SUMMARY
Hoi An Monuments Complex is a trading port-ancient town with historic houses from seventeenth to nineteenth centuries in a setting of narrow, traditional streets. The architectural and street-scapes of Hoi An reflect the cosmopolitan nature of the cultural and economic links that the town had as a prominent trading port. Architectural style from China, Japan, VietNam and more recently the Franco-Vietnamese unique characteristic and distinctive "Hoi An style" roof-scape. Hoi An is the only one old town preserved infact and one of the most important cultural heritage in VietNam which is inscribed in the Tentative World Heritage List. In recent years, there has been a recognition both national and international of the importance of Hoi An and the preservation of it's unique historic quarter. At present time, the rapid economic growth and population growth are potential problems for the protection and management of the Hoi An Monuments both within the protected zones and in the city of Hoi An at large. The problems and solutions for Hoi An's protection and management in urban context should be synthetically considered in the concept of sustainable development to which many elements of conservation are applied.
I-INTRODUCTION
1.1 Lying on the bank of the Thu Bon River some 30 km to the south of Danang city and scarcely eight km from the Sea, the town of Hoi An has of late attracted the attention of many tourists and researchers, both Vietnamese and foreign.
From the first half of XVI th century, Hoi An become an object of investigation and study by many people, from foreign tradesmen and missionaries to historians and economists at home and abroad. However, most studies have focused on the part played by Hoi An in Vietnam's economy in the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries and the process of formation of this commercial port.
Due to it's geographical location, at the intersection of important maritime, riverine and road routes the town of Hoi An became an important national and international port during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries and thrived on trade with foreign countries. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Hoi An was a meeting place for migrants from different parts of Viet Nam as well as for people and ships from many countries, first of all Japan and China. The historical documentations make clear that early in the 17th century Hoi An included a Japanese district and a Chinese one, each with it's own "tong tran" (governor) and regulations.
The status of the Chinese and Japanese districts therefore, is an interesting subject. Some people maintain that the Japanese district was somewhere in the present town, together with Lai Vien Kieu, or the Japanese Bridge. Others believe the district to have been in the region of Hoa Pho or Ba Pho ( now in Cam Chau village). The location of these two foreign districts can be based on the contruction of Tung Ban tu(Temple of Lord Tung Ban) built in 1670 by a Japanese by the name of Shichirobei. According to the plan of Shichirobei sent home in 1673, the temple was north of the river. To the East was the Japanese district. The Chinese district (Duong Nhan Dinh) was to the West.
Anyway, it is certain that the Japanese played an important role at Hoi An early in the 17th century. The hustle and bustle in their district was such that the whole of Hoi An was regarded as a" Japanese city". Vestiges of the Japanese settlement are of considerable value. They include a bridge; a number of gaves and a stele recording contributions from Japanese inhabitants.
In 1636, Japan clamped a ban on foreign trade. Consequently, business between it and Hoi An dwindle down to a mere trickle while the size of the Chinese population of the town kept growing together with its commercial prominence.
Hoi An was open also to the people and ships from other countries. The Dutch had their trading posts there from 1636 to 1641.(The Dutch East Indies Company has left a 7000-pages record on Viet nam and on Hoi An in particular).
Hoi An was also a cultural meeting spot. There, the cultures of Sa Huynh, Champa and Viet Nam had succeeded and influenced one another, and the Viet element has finished by gaining ascendency. On that basis, Hoi An as a port town, absorbed other cultural elements from Japan, China and many countries in Southeast Asia and West, with deep, lasting imprints left by the Chinese culture.
It should also be mentioned that Hoi An was one of the gateaways for Catholicism and that is contributed to the creation of the Romanized script of the Vietnamese ( in the first half of the 17th century)
From the 18th century onwards, political changes in the country and in the world combined withchanges in its physical features to relegate Hoi An to the second rank in favour of Da Nang. Even so, this centuries-old town has been able up to now to keep intact its varied cultural make-up, as can be seen in its architecture, dialect, customs and mores, cuisine.
