Hoi an travel guide

Hoi An Ancient Town certainly lives up to its recent status of UNESCO’s world heritage. Bustling with life, antique and mystical, Hoi An is an outstanding material manifestation of the fusion of cultures over time in an international commercial port. Despite the more-than-ever amount of motorbikes and tourists, everything else in Hoi An looks as if it had stayed the same since the 19th century. 

History

Since the 1st century AD, Hoi an had already been a bustling trading port founded by the ethnic group Champa. Until the 1700s (when the Champa group were overthrown by the Viet ethnic group), Hoi Anremained one of the Champa dynasty’s major harbors. After that, Hoi Anremained an important Vietnamese node on the silk road. Due to its strategic location and economic promises, many Chinese, Japanese, Dutch and Indians settled down in the city. Entering the 19th century, Hoi An lost its role of major port and bustling economic zone to its more industrialized neighbor Da Nang. However, this decrease in business opportunity has prevented Hoi An from becoming industrialized, allowing Hoi An to preserve many of its cultural and historical aspects. 

Geography 

The city of Hoi an lies on the coast of the South China Sea in the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is located in the Quang Nam province and is home to approximately 88,000 inhabitants. The town is situated on the North bank of the Thu Bon river over an area of 0.3 square kilometers.