Memories of Bao Vinh

Although bearing the imprint of fading with the years, Bao Vinh ancient town is still beautiful and has a strange charm, reminiscent of a time of glorious past.

The image of the street market by the river is still somewhere. Prosperous past Bao Vinh ancient town is located in Huong Vinh commune (Huong Tra town, Thua Thien Hue province), about 5km from Hue city center. This old town is located in the chain of Thanh Ha – Bao Vinh towns, one of the two largest ancient commercial ports in Dang During the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries together with the town port of Hoi An (Quang Nam). In 1636, after moving the lord palace from Phuc An to Kim Long, Lord Nguyen Phuc Lan chose the location of Sinh junction overlooking Thuan An border gate to open Thanh Ha port. Formed on the land of the two villages Minh Huong and Dia Linh due to the immigration and settlement of the Chinese, Thanh Ha town port quickly became a busy and busy commercial port on the boat’s wharf. Merchants from China, Japan, India and some European countries often visit ports to buy and sell goods. Later, Thanh Ha port was filled up and declined. Bao Vinh was born as an inevitable continuation. Bao Vinh is located near the junction, where Huong River meets two dug Dong Ba and Cua Hau rivers. In the past, Bao Vinh was famous for making coffins, carefully mosaic nacre, weaving cloth, masonry, brick and tile, making flour … In 1885, the imperial capital of Hue fell to the hands of French colonialists, Bao Vinh was destroyed destroy and fade gradually. When King Thanh Thai established Dong Ba market street close to the capital (in 1899), Bao Vinh was gradually forgotten. Although no longer an important port, the image of Bao Vinh still exists with the old streets on the river and the unique architecture of the townhouses, bearing bold market street with the function of both living and trading. The typical classic houses have wooden structures, tiled roofs, and interlocking brick walls. Many riverside houses are built in the style of old quadrangle houses (or “banh ú”), facing the river bank, where goods are transshipped with merchant ships. Ancient houses dating from 100 to 200 years have created a distinctive ancient feature for Bao Vinh ancient town. A corner of Bao Vinh ancient town. Difficulty in conservation Bao Vinh ancient town conservation project has been implemented by Thua Thien Hue province since 1991 to promote the value of traditional ancient house architecture and tourism exploitation. At that time, there were 39 old houses here. In 2003, the province had a conservation plan for the old town of Bao Vinh with a research scope of 8ha, but at this time there were only 17 old houses. Currently, Bao Vinh has only 10 old houses, including 6 houses with Vietnamese traditional architecture and 4 houses with French architecture. Currently, the local government with the financial support of the French Senate has just restored 4 old houses. The rest are continuing to wait. Among the remaining old houses, it is worth noting that the house number 77 Bao Vinh of Mr. Phan Tam. This is the only remaining 2-storey wooden house in Bao Vinh. The house of 5 compartments, dating back to nearly 150 years, is now badly damaged and has a significant impact on the lives and activities of people. The old house No. 105 Bao Vinh dating back more than 100 years of Mr. Le Quang Chat is in the same situation. He expressed: “Due to being built for too long, this ancient house has been damaged a lot. Currently, my family has to repair some items to both make accommodation and protect the house from collapsing. Previously, someone came to ask about changing the wooden frame in our old house with a new wooden frame and “compensating” for 12 more gold trees, but my family refused to keep the old house from the ancestors. again”. The change and disappearance of the old town in Bao Vinh has made many historical, cultural researchers and people regret it. Although Bao Vinh old town has taken on a different look, the street spirit still seems to be floating somewhere. Tourists come to Bao Vinh as to remember, find a time of glorious past with a small street just over 300m long but there are still old houses, rice market, boat station across the river, or The village communal house and Thien Giang pagoda are over 200 years old … In 2019, a cafe here is set as the setting in the movie “Eye of the Eye” by director Victor Vu has attracted many visitors to the old town. Bao Vinh. Through many changes of history, Bao Vinh still has a strange attraction with the simple beauty of the street form in the village and the preserved village cultural values. Bao Vinh ancient town is a unique architectural – cultural heritage, has historical value and is considered a part of the ancient capital of Hue, which needs to be preserved and preserved.