1.2 Hoi An was founded in the 16th, prospected in the 17th and began its decline in the 19th, until it became a " once-famous" town. However, when its previous role, historical and architectural characteristics are discussed, Hoi An is considered to have many unique features.
Being almost the only survivor of its contemporaries in the ancient years book the town preserves nearly all its diverse examples of streets houses, shops and religious buildings. Due to historical change and natural disasters most other ancient towns are now scattered ruins. Hoi An is one of a few ancient towns surving in Viet nam and a rare phenomenon the world over.
On entering the old part of the town visitors will find narrow streets and moss-covered, pantile roofed houses connected to each other with stepped gables. Similarities between Hoi An, Ha Noi and Hue can easily be seen in their architecture, which has been partly influenced by Japanese and Chinese styles. However, such similarities do not take away from the uniqueness of the architecture of Hoi An. The interriors of the houses worthy of remark include the frames, pillars, rafters and collar beams, door pancls and latches made of timber from the erythopholeum fordil and hopca pierrei. Their carvings of fruit, leaves, flowers and lifelike birds and animals still remain unchanged, despite time and the elements.
All of the extrant buildings, including the houses, assembly halls and the premises of trading companies, show a seriousness and standard that will charm the visitors, like a Tang Dynasty poem.
About 50 pagodas and assembly halls still exist in Hoi An. These include the Trieu Chau and Phuc Kien pagodas, the temple of Kwan-Ti, and the Duong Thuong assembly hall, which still bear vestiges of the merchants from the coastial area of the Southern China Sea. All these buildings were constructed in a relatively unique style, magnificent with colour's and lively carvings which evoke the high expertise, the love of nature, and the desire for a harmonious social life of the previous generations.
The main parts of the buildings are decorated with wooden scorolls on which are verses, written in Chinese characters but with a spiritual improvisation of the Vietnamese people.
A song of friendship in architecture can be found in the famous Pagoda Bridge which still exists after many centuries. It is constructed in the Japanese style of "the upper part of a house and the lower part of a bridge". The whole contruture is made of wood with elaborate carvings. The sigle span is 18m long and 3m wide and is build over a small canal leading to the Hoai River.
General speaking, the Hoi An Monuments Complex is a trading port-ancient town with the historic-houses from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries in a setting of narrow, traditional streets. The traditional lifestyle of the people is preserved, together with their customs, beliefs and cuisine.
Hoi An is only one old town preserved infact in Viet Nam and an excepyionally complete and well-preserved example of a traditional port in South-East Asia. Therefore, Hoi An Monuments Complex is an inscribed in the Tentative World Heritage List as one of the most important cultural heritage of Viet Nam which have "the universal oustanding values".
II- PROBLEMS OF THE PROTECTION
AND CONSERVATION OF HOI AN MONUMENTS.
2.1 General orientation
A preliminary evaluation of the Hoi An ancient town as a monuments complex area can be made from the folowing aspects:
- The ancient town and street-scapes of Hoi An reflect the cosmopolitan natural and economic links that the town had as a prominent trading port. Nowadays, that function no longer exist. Hoi An has become a town mainly of handicraft, small industries, agriculture and fishing.
- The architectural monuments in Hoi An reflect the convergence of different architectural styles from China, Japan, Viet Nam and more recently the Franco-Vietnamese style shop-houses, give the historic town it's unique characteristic and distinctive"Hoi An style"
- The ancient town of Hoi An is composed of variety of monuments, including communal houses, pagodas, temples, tombs, ancient wells, dwelling houses, congregations, meeting halls, bridges and family-worship houses. These vestiges reflect the deep imprint of many historical periods and different cultures. Morever, their practical usages are diversified: public faccilities, religious places, dwelling houses, worshops... Besides main streams in the ancient town and sereral separate vestiges on this outskirts, many vestiges remain underground ( ruined architectural buildings and archaeological sites) yes we do not have the resources to discaver and study them.
- The main characteristic of the area, directly related to its preservation, is that most of the individual monuments are privately owned or still used by their owners.
- Most of the architectural monuments in Hoi An are made of wood, a building material with low durability which is easily destroyed by natural and human factors ( tropical storms and low atmospheric pressure, usually accopanied by floods, the wet wether and high humidity, insects and plants, the growth of population and tourism ..)
