Cantonese Assembly Hall has a unique beauty, attracting the eyes of any visitor passing by. The assembly hall stands out among the old houses with the dominant orange-yellow tone in Hoi An. Coming to the assembly hall, you can explore the beauty of architecture and the people’s daily lifestyle here.
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Overview of Assembly Hall of the Cantonese Chinese Congregation
Address: 176 Tran Phu Street, Hoi An, Quang Nam.
Admission: Free.
Assembly Hall of the Cantonese Chinese Congregation was built in 1885 by the Cantonese merchants’ guild, used as a place for community activities and beliefs of the Chinese association in the old town. For this purpose, the assembly hall is imbued with the colors of Chinese culture from the design, the colors used to the decorative motifs, making you feel like you are arriving in China in the last years of the XIX century.
Today, when coming to Cantonese Assembly Hall, although there are not many religious and community activities like in the past, they are still preserved with statues, imprints, and complete architecture as in the old days. Therefore, this is a place you must visit when coming to Hoi An, admiring the beauty of architecture and understanding more about the beauty in the lifestyle and soul of the people of the old town.
Read more:
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- The Tran Family Chapel Hoi An with hundred years of architecture
- Kim Bong Carpentry Village – A hundred-year-old craft village of Hoi An
- Assembly Hall of Chaozhou Hoi An – The splendid architectural art-work
How to get to the Assembly Hall
Hoi An Cantonese Assembly Hall is located in the ancient town of Hoi An, about 30km south of Da Nang. You can move to Hoi An in one of the following ways:
Motorbike: you move along Vo Nguyen Giap and Truong Sa routes. Then, meet Hai Ba Trung Street, turn right, and go straight to Hoi An.
Bus: put into operation in 2015, this is a prevalent means of transport for many people thanks to its convenience and relatively low cost, only 30,000 VND / trip / one way from Da Nang to Hoi An or vice versa.
Grab / Taxi: this is a form of transportation with a high price, so you can consider the cost of the whole trip to balance whether you should choose this method or not. The price when taking a taxi will usually range from 350,000 – 430,000 VND / one way to 750,000 – 950,000 VND / round trip, relatively high compared to the two methods above.
Discover Hoi An Cantonese Assembly Hall
The general architecture of Hoi An Cantonese Assembly Hall
The overall Hoi An Cantonese Assembly Hall was built in the shape of the national character, including many parts. The first is the gate, entering is a large courtyard with many trees, in the middle is a fountain with a statue of a carp turning into a dragon.
Going more profound is the communal house. In the middle is the main hall where worship is gathered. There are two rows of east and west houses on both sides, and finally, a tiny courtyard.
If you have been to other halls in Hoi An, you will not notice any apparent differences among them. However, Hoi An Cantonese Assembly Hall still has its character thanks to the harmonious combination of wood, stone, and exquisite and unique carved motifs that you cannot find in other assembly halls.
The common area
You can admire many sophisticated sculptural works here. Even though it has gone through a hundred years of history, it still retains its original beauty.
The main hall
This hall is the largest area of Hoi An Cantonese Assembly Hall, with three main worship halls. The middle space is used to worship Guan Gong. The other two sides are Phuoc Duc Chanh Than and Taibai Xingjun, respectively.
The space of the main hall is designed extremely lavishly and massively with a sturdy rowing pole system made from precious trees with a lifespan of hundreds of years. At the same time, the most outstanding are still the statues carved extremely delicately and vividly, with vibrant colors, without any traces of time.
This is an area often gathered to worship and pray at annual festivals.
In short, coming to Hoi An Cantonese Assembly Hall, you will be immersed in ancient architecture, bearing many imprints of the lifestyle of the people of the old town from many generations. As a result, we can better understand and clarify the beauty of the soul, the sincerity, gentleness, and hospitality of the people here.
