300-year-old communal house, historical mark of Gia Dinh citadel

Chi Hoa Communal House, formerly known as Hoa Hung Communal House (because it was located on the land of Hoa Hung village), later renamed Chi Hoa Communal House (because the village changed its name); currently located in alley 475, Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This is one of the oldest communal houses in the city, and has been recognized as a national historical and cultural relic by the Ministry of Culture according to Decision No. 1460 - QD/VH signed on June 28, 1996.

History books record: In 1698, Commander Nguyen Huu Canh was sent to Nam Kinh. He established communes, hamlets, and villages... In the long-standing life of the Southern people, when there is a village, there must be a communal house and people immediately use the place name to name the communal house. Chi Hoa communal house appeared and got its name from the above customs and factors.

Chi Hoa Communal House also records many historical and cultural events of ancient Gia Dinh land , such as:

During the period 1785 - 1792 , teacher Vo Truong Toan opened a school in the communal house grounds. From this classroom appeared many famous figures in history such as: Ngo Tung Chau , Trinh Hoai Duc , Le Quang Dinh , Ngo Nhan Tinh , etc.

In 1915 - 1917 , the Thien Dia Hoi movement led by Phan Xich Long against the French colonialists chose Chi Hoa communal house as the secret martial arts training place of the movement.

In 1945 , the Vanguard Youth movement arose everywhere, and Chi Hoa communal house became bustling again. On August 25, 1945 , from the communal house, the youths in that movement used spears, sticks, etc. to rush out into the street to block and fight the French army. In the communal house, under the stage (martial arts theater), there was a secret tunnel used by the Vanguard Youth force during that time ^[2] .

In addition to the historical value just mentioned, the artifacts in the communal house are also worth noting, which are the sets of Chinese characters inlaid with mother- of-pearl and sacrificial objects (such as the set of eight treasures, gongs, drums, parasols, etc.) that were made many years ago. Previously, in the communal house there was an old set of parallel sentences made by the students of Mr. Vo Truong Toan as a gift to their teacher, with the following two sentences inlaid on top:

Early life education to gain people without death is like having death

A famous person in this world, though dead, not dead.

Rough translation:

While alive, teaching people, even without children is like having children.

When he passed away, although he was gone, his reputation still lives on.