- The distribution of monuments also gives Hoi An a specific feature.
They are located not only in present downtown Hoi An but also in the suburban areas coastal plains and islets.
2.2 The Protection and Management of Hoi An
In recent years, there has been a recognition both national and internationally of the importantce of Hoi An and the preservation of it's unique historic quater.
The protection and conservation of the "old town of Hoi An" has been a programme since 1982."
In 1984 a heritage protection zoning strategy was elaborated. This zoning strategy was devised in accordance with the provisions of "legal order" 14/SL dated 31 march 1984 entitled "Law on Protection and Use of Historic and Cultural Monuments and Lanscapes".
In 1985 the historic zones of Hoi An designated zones 1 and 2 in the plan were listed as national heritage.
In 1987, the Quang Nam-Da Nang Provincial People's Committee, at the request of the Hoi An Municipal People's Committee passed a statute, empowering the municipality to establish an agency to manage the historic part of the town, and thus the Hoi An Service of Vestiges Management was formed.
On 20 March 1997 the People's Committee of Hoi An promulated "Statute of Hoi An Monuments Preservation and Promotion" and established the "Hoi An Centre for Monuments Management and Preservation" as the direct responsible agency for conserving the build heritage of the town.
2.3 The Threats and Challenges for the Safeguarding
of Hoi An in relation to urban growth.
The Hue and Da Nang Corridor include Hoi An has been dessignated for development. This will mean rapid economic and urban growth in the region which poses potential dangers for heritage conservation from population growth, environmental degredation.
2.3.1 Population growth.
Population growth is potential problem for the protection and managment of the Hoi An Monuments both within the protected zones and in the city of Hoi An at large. To day, Hoi An Town - as an administrative unit at the district level - has a population of approximately 75.802. Within the old town this figure is 25.000, and the density of the population is 4.000/lkm2. The rate of population growth in Hoi An also relatively high: 1,45 % annually.
2.3.2 Economic and industrial growth
At the present time, the degree of industialization in Hoi An is low and the Old Town is not much affected. However, with the development of the region Da Nang, this situation is likely to change quikly. Experience elsewhere in Viet Nam has shown that when unregulated the discordely erection of buildings, factories, worshops and warehouses can quikly spoil the harmony between the city, the monuments and the surrounding natural lanscape.
2.3.3 Tourism
In Hoi An the sitution is fairly acute with number of tourists visiting the site having increased from 3410 in 1991 to 132.946 (in which there are 56.280 foreigners) in 1996 and 78.080 in the first 6 months of 1997. This number can be expected to grow futher with the economic expansian of the country and the opening of Viet Nam to the international fora. Economic prosperity has also encouraged many more domestic tourists to travel to visit Hoi An Old Town. This rapid increase in the number of tourists has already strained the limited capacity of the Hoi An's tourist. In the popular but more fragile monuments.
The train on the local tourist indutry also shows in the lack of intepretation and paucity of well-trained guides.
2.3.4 Zoning
The local and national planning authorities are now examining the boundaries of the categories of proteted zones at Hoi An, with a view to their possible expantion to include the scenic vitas around the old town. The nomination for the World Heritage consists of core area Zon I of 0,3 km2 (with 682 old houses )and buffer zone Zon II of 0,84 km2. The envirenment of the core area and buffer zone area protected by a Planing Protection area of 1,96 km2.
III- THE SOLUTIONS OF THE MAITAINANCE
AND MANAGEMENT FOR THE OLD TOWN OF HOI AN
IN RELATION TO URBAN GROWTH AND CONSERVATION.
Hoi An Old Town is an exceptionally complete and well-prerved axample of a traditional port in South-East Asia. Hoi An is the only old town preserved infact in Viet Nam. The great majority of the houses are traditional buildings daling from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries in a setting of norrow, traditional streets. The traditional lifestyle of the people is preserved, together with thief customs, beliefs and cuisine.
Therefore, the Hoi An old town and surround envirenment are to be preserved long-term. The plan for investment, protection and restoration of Hoi An duration 1997-2005 should be followed by all administrators and developers from whatever ministry or government department when dealing with the Hoi An city.
