The old town of Hoi An has many old buildings.
The people in charge of the town want many of these old buildings to stay because of their history.
Some people from other places outside of Hoi An are buying these houses and fixing them up.
This means that there is now a mixture of people living in Hoi An: people who have always lived there and people who have recently moved there.
Strong roots: Hoi An is still a unique ancient town with many features that the local authorities want to preserve. - VNA/VNS Photo Viet Anh
by The Phong – Luu Huong
Hoi An has over 1,000 ancient houses, of which 107 are in need of urgent repair while 55 are seriously dilapidated.
The Director of the Hoi An Culture and Sports Centre, Vo Phung, said that “the town is a living legacy and each house is a heritage waiting to be restored”, which should be acted upon according to the Heritage Law.
With so many ancient houses, Hoi An is obliged to spend a huge part of its annual budget on restoration work.
“The city issued the guideline, ‘preservation for development,’ and not exploit to develop, as Hoi An appreciates the value of conservation, along with the economic benefits,” he said.
The values that Hoi An promotes are incalculable. However, to preserve every street corner, every house and the lifestyles of generations of people during the current era of integration is a difficult problem that has concerned the local authorities for some time.
Le Van Giang, chairman of the City People’s Committee, said it is essential to protect the old town, as doing this will encourage the local people and especially the owners of the old houses, to preserve and protect the value of their properties.
Holding the fort: Most Hoi An residents are proud to maintain their traditional lifestyles. - VNA/VNS Photo The Duyet
Therefore, the city has issued very strict regulations on management, conservation and the use of ancient houses, consistent with the needs of the local population, to ensure harmony amongst the residents.
On that basis, the city has also set up a profile for each of the old houses, and has prioritisedfinancial support for restoration work and repairing old houses at risk of collapsing.
In such cases, if an owner wants to sell their old house, they must return the funding that the State spent on the restoration work.
Le Van Giang said that conserving and developing Hoi An ancient town, was not just an architectural issue, as any work has to be closely related to the intangible cultural space that has been created in the ancient town, which is extremely lively.
“This is seen as the soul of the old town, and it is at risk of fading over time,” he said.
In fact, in recent times, some “new residents” have moved in and bought old houses, but having adopted modern lifestyles they have stopped worshipping, so the old houses have become empty in a spiritual sense.
This puts the local people’s customs and religious activities at risk and folk art and cultural festivals are in danger of fading away.
This is a major challenge to the conservation and development of Hoi An.
“We are trying to change the ways new owners live, making them adapt to the customs and habits of the local population, who are gentle, humble and very simple. This will help to revive the traditional values that are typical of the ancient town,” said Giang.
“The policy is to develop tourism in a way that safeguards our intangible culture and tangible heritage. This is also important for the environment but we will retain the benefits of development while helping to make Hoi An a “brand name,” a modern day tourist destination of international stature.” — VNS
GLOSSARY
Hoi An has over 1,000 ancient houses, of which 107 are in need of urgent repair while 55 are seriously dilapidated.
Something that is dilapidated is broken down.
The Director of the Hoi An Culture and Sports Centre, Vo Phung, said that “the town is a living legacy and each house is a heritage waiting to be restored”, which should be acted upon according to the Heritage Law.
A legacy is something handed down from the past.
Heritage is made up of valuable things that people enjoy, one generation after the next. It may be cultural songs, it may be buildings, it may be beautiful unspoilt environments.
If something that is damaged is restored it is repaired and brought back to how it was at its best.
“The city issued the guideline, ‘preservation for development,’ and not exploit to develop, as Hoi An appreciates the value of conservation, along with the economic benefits,” he said.
To exploit something means to get the most out of it.
The values that Hoi An promotes are incalculable, however, to preserve every street corner, every house and the lifestyles of generations of people during the current era of integration is a difficult problem that has concerned the local authorities for some time.
To promote something means to try to make people like it. In this case, it’s values such as conservation.
Something that is incalculable cannot be measured. They are such too valuable for words!
To preserve something means to keep it as it is and not allow it to be changed with time.
An era is a time period. A current era is a time period that includes now. An era of integration is a time when integration is happening. In this case, integration is about modern people who are buying old houses mixing with traditional people who have always lived in the area and about Viet Nam joining the world.
Therefore, the city has issued very strict regulations on management, conservation and the use of ancient houses, consistent with the needs of the local population, to ensure harmony amongst the residents.
Regulations are rules.
To ensure harmony means to make sure that there is peace.
On that basis, the city has also set up a profile for each of the old houses, and has prioritisedfinancial support for restoration work and repairing old houses at risk of collapsing.
A profile , in this case, is a sketch.
To prioritise something means to put it on top of a list of things that are needed to be done.
Financial support means help given by having money provided.
In such cases, if an owner wants to sell their old house, they must return the funding that the State spent on the restoration work.
The State means the government.
Le Van Giang said that conserving and developing Hoi An ancient town, was not just an architectural issue, as any work has to be closely related to the intangible cultural space that has been created in the ancient town, which is extremely lively.
An architectural issue is something to do with architecture. Architecture involves the designing of buildings.
Something that is intangible does not physically exist. You cannot touch it or feel it. The opposite would be something that is tangible and does physically exist and can be touched and felt.
“This is seen as the soul of the old town, and it is at risk of fading over time,” he said.
The soul of something is the spiritual part of it.
In fact, in recent times, some “new residents” have moved in and bought old houses, but having adopted modern lifestyles they have stopped worshipping, so the old houses have become empty in a spiritual sense.
To worship means to follow something spiritual.
“We are trying to change the ways new owners live, making them adapt to the customs and habits of the local population, who are gentle, humble and very simple.
People who are humble do not feel they are very important.
This is also important for the environment but we will retain the benefits of development while helping to make Hoi An a “brand name,” a modern day tourist destination of international stature.”
To retain something means to keep it.
A brand name is a name that people know well. When they read it, see it, or hear about it they often think of things that they can buy with that name of it.
A destination is a place that is at the end of a journey.
A destination of international stature is a place people travel to where things such as hotels and airports are as good as other important places all over the world.
WORKSHEET
State whether the following are true, or false:
1. Le Van Giang is the Director of the Hoi An Culture and Sports Centre.
2. The customs and religion of people who have always lived in Hoi An could be at risk because the new people moving in are more modern and live differently.
3. A total of 162 ancient houses in Hoi An are not in good condition.
4. There is a total of fewer than 1000 ancient houses in Hoi An.
5. When owners of ancient houses want to sell them, they must give the government back any money it spent on fixing them.
1. False; 2. True; 3. True; 4. False; 5. True.
Đăng ký: VietNam News