For the past thirteen years, travel writer Carol Howland has returned to Hoi An again and again. In her third travel bookon Vietnam (apart from a guidebook), she explores the tangled history of this old port town that saw its heydays in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, contemporary with Malacca and Macao - a town that has been a seaport for more than two thousand years hosting three distinct civilisations. Interwoven with Hoi An's intriguing history are the stories of present-day Hoi An residents, who relate the tales of their ancestors.
* Who built Hoi An's beautiful old merchant houses?
* Where were 'Japanese' and 'Chinese' Streets?
* What was Hoi An like in 1792?
* How did a 17th century English navigator affect Hoi An's history?
* Where did Hoi An's wealth come from in its heydays?
* What risksfaced a foreign trader at Hoi An's annual trade fairs?
* Why did Jesuit priests come to Hoi An to preach?
* Did Marco Polo really visit Hoi An?
* Who were the original settlers of the Thu Bon rivervalley?
* Why is Cham art so erotic?
* Were the Chams and the Khmers of Cambodia 'kissing cousins'?
* What happened to the Chams?
In 1999, Hoi An was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on two counts:
'as an outstanding material manifestation of the fusion of cultures over time in an international commercial port' 'as an exceptionally well preserved example of a traditional Asian trading port'.
THE SECRETS OF HOI AN is an absorbing exploration of this old port town, accompanied by a knowledgeable friend, who loves Vietnam, but who also understands its ironies.
Ngôn ngữ: tiếng Anh
Khổ sách: 14x20,5cm
Số trang: 272 trang