Beyond the lanterns—how Hoi An’s creative scene is lighting up

Hoi An won’t mind if you love it for its looks — most visitors do. This is the most beautiful city in Vietnam, after all. Its Unesco-listed Old Town is a handsome tapestry of diverse influences. A Japanese-built bridge spans a canal, while the cobbled streets are lined with Chinese shophouses adorned with French balustrades. Many buildings are garlanded with bougainvillea and painted a lemon-curd yellow, which caramelises into a burnished gold as the sun begins to sink into the Thu Bon River each day. When night comes, the velvet darkness is pricked by a million orbs of light, like fireflies in a forest. These constellations of paper lanterns, the city’s signature for 400 years, are still handcrafted in atmospheric artisans’ workshops. Visitors also flock to the city’s tailors, famed since the 16th century, when the finest textiles passed through Hoi An ­— then known as Faifo — thanks to its position on the Maritime Silk Road.

Hoi An, however, is not merely a sanctuary for the preservation of traditional crafts, nor a picture postcard frozen in time — it’s a living city. A thriving modern art scene plays out in boutique galleries and studios, while the street food scene produces, by common agreement, the best banh mi in Vietnam. These French-influenced baguettes, filled with pâté, grilled pork and pickled vegetables, are perfect for eating on the wing while exploring Chinese assembly halls or French colonial townhouses in the Old Town. Sleepy in the heat of the day, this area springs to life after dark, centred on the river island of An Hoi, host to a rambunctious night market.

Not that Hoi An’s charms end at the boundaries of its historic core. Remember while you’re here to venture east of the centre to Cam Chau, a laid-back residential neighbourhood backing onto rice paddies and riverside coconut groves. Its peaceful backwaters can be explored on a basket boat — a traditional round-bottomed vessel made of woven bamboo. Beyond the rice fields lies An Bang, Hoi An’s beach, a splendid stretch of soft, pale sand. The sea here is perfect for kayaking and snorkelling.

Ultimately, for all its beauty, Hoi An’s charm is far more than skin deep. Its name translates as ‘peaceful meeting place’, a moniker that this port town has been living up to for centuries as a parliament of trade and ideas, and a sanctuary of elegance and calm.

Find history on every corner

Hoi An’s most famous landmark is the Japanese Bridge (Chua Cau), a covered foot crossing over a small riverine canal, first built in the 16th century by Japanese merchants. There’s a small but ornate temple at the midpoint of the bridge, with statues of monkey and dog deities from Japanese mythology guarding both ends, alongside Chinese Taoist gods — a symbol of Hoi An’s syncretic character. Visit early in the morning (it opens at 9am) to beat the forest of selfie sticks.

Then, take to the water for a different perspective. North of the Old Town, the Thu Bon River splits into branches and bisects green rice paddies. Tours of this serene landscape are offered in basket boats traditionally used for fishing. You’ll be paddled past riverbank coconut plantations, meet fellow boatmen and watch them fishing for crabs, and disembark for cycling tours and cooking classes in local villages.

The wealth, elegance and cosmopolitanism of Hoi An’s 18th- and 19th-century heyday are documented at a number of historic houses in the Old Town, which are open to visitors. The most famous is the Tan Ky House (101 Nguyen Thai Hoc), built in 1741 by the wealthy Vietnamese mercantile Le family. A wooden exterior, hung with lanterns and painted that familiar deep Hoi An yellow, opens onto a residence hewn from rich, dark ironwood, and decorated with priceless antiques and plaques of poetry inlaid with iridescent mother-of-pearl.

Hoi An’s assembly halls also help shape its architectural character. Built by Chinese settlers from the 15th to 18th centuries, they once hosted trade in silk, porcelain, spices and other precious commodities. The finest example is the 300-year-old Fujian Assembly Hall on Tran Phu Street in the Old Town, striking for its pink brickwork, curving green-tiled roofs and ornate statues of dragons, unicorns, lions and phoenixes.

Explore the city’s creative spirit

Hoi An’s beautiful buildings and surrounding countryside inspire all kinds of artists who sell their work across the Old Town. From his open studio, Le Dac Tu paints vibrant watercolours depicting street life in the city’s historic core; while Phan Thanh Minh, Hoi An’s most famous painter, produces bold, abstract portraits, often depicting family life, that can be seen at Co Gallery.

Another contemporary gallery worth visiting is that of French photographer Réhahn, who’s been based in Hoi An since 2011 and won worldwide acclaim for his photographic work documenting Vietnam’s wildlife, landscapes and ethnic groups. Many of his pieces can be admired, and purchased along with prints, at Réhahn Art Gallery in the Old Town, including The Hidden Smile of Madam Xong, one of his most celebrated portraits.

You could also try photographing Hoi An yourself on a guided exploration with a pro. Led by a mixture of Vietnamese, European and American photographers, Hoi An Photo Tour offers trips to snap fishing nets on the beach at sunrise, the Old Town going about its business during the day, and sunset bathing the farmers and the rice fields in golden light. You don’t need fancy equipment to take part — it’s open to both camera and phone photographers.

For a look at Hoi An’s traditional craft roots, book onto Lady Mai’s silk lantern-making workshop. This decorative art is synonymous with the city and they fold up to make an easily packable souvenir. The class takes place in a modern shophouse-style building in the Old Town, where Lady Mai leads you through the construction of a traditional lantern step by step: choosing your silk and setting it over a bamboo frame, affixing tassels and beads to the base, and then painting the lantern with calligraphic and floral motifs.

Hoi An’s silk textile heritage has, ironically, made it a hub for cheap imitations of designer brands. Yet the town’s tailors are highly prized and produce quality garments at great prices. Try A Dong Silk, in the north of the Old Town, for high-end custom suits, coats and dresses in silk, cotton and wool. You’ll need to be in town for several days — or passing through twice — for initial fittings and time for subsequent alterations to be made.

Local artisans are championed at Reaching Out, a charitable foundation in the heart of the Old Town. Its range of handicrafts — including teapots decorated with lotus flowers and earrings in the shape of lanterns — are made by people with disabilities. Browse the goods, then stop for a Vietnamese coffee at its teahouse, which employs hearing- and speech-impaired staff.

Traditional artistry is also the inspiration for the Teh Dar show at Lune Center at the tip of An Hoi island. The magnificent, cutting-edge Vietnamese theatre extravaganza incorporates a bamboo circus, plus music and movement pieces inspired by the hill tribes of rural Vietnam.

Find self-expression in Vietnamese food & drink

The sandwiches at Banh Mi Phuong, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in the Old Town, were declared ‘the world’s best banh mi’ by TV chef and adventurer Anthony Bourdain. They’re made with fluffy home-baked baguettes, succulent grilled meats and crunchy salad. There are places to sit inside the wood-ceilinged interior, but they fill up fast, so many punters grab a banh mi to go.

Hoi An’s progressive side can be found at Tok — a modern open-kitchen restaurant serving artfully presented dishes highlighting local produce. Settle in beside a glittering rice paddy on the outskirts of town, to feast on buttered clams, torched snapper and bo tai chanh (rare beef salad).

The town’s after-dark scene is also surprisingly sophisticated. Take Hoa La (until recently known as Cham Chi Club). Sometimes an art gallery, sometimes a live music venue, always a lively bar, it’s painted in psychedelic colours and is a meeting place for the town’s creative types.