Ancient Houses of Hoi An, Vietnam : Place of the Past and Nostalgic Business in the Context of World Cultural Heritage City

Abstract

Hoi An ancient house with unique architecture showing multicultural beauty is one of the tourist attractions. Hoi An Ancient Town is an ancient town located downstream of the Thu Bon River, in the coastal plain of Quang Nam province, Vietnam, about 30 km south of Da Nang city. Hoi An was once a busy international trading port, a meeting place for Japanese, Chinese, and Western merchant ships during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, thanks to favorable geographical and climatic factors. Before this period, there were also vestiges of the Cham Pa trading port, often mentioned along with the name "Silk Road on the sea". In the 19th century, because waterway traffic here was no longer convenient, the port town of Hoi An gradually declined, giving way to Da Nang, which the French were building at that time. Hoi An was fortunate not to be devastated by two wars and avoid massive urbanization at the end of the 20th century. Starting in the 1980s, the architectural and cultural values of Hoi An ancient town gradually improved the attention of scholars and tourists alike, making this place one of the attractive tourist destinations of Vietnam.

Research objectives of this thesis include 1) Research on the physical space and historical development of Hoi An, the world cultural heritage city. This issue is studied in chapter II of the thesis: "Physical space and the historical development of Hoi An ancient town, the world cultural heritage city." 2) Research on the cultural Identity and multicultural Identity of "the old houses" of Hoi An before this old town is recognized as a world cultural heritage ancient city. This issue is studied in the third chapter of the thesis: "The Old Houses of Hoi An: Cultural Identity and Multicultural Identity before becoming the World Cultural Heritage City." 3) Research on the issue of the politics of the establishment of "the old house" to be "the ancient houses" of Hoi An ancient city in the process of world cultural heritage. This issue is studied in chapter IV of the thesis: "The Ancient Houses of Hoi An: the Political Place and Production of Space in the process of becoming a World Cultural Heritage." 4) Research on the business of nostalgia in "the ancient houses" of Hoi An. This issue is studied in chapter V of the thesis: "Ancient Houses of Hoi An: the Business of Nostalgia in the Context of world cultural heritage Tourism." 5) Research on 'the ancient House 33 Nguyen Thai Hoc street' in the dimension of research unit analysis. This issue is studied in chapter VI of the thesis: "Hoi An Folklore Museum – the functional renovation from the ancient house to the museum - the production of space and business of nostalgia." The thesis has used qualitative research as the research method. In the research process, the thesis uses the following methods: Survey and field method, Historical and logical method, Analytical and synthesis method, and analytical and synthesis method.

Contribution as a research reference for scientific researchers on Hoi An or other similar case studies. This research contributes to developing tourism businesses and commercial businesses in the form of nostalgia. The thesis contributes to increasing the data for the conservation and embellishment of relics in the new period, contributing to the development of tourism, culture, and economy in Hoi An today. In addition, this study contributes to supplementing and adjusting the guidelines and policies of the State in the field of tourism business. The potential learning benefit of this research is that Vietnam and international academic associations can use the results and processes as models for research in many other cultural heritages. Therefore, the Vietnamese government and UNESCO can use the results of this thesis as information for policy-making on "old houses in "Hoi An ancient city" in the process of globalization. The thesis also proves the cultural value and historical value of the old houses, thereby showing the different cultural contexts, showing the cultural interference between China and Vietnam. This cultural interference creates diversity in the spiritual culture of Hoi An in particular and Vietnam in general. Besides, the unique features of the old house with interior architectural design in Hoi An past and present are issues that need to be studied more deeply. From the research concepts set out, the thesis has affirmed the sustainable value and lessons learned from the nostalgic business model in Hoi An, a global example of conservation and promotion of Heritage values.

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