Beautiful Vietnam
Old house preserved for generations
  • | vietnamnet, dtinews.vn | November 23, 2014 08:59 AM

An old wooden house in Quang Nam Province has become known for its great value after the owner got many offers, some as much as a million dollars, and he refused to sell.

Because of its architecture and age, the house of Nguyen Dinh Hoan in Loc Yen Village, Tien Canh Commune has been visited by many historians and researchers. Hoan's father told him that the house was built in around 1850. It took three years to complete, and was built with the wood of jackfruit trees.

It was built in the typical style of the period, with a screen walls in the front and following the rules of fengshui. The house is especially well-known for the carvings on the wooden pillars and walls. Detailed depictions of flowers, fruits and pheasant are carved on the beams.

From generation to generation, Hoan's family has kept and preserved the home, and so to him it is priceless. Hoan said his father refused an offer from Ngo Dinh Diem in 1939. His father pointed to the words on the beams which read, "An inherited house built by the merit of ancestors cannot be sold."

In 1960, Ngo Dinh Diem became the president of southern Vietnam and tried to buy the house again but failed. Hoan said local authorities tried to force his father to sell, but he was determined to preserve it.

The house has survived time and war. Hoan said, "I'm the fourth generation to live in this house. After I die, my children will stay and treasure it."

 

 

 

Wooden house at Loc Yen Village

 


Inside the house

 


Decorations on the beams

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