Children of Duong Lam village show off their paintings at “Doai Creative”.
“Land of two kings” - just hearing the name - seems to show that this place contains the quintessence of the culture of the white-clouded land of Doai! However, Duong Lam has faced the struggle of old families with the issue of food, clothing, money, dividing plots, separating households... in the era of technology 4.0.
And now, many new houses (but with quiet brown tiled roofs, in harmony with the moss of the typical ancient village of the North) and old houses that have been renovated and upgraded before the ravages of time... are showing that Duong Lam is finding the right "path"...
Passing through the Mong Phu village gate for a short distance, one cannot help but be impressed by a brick gate. A quarter of the circle of the well is made of laterite bricks, built by the owner in an arched style as the entrance to the house. “Surely everyone will have a feeling that is both strange and familiar. In the old village, which house did not have a well? The wells (some places call them “well scarves”) were built of rolled bricks.
I just did a simple action of “pulling” a corner of the well up to make a gate. That is how I bring people back to the old values of the village”, architect Khuat Van Thang whispered about his house. Opening that gate, people will step into a quiet space with the green of trees, the brown of tiles, of bricks, the color of time of old wooden doors and pillars.
I just did a simple action of “pulling” a corner of the well to make a gate. That was how I brought everyone back to the old values of the village.
Architect Khuat Van Thang
It is a two-story house. Wooden pillars and a set of wooden gables are used to decorate the house, making people forget the feeling that the first floor is bare. In addition to the working and receiving space, on the first floor the owner has two rooms for friends and tourists to stay in the form of a homestay business. People also cannot help but be impressed by the house's ground floor.
The intricate wooden staircase leads to the second floor, where the family lives. The entire second floor is made of wood, with a red-brown fish-scale tiled roof. The staircase also has an interesting highlight: a landing made from an upside-down bamboo boat - where people can sit and enjoy the breeze.
After renting it for a long time, architect Khuat Van Thang renovated the old house into a studio, where he works and at the same time, creates a tourist attraction for visitors to Duong Lam. He named this place NoK Studio (No is the abbreviation of Number; K is the first letter of Khuat's last name). Now, NoK Studio is a favorite destination for many tourists when visiting Duong Lam ancient village.
Khuat Van Thang is not from Duong Lam, but is a son of Xu Doai. Xu Doai culture has permeated him since childhood. “Why did I choose Duong Lam and not another place? It is not simply an economic story. If it were for the economy, I would have had many other options. There are many values of Xu Doai culture that even people from Duong Lam are not fully aware of.
I came to this place to create a space with inheritance, within the general flow of Duong Lam ancient village culture. People will then realize that people from other places also appreciate and exploit the value of the ancient village. They will think about themselves, the cultural values they possess, and from there, have the motivation to preserve and exploit them. That is the message I want to convey to everyone. Next, I want to bring the beauty of the ancient village to the community of visitors and tourists."
Recently, architect Khuat Van Thang continued to create another cultural space, also right at the gate of Mong Phu village, called “Doai Creative”. He has made a “moderate” impact on an old tiled-roof house to create spaces with different functions to serve cultural and artistic activities. Even more unique is that he recreated an ancient feature that has now almost disappeared. He peeled off the plaster layer, and… plastered the walls with a mixture of mud and straw.
Of course, to ensure the adhesion, he added additives. In this space, Khuat Van Thang is organizing an art class for more than 20 children in the village. They will create works about their own village on the background of old tiles, bricks, and doors that he collected. Similarly, for tourists, after experiencing Duong Lam, they will create their own works and can take them away.
On the right side of Mong Phu communal house, there is also a house that was built a few years ago. The owner of the house is Mrs. Quach Thi Thanh. If Khuat Duy Thang is an architect who is knowledgeable about culture, then Mrs. Thanh is just a villager like many others in this village. Her five-room tiled-roof house is decorated in a "standard" ancient style. The middle room is the place for worship, on both sides are two sets of sofas to receive guests. The two rooms on both sides of the house are built separately, and are places for guests to stay overnight.
“I am from Dong Sang village, after getting married, I moved to Mong Phu. Living in an ancient village like this, both my husband and I want to have a house with ancient architecture. Some people ask why we don’t build a modern house? Actually, the regulations in the ancient village do not prohibit building two-story houses, the government suggests new house models that are suitable for the common space. But my family only wants to build a house according to the standards of our ancestors’ houses.”
