Hoi An Old Town is situated 30km to the south of Danang City, and 60km northeast of Tam Ky. Hoi An used to be an international trade center by sea on the east area in the 16th and 17th centuries.
During the reign of Nguyen Dynasty, Hoi An used to be the busiest trading port in Dang Trong region.as merchants from Japan, China, Portugal, Spain, Holland…often stopped over to exchange and purchase commodities. In the historical progress of establishment and development, Hoi An was known by foreign merchants as Faifo, Haisfo, Hoai pho. Based on archeological relics and early records of architectural dwellings. Hoi An was also an important meeting place of many cultures, such as Champa, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese, and has been greatly impacted upon by Vietnamese and Chinese civilisation.
Location:
Hoian district and town is on the lower section of the Thu Bon River system. It is in the coastal plain of Quang Nam province, just 28 km to the Southeast of Danang City.
Hoian is situated at latitudes 15o15’26’’ – 15o55’15’’ North and longitudes 108o17’08’’ – 108o23’10’’ East and shares its boarders with Duy Xuyen district in the South, Dien Ban district in the West and North and the Pacific ocean (the East Sea) in the East.
Climate:
The climate in Hoian is rather mild. The annual average temperature is 25.6o, the percentage of humidity is 82%, rainfall reaches up to 2066mm and sunshine of 2158 hours.
Area and Population:
Hoian has a total area of 6027.25 ha (60sq.km) inhabited by 81,021 people.
Major Potentials:
Hoi An is famous for nice beaches and sea products ( from fishing industry). Hoian also has a large fishing industry as well as plentiful in other sea products.. About 15km from the Cua Dai beach lies the Cham archipelago (of 1,591 ha) where there are many famous sea swallow nests (bird nests) as well as excellent natural environments suitable for the promotion of eco tourism.
History:
From the 15th to the 19th centuries, Chinese, Indian, Dutch and Japanese settlers came here to exchange products. It made Hoi An become a major international port. This cosmopolitan mixture, along with the local Vietnamese culture, produced a rich and diverse community whose foreign influences can still be discerned today. Hoi An was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 to preserve its beautifully restored buildings, shops and houses.
As early as the first century AD, Hoi An had the largest harbour in Southeast Asia. During the 16th to 18th centuries, the port’s heyday, the city was the most important trading centre in Vietnam, especially for Chinese goods. It traded spices, silk, porcelain, pepper and medicinal plants. Eventually the river filled with silt and trading moved downstream to Da Nang, about 15 miles away.
One of the oldest buildings is the Lai Vien Kieu which means ‘Pagoda in Japan’. It was built in the early 1600s, probably by the Hoi An Japanese community and it has been renovated several times since. The Riverside Museum of History and Culture is also housed in one of the oldest building which dates back to 1653. It now houses a collection of ancient ceramics, photographs of local architecture and artifacts which span 2000 years of history.
The town today continues to thrive as a tourist attraction and market. Around 88,000 people live and work here, maintaining its ancient traditions as they sell locally made silk and crafts. The Old Town has retained its winding lanes and Chinese-style shop-houses. Altogether there are 844 buildings which have been preserved and restoration continues.