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We visited Duong Lam on a sunny day and were first
struck by its old gate, banyan trees swaying in the wind shad-
ing large buffalo, and ponds full of early blooming lotus
Entering, we walked through the village hall and visited
the first old house, owned by Ha Thi Dien. A 90 year old wom-
an, she seemed used to welcoming strangers to her house.
“Come in, take a seat, and have some water,” she said
warmly.
She told us her house is 200 years old. It is of the ancient
style, with three compartments and two small lean-tos with
a tiled roof building occupying around 300 square meters.
Dien’s house is one of 13 ancient houses aged from 200 to
400 years old that still stand in the village.
However, Dien, her daughter, son and grandsons no
longer live in the home. “It is no longer truly our home - it is
for tourists to visit,” Dien’s daughter said. “My mother, my two
sons - one 15 and one 8 years old - and I live there,” she said,
pointing to a room behind the toilets and kitchen.
Unlike the grand scale of the traditional house, the family
are now quartered away in a dark, 15 square meter room with
one bed, a kitchen cabinet, a lavatory and a wardrobe.
A 15 year old boy was changing his clothes when we
entered. He shyly opened one wardrobe door to hide himself
from our eyes.
Dien’s son lives in a small lean-to. Another is rented by a
Japanese student who is studying culture and food.
“We have signed a five year contract with Duong Lam
Travel Agent. We share the tips tourists give us, but they are
very modest. The rest comes from farming. My sons are grow-
ing up and need larger place to live, so I am considering the
termination of the contract,” said Dien’s daughter.
Walking through the village, I was surprised to see mod-
ern, two-storey houses and some others with unfinished
second floors. Some are covered by metal sheet roofs. We
passed by Ha Nguyen Huyen’s ancient house while she was
busy welcoming a big group of French tourists and moved
on to Nguyen Van Hung’s house – the oldest of all the homes
having stood for four centuries.
This wooden house has witnessed the growth of 12 gen-
erations. Tourists, especially foreigners, are very fond of the
beauty of its antique architecture. On more than half of the
land, Hung has built a kitchen and restaurant to serve food for
tourists. Hung also makes soybean paste and a traditional kind
of sticky cake to sell to tourists.
Hung said that many villagers do not understand how to
develop tourism and earn money from it. Some broke the Cul-
tural Heritage Laws concering the height of buildings (under
7 meters), style and materials (one floor to be built in the old
style with wood and tiles) and they were forced to demolish
the houses. That explains the many half finished houses.
HERITAGE’S MISERY
The 13 ancient households count for a tiny percentage of
the 400 that stand in the village.
Since Duong Lam was recognized as national heritage in
2005, all villagers have had to follow the Cultural Heritage
Laws without any financial support.
Nearly 80 villagers have recently signed a request to give
back the designation to release them from the laws which
have restricted their lives for the past 10 years.
This is shocking news for most of the people who take
the happiness and peace of Duong Lam villagers for granted.
BOILING POINT
bedfellows
UNEASY
The small village of
Duong Lam has seen
the potential bless-
ing of natural heritage
status descend in to a
fractious situation in
which nobody can see
the benefits.
Hong Nhung
reports.