 7 ancient houses built from 150 to 220 years ago and 29 houses built from 80 to 100 years ago. The seven ancient houses are built in the traditional Southern Vietnamese house structure with 5 rooms, 3 wings in the shape of the letter T with elaborate carvings and decorations.

Inside the ancient houses, the horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences are intricately carved. (Photo: Huu Chi/VNA)

In the ancient houses, there are still many sets of mother-of-pearl inlaid parallel sentences, elaborately carved tables and chairs, and many rare porcelain items.

The ancient houses in Dong Hoa Hiep are not located close together like in some other ancient villages, but they are interspersed with lush fruit gardens, creating a rustic but poetic beauty that attracts tourists. The ancient houses here are not only very unique in architecture but are also currently a homestay tourist destination that attracts many international tourists.

The ancient houses in Dong Hoa Hiep are scattered in An Binh Dong hamlet, Phu Hoa hamlet, An Loi hamlet, An Thanh hamlet… Some hamlets are connected to each other like a chessboard, within a radius of about 2km, so visitors only need a bicycle or walk to get around the village.

Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village has been evaluated by cultural researchers as one of the valuable cultural heritages and a basis for promoting ecotourism potential.

Located in an area of over 19,000 square meters, surrounded by a year-round fruit garden, the ancient house of Mr. Phan Van Duc's family (An Loi hamlet) has an architectural style that harmoniously combines Southern and French culture.

The house was built in 1850, and houses rare antiques such as 4 pillars made of rosewood; 3 sets of cabinets, a set of mother-of-pearl inlaid parallel sentences; a wooden box inlaid with dragons, inside is a "Sac phong than" (divine decree) issued by King Tu Duc between 1848 and 1860; 9 beautiful murals depicting a peaceful village scene by the river.

The ancient house of Mr. Tran Tuan Kiet's family (Phu Hoa hamlet) was built in 1838 on an area of 1,000 square meters, including 5 rooms with a Dinh-shaped architecture; on the rafters, wooden windows... are intricately carved patterns such as pine, chrysanthemum, bamboo, apricot... and many motifs typical of Southern culture.

Dong Hoa Hiep ancient house still preserves many valuable ancient objects. (Photo: Huu Chi/VNA)

The house still preserves many precious antiques such as a set of parallel sentences inlaid with mother-of-pearl, a set of tables and chairs with delicate patterns, porcelain objects; especially 108 pillars made of rare rosewood.

The house was classified by Japanese archaeologists as one of the “Nine Most Beautiful Houses” in Vietnam; JICA and the University of Architecture (Japan) invested in technology and finance for restoration in 2002.

The ancient house of Mr. Le Quang Xoat's family (An Thanh hamlet) was built in the early 19th century, covering an area of over 700 square meters. This is a house with unique architectural art, the style of Hue's traditional house but with a strong Southern character.

The house has 3 rooms and 2 double wings, all made of precious wood, with a yin-yang tiled roof on an orchard area of 9,215 m2. After 6 generations, although there have been a number of repairs and renovations, the exterior looks like it has Western architecture, but the interior of the house still retains the original characteristics of the Southern folk house architecture.

In particular, in the outer room of the house there is a very special set of double horse boards (2 pieces joined together) made of marble. According to the homeowner, this set of marble boards has the special feature of being cool in the summer but warm in the winter.

With its rich history and unique decorative art architecture, as well as several other houses in Dong Hoa Hiep commune, the ancient house of Mr. Le Van Xoat's family was consulted by JICA and the local cultural sector to develop community tourism, and was recognized as a provincial-level Historical and Cultural Relic in 2014.

Foreign tourists visit Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village. (Photo: Minh Tri/VNA)

If you want to experience resting and eating in an ancient house, you can contact Mr. Kiet, Mr. Vo, Mr. Ba Duc… These ancient houses all have homestay tourism services. You can experience daily activities with the locals: participating in making green rice flakes, making rice paper, rolling milk rice paper, taking care of fruit gardens, going to Cai Be floating market, catching fish in ditches; listening to traditional music.

Along with ancient houses and lush green gardens, Dong Hoa Hiep people also preserve and promote the value of a simple lifestyle, creating a form of community tourism with its own identity./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/dong-thap-phat-huy-gia-tri-van-hoa-o-lang-co-dong-hoa-hiep-post1073313.vnp