Phung Hung Ancient House

Beside Japanese Covered Bridge, Phung Hung Ancient House is another famous architectural
building in Hoi An, considered cultural heritage of the town
The house was built in 1780 – the flourishing period of Hoi An urban.
With over 200 years old, the house is a typical commercial house, prossesing unique
structure with high wooden logs and broad corridors, reflecting the development and fusion
of Asian architectural styles in Hoi An in the past centuries.
The first owner of this house was a Vietnamese merchant. He named the house “Phung
Hung”, meaning “Prosper” with the desire to be always successful
The present owner is the eighth descendant who are still living in and preserving this old
house.
Conferred the title of “National Historical and Cultural Site” in 1993, the house has kept
many documents about the architecture, culture, art and lifestyle of the Hoi An’s business
circle from the old days.
Phung Hung ancient house is a typical commercial house representative of Vietnam’s urban
areas in the 18th century with the unique blending of Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese
architectural styles. The balcony and door systems are Chinese. The Roof in the middle of
the four directions called ” Four Sea” roof is Japanese style. The rest with wooden ribs,
beams, spars and traditional two-way roof in the front and back was inspired by Vietnamese
style.
The ground floor used to be the shop. Today, it is the family’s living room, furnished with
some wooden old-style cupboards containing many precious objects and belongings.
The second floor is now reserved for the worship of the family’s ancestors and of Thien Hau
Holy Mother.
Particularly, you will be impressed with the Phung Hung ancient house by the image of
carps carved on the porch shelves. This is a symbolic image with many meanings:
flourishing to the Vietnamese, lucky to the Chinese, and it is the power to the Japanese.
In the past, the house was a shop selling forest products such as cinnamon, pepper, salt, silk,
chinaware and glassware.
Nowadays, part of the house serves as a workshop for traditional Vietnamese embroidery. It
is a way for the family to raise money to finance the expensive renovation of the home.
Tan Ky Ancient House

Tan Ky old house in Hoi An was built in 1741 by famous artisans in Kim Bong carpentry village as
the residence of a 7 generation family, especially, it was the trading place of the local
merchants as well as the foreign traders in the 18th and 19th centuries.
“Tan Ky” is not its original name, it was given by the second generation of this house with
the hope of having an appreciative life and business.

In 1961, the old house of Tan Ky was badly damaged by the enormous flood. Luckily, it still
retained the original architecture and valuable antiquity.

In 1990, the old house was recognized as a World Natural Heritage by UNESCO. However,
up to now, Tan Ky ancient house has still been managed by Le’s family. While the family
members live on the top floor, the first floor is allowed for tourists to pay a visit.

Besides, the material used to build this house is wood. Because the owner is a wealthy
merchant, the types of wood used to build the house are rare woods such as ironwood and
jackfruit wood. Besides, floor tiles and exterior decorative stone are bought from Bat Trang,
Thanh Hoa, and young stone.

The living room is built according to feng shui, five elements, Metal – Wood – Water – Fire –
Earth. The tiled roof is roofed in a harmonious yin-yang style, creating a cool and airy
atmosphere in the summer, while the winter is cozy and not cold.

Inside Tan Ky Old House is divided into many compartments and separate rooms. Especially
the house has no windows, but not so that the space is hot and stuffy. Because in the
middle of the house is a skylight that makes the most of light and air.

Besides the unique and ancient architecture, the old antiques displayed in the house have
created a strange attraction for visitors when they hear anecdotes of them.

For instance, The Confucius Cup is a treasure of the Tan Ky family and is considered a unique
antique in Vietnam. In addition, this treasure also tells a meaningful lesson of balancing
between richness and happiness. Otherwise, we will lose everything.

In particular, there is also a horizontal lacquered board “Bách Điểu” written in 100 strokes,
each stroke is like a bird in flight, which is evaluated by archaeologists to be unique.

In the living room is a space to display priceless antiques. In addition, there are two little
corners in the house for the owner to display badges and small, lovely souvenirs for visitors.

Moreover, in the old House of Tan Ky, there are also a variety of valuable antiques from the
18th century, such as the Ty Ba vase, the ancient cigarette pipe, and Chu Dau pottery.
Chua Cau