Preserving the soul of the ancient town of Hoi An.

With their unique characteristics as living relics, serving as residences and livelihoods for generations, the ancient houses are considered the "soul" of the Hoi An Ancient Town World Heritage Site. However, the ancient town of Hoi An is facing the risk of losing its essence and authentic value as many owners sell their old houses.

Only 30% of Hoi An's ancient houses belong to Hoi An residents. The ancient house of Ms. Tran Thi Minh Thuy on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, in the core area of ​​the Hoi An Ancient Town World Heritage Site ( Quang Nam province), belonged to a family that refused to sell before the Covid-19 pandemic, despite being offered over 40 billion VND. They had lived there for generations and wanted to "keep it as a family ancestral temple." However, cases like Ms. Thuy's are rare. On Nguyen Thai Hoc Street alone, most of the ancient houses have long since been sold or are only rented out for business. "Only two families live here. It's sad that all the neighbors have moved away," Ms. Thuy shared.

A house on Tran Phu Street in Hoi An's Old Town is being offered for sale at 34 billion VND. Source: batdongsan.com.vn

Hoi An Old Town boasts over 1,000 ancient architectural structures clustered together, forming a unique and harmonious architectural complex, from the urban landscape and space to each individual building. Of these, only about 10% are under state management (nearly 100 houses); 20% are collectively owned, including ancestral temples, assembly halls, and family memorial houses; and the remaining 70% are privately owned. Notably, while previously most privately owned ancient houses belonged to Hoi An residents, now only 30% are Hoi An residents, 30% are owned by people from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, etc., and 40% are Hoi An residents but rented out to people from other places. Walking around Hoi An Old Town, it's not difficult to spot "for sale" signs, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, when businesses struggled and many sections of the streets were deserted. On real estate websites, many houses in Hoi An's Old Town are being advertised for sale at prices ranging from 15 to 60 billion VND. In a recent report by the Committee for Culture and Education's survey team, the Chairman of the Hoi An City People's Committee, Nguyen Van Son, stated that the change in ownership of houses in the Old Town "is a major concern for Hoi An," and "risks losing the soul of the Old Town." Mr. Nguyen Van Son explained that Hoi An's old houses, which originally served three functions – worship, residence, and commerce – now only function as businesses, opening from 8-9 am and closing from 9-10 pm. Furthermore, people from other places who buy houses in Hoi An's Old Town mainly do so for business purposes, so they try to repair and renovate them... "For the people of Hoi An, they have a very high sense of responsibility to preserve the houses left by their ancestors, but when ownership is transferred to others, that responsibility is diminished, and there may even be conflicts between heritage preservation and economic development, and changes to the house's architecture," said Mr. Nguyen Van Son. A clearer policy is needed for heritage owners. The phenomenon of transferring ownership of houses in Hoi An's Old Town is not new. Pham Phu Ngoc, Director of the Hoi An Cultural Heritage Conservation Management Center, said that houses in the Old Town are like ordinary goods, bought, sold, and transferred without any regulations prohibiting or forbidding it. According to statistics, in some years, up to 40-50 ancient houses have been bought, sold, or transferred, especially those owned by clans.

In 1999, Hoi An Ancient Town was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site based on two criteria: it is an outstanding tangible manifestation of the fusion of cultures over different periods in an international trading port; and it is a prime example of a perfectly preserved traditional Asian port city.

Changes in ownership can alter the function, structure, and space of ancient houses, affecting the overall preservation of the old town. Hoi An city leaders are well aware of this, but face numerous difficulties. “We really want to buy back the ancient houses. Many houses have exceptional value, and it’s a shame they’re being sold, but there’s no mechanism to buy them back, nor any resources,” shared Nguyen Van Son, Chairman of the Hoi An City People’s Committee. Hoi An is currently researching a project to preserve and promote the value of the Hoi An Ancient Town World Heritage site, which includes solutions to bring Hoi An residents back to the old town, such as creating a heritage preservation fund to buy back ancient houses and rent them to residents, limiting the transformation of ancient houses into profit-making establishments that distort the heritage. In the long term, according to Mr. Nguyen Van Son, clearer policies are needed regarding heritage owners. “In the old town, people have had to make sacrifices; they are not allowed to renovate into high-rise buildings or repair them to meet the needs of modern life, yet they still pay taxes in full, even higher amounts… If old houses were treated like ordinary houses, people would sell them all.” Emphasizing that transferring ownership of Hoi An's old houses is “very dangerous” because it will destroy the soul and authentic value of this world heritage site, Standing Committee member of the Committee on Culture and Education Bui Hoai Son said that in the future, when amending the Law on Cultural Heritage, or related policies such as taxes, fees, land… “it is necessary to study appropriate mechanisms so that the local community is truly the owner of the heritage.”

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/giu-hon-cho-do-thi-co-hoi-an-post336728.html