While telling stories about the spacious five-room house, Mrs. Thanh enthusiastically introduced the dishes and beauty of the ancient village of Duong Lam: "If you come to Duong Lam and haven't eaten roasted pork, banh te, or Mia chicken, you haven't been to the ancient village. Those are the unique specialties of this land." Mrs. Thanh is a skillful person, so she provides food services for tourists.
Although the house is new, tourists love to experience the quiet, traditional atmosphere. Sometimes when guests request, she will “show off” making special dishes for them to see before they enjoy them. Mrs. Thanh is very knowledgeable about ancient stories, so tourists can freely ask her questions. Many people call her “the storyteller of the ancient village”.
In 2022, although the first phase of the year was still affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, Duong Lam welcomed 340,000 visitors.
Duong Lam is now a "tourist village". In 2022, although the first phase of the year was still affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, Duong Lam welcomed 340,000 visitors. Not only Ms. Quach Thi Thanh's family, dozens of families also built new houses or renovated them, but instead of "box houses", everyone built them in the traditional house style. Many families use them for the purpose of doing business in food and accommodation services, typically: Duong Lam Village homestay; Elephant House; Mami Retreat; Duong Lam house...
Nguyen Trong An, Deputy Manager of Duong Lam Ancient Village, has been associated with Duong Lam Ancient Village for many years. Whenever he walks in the village, he is greeted by the locals everywhere. He is familiar with every house and alley. He shared:
“Change does not happen overnight, but is a process. Whenever a family wants to build or renovate a house, we go there to meet them, understand their needs, guide them and mobilize them if necessary. Just by being close to the people, we understand their feelings.”
Going with us deep into the winding alleys of the ancient village, Mr. Nguyen Trong An showed us newly built houses. Although they do not participate in business activities, the people still follow the basic principles of tiled roofs and building height. The new houses have sprung up, but they do not "destroy" the old moss.
Duong Lam commune has approximately 1,000 traditional houses, including nearly 100 ancient houses, most concentrated in Mong Phu village. This place is proud to be the "land of two kings" - the birthplace of Bo Cai Dai Vuong Phung Hung and Ngo Quyen. In 2005, the ancient village in Duong Lam was recognized as a national historical-cultural relic. Exactly 10 years ago (2013), Duong Lam was "heated up" by a number of households writing a petition to the Hanoi city government requesting to "return" the title of National Cultural Relic, including a household that was forced to dismantle part of the structure when building a high-rise flat-roofed house.
Although only a few households signed the petition, the event reflected a true story: Duong Lam ancient village is torn between preserving cultural relics, architecture, and traditional houses and developing in the country's modern renovation period. Under the moss-covered houses, families keep multiplying; children of age must separate from their households and need their own place to live. Meanwhile, not every family benefits from tourism. Preserving the ancient village has never faced so many challenges.
The “bottlenecks” were gradually untied. In 2013, the Hanoi People’s Committee approved the Plan for preserving, restoring and promoting the value of the ancient village in Duong Lam. At the same time, the Son Tay Town People’s Committee announced dozens of house models, as a basis for people to build new ones or renovate accordingly.
However, that is only half the problem. It is difficult to get people to not reluctantly follow. The Deputy Director of Duong Lam Ancient Village Management Board added: “If the value of the ancient village cannot be exploited, preservation will no longer be meaningful. The Son Tay town government will renovate the infrastructure, invest in renovating relics, and support the restoration of key ancient houses, thereby preserving and conserving the landscape of the ancient village; at the same time, it will strengthen promotion work.
The number of tourists coming to Duong Lam increases year by year. People gradually understand that if they destroy the ancient village space, they will lose visitors, leading to loss of livelihood, so for a long time there have been no violations of construction regulations. People who build new houses or renovate now all consciously follow the instructions of the Duong Lam Ancient Village Management Board.
...There are still difficulties, especially in how to make more people in the ancient village enjoy the benefits of tourism. However, 10 years since some households demanded to "return" the title of National Cultural Relic, many changes have taken place. Thanks to that, Duong Lam has been and will be the place that encapsulates the most beautiful and quintessential things of the culture of the white cloud land of Doai.
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