173-year-old riverside house still incredibly beautiful in Tien Giang
Báo Dân trí•29/10/2023
(Dan Tri) - Ba Duc ancient house is one of seven rare houses between 150-200 years old that are still preserved in Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village, Cai Be district, Tien Giang province.
Ba Duc ancient house is located on a small road, adjacent to the river bank, built in 1850 and restored in 1938. Visiting the house, visitors seem to "travel back in time" to the previous century, admiring the architectural features and utensils that are usually only seen in movies. According to Mr. Phan Van Duc (Ba Duc, 77 years old), the 6th generation owner of the house, this ancient house was built on a 2-acre plot of land in the South, equivalent to 20,000 square meters. The Ba Duc ancient house is divided into 2 parts: the upper house and the lower house, separated by a yard - called the skylight - which plays the role of providing light. Right behind the gate is a lush green garden, neatly arranged and carefully trimmed. In front of the main door is a wide four-step staircase. According to the tour guide, in the past, before paving the floor, the homeowner spread a layer of salt underneath, first to prevent mold, and second to cool the floor on hot days. From the outside, the house has a Western architectural style with round pillars, curved domes and elaborate carvings. However, the interior space is designed based on the Southern folk architectural style, using wood as the main material. Mr. Ba Duc said that the wooden pillars in the house are made of Laotian rosewood, which is water-resistant and durable. In 1938, Mr. Phan Van Cuong had it renovated and repaired. Thanks to holding a position in the village council (a French official position), Mr. Cuong had the opportunity to interact with French officials and absorb the essence of Western architecture. Therefore, the house was renovated in a combined East-West architectural style. The owner raised the ceiling high, helping the house to have more light, ventilation, warm in winter and cool in summer. After the restoration in 1938, the outer room was used as the ancestral shrine and living room. The items in the house such as tables, chairs, horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, and worshiping scrolls... were all preserved and maintained. When coming here, many visitors are surprised because these items are shiny, with sharp patterns and motifs, even though they have existed for more than a hundred years. The wooden pillar in the middle of the house is engraved with the Chinese parallel sentence "Tich Duc Thang Di Kim, Xu The Duong Kim Tu Ma Huan - Di Thien Di Di Bao, Tri Than Nhi Tinh So Tho Ngon". According to Mr. Ba Duc, the parallel sentence implies reminding descendants to keep morality more valuable than keeping gold, doing good deeds more valuable than keeping jewels.
The common features of the ancient houses of Dong Hoa Hiep are roofs covered with yin-yang tiles or fish scales, tall wooden pillars; rafters, armrests, rafter beams, partitions, walls… are all made of wood. Inside the ancient houses are decorated with horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, carved images of sacred animals such as dragons, unicorns, turtles, phoenixes, birds and flowers…
The house walls are preserved and kept intact with decorative patterns from 1938. On the 3 main walls surrounding the living room are 9 paintings. Each painting is a scene of a peaceful village by a charming river. It is known that these 9 paintings symbolize the gentle Mekong River.
The back house was burned down by the French, many pillars and roofs still have black smoke stains from time. Mr. Ba Duc preserves many items such as cups, plates, paintings, photos... from his father's time to display and introduce to visitors from near and far. He is fluent in English, French and Han-Nom. His children are all successful in their studies, the youngest son is a doctorate in Buddhist studies, and is working abroad. Ba Duc ancient house opens to visitors with an entrance fee of 22,000 VND/person. October - November is the time when the ancient house is most crowded in the year. Formed and developed prosperously since around the 19th century, Dong Hoa Hiep is one of three ancient Vietnamese villages selected by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to invest in developing a rural tourism model. Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village has an architecture that combines the East and the West, blending the sophistication of the capital with the liberal sound of the Southern rivers. In 2017, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued a decision to recognize Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village as a National Cultural Relic. Since then, the number of tourists coming here has increased day by day. In 2023, the tour to explore the hundred-year-old ancient houses in Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village (Tien Giang) was selected as one of the 20 most unique tours in Vietnam announced by the Vietnam Record Organization. To get here, visitors can follow National Highway 1A to Cai Be intersection, then turn onto Provincial Road 875, go about 6km to Bridge No. 2, you will see signs to ancient houses such as Ba Duc Ancient House, Ong Xoat, Ong Tong... Visitors can also travel by boat, motorboat, refer to the Cai Be Princess tour schedule or Song Xanh boat. The tour guide will take you to experience the rivers in Cai Be district such as floating markets, coconut candy workshops, rice paper, enjoy fruits, specialties of the West, visit brick kilns, ancient houses...
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