3.1 The basically regulations.
- The scienic envirenment of Hoi An should be regarded as an integral and organic part of the site which should be protected both within the core old town area and in the buffer zones.
- There should be a close coordination between all government departments in oder to ensure the preservation of the historic features within the context of urban and rual development.
- Care should be taken not to exceed the maximum carrying capacity limit for tourist in the various parts of the Hoi An Old Town, with corrective action take to mitigate any negative impact of uncontrolled tourist development.
3.2 Protection of the integrity of the monuments and old town.
The entire cultural landscape-the envirenment together with the historical monuments and archaeological features-must be protected and preserved as a whole, without partition encroachment or disrupting development.
- Strict building codes should be promulated and enforrced which prohibit all new buildings from Zone I, which limit new buildings in Zone II to those need to ensure proper protection, conservation, maintainance and presentation of the old town, and which set strict limits as to the height in zone III. Outsite the protected area, but within the Hoi An municipal area, building should be retricted in height and design so as not to clash with or discrupt the spirit, scale, style and colour scheme of the historic town.
- Natural area include Hoi An Port, the river banks and seaside resorts along beach at Cua Dai and Cu lao Cham- the vitas of which are part of the old town, must be proteced. Long-term development in Hoi An An area should be targetted toward cultural-tourism and fishing as this area benifits from great natural resources
3.3 Maintaining historical Authenticity of the monuments and the old town.
The ancient town of Hoi An represents a complex of urban architecture composed of hundreds old houses. Each with its own significance and value as the monument-houses in the ancient street quater (zone I). It is necessary to undertake the preservation work while permiting the thousands of residents to remain in their owner homes. Conditions must be worked out to facilititate the restoration of the monuments and ensure an uninterrupted urban life-style.
When repairing, restoring ( or recontructing) a structure, original materials, original engineering techniques and original design, style and setting should be retained and preserved.
3.4 Management of the human Factor
In addion to ensuring the integrity of the ancient town of Hoi An, serious attention must be paid to manage the human population associated with the heritage. This includes:
- The Hoi An population.
- The people actually living within the boundaries of the protected area.
- Staff responsible for care, maintaince, management and presentation of the monuments.
- Visitors to the Old Town.
At the same time, the population of Hoi An is growing rapidly. Combined, these human factors put serious tress on the monuments. Measures which the Gorvenment of Viet Nam and the People's Comitte of Hoi An foresee to alleviate this tress include:
(i) Monitor visitor level and keep them below the carrying capacity of each structure and part of a monument.
(ii) Control population growth within proteced area, particularly in Zone II.
(iii) Involved the local population in activities for the safeguarding and conservation of the historic monuments by such means as:
- Finacial assistance is give to ther owners of historic buildings for their conservation from three sources:
+ 55% of ticket sales
+ 2% of the income of tourist services.
+ finacial assistance for restoration from national and provincial authorities. Remittances are also received from NGO's and overas contacts. Owners received subsidies of between 60% and 80% towards the cost of conservation on a need evalution basis.
- Long-term and sustainable development of Hoi An should be targetted toward the main traditional primary economic activities such as fishing, handicrafts, and agriculture of the people in this area.
- Promote the development of authentic artistic handicrafs ,culinary skills and others forms of non-physical culture.
- Provide technical on-the-job training in preventive conservation to all staff, including tourist guides, tour operators and owner's historic houses; and continue to provide opportunities in-country and abroad for technical training in specialized conservation sciences to senior staff of the Conservation Centre.
3.5 Inter- Sectoral Coordinaton Planning.
Many different international, national and local goverment agencies are involved when the area to be managed is Hoi An. In addion to an inter-ministrial planning commision at the intergrating national and local authorities from various departments concerned, there needs be a horizontal coordination between agencies as local leve. Methods and tools to facciliate this coordination between will be developed including the continuos development and enhancement of the Geographical Information System(GIS) for the greater Hoi An Area. With UNESCO's assistance, the GIS system for Hoi An should be kept permanently up to date with managers and plans given access to and trained in its use.
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