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Another typical feature of Hoi An’s architecture are “eyes” watching over the entrance to a house or religious building. Two thick wooden nails about 20cm in diameter are driven into the lintel as protection against evil forces, following a practice that originated in the pagodas of northern Vietnam. Assembly halls offer the most highly ornamented examples: that of Phuoc Kien consists of a yin and yang with two dragons in obeisance to the sun, while the Cantonese version is a fearsome tiger. The yin and yang symbol became fashionable in the nineteenth century and is the most commonly used image on houses, sometimes set in a chrysanthemum flower, such as at the Tan Ky House, or as the octagonal talisman representing eight charms.

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The central provinces | Hoi An and around | The Town |

Museums

Hoi An has a clutch of fairly modest historical museums, the most rewarding of which is the Museum of Trade Ceramics at 80 Tran Phu, housed in a traditional timber residence-cum-warehouse. It showcases the history of Hoi An’s ceramics trade, which peaked in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with most of the exhibits from Vietnam, China and Japan. The rear room on the ground floor houses a small display about the architecture of Hoi An.

The Museum of Sa Huynh Culture, occupying a two-storey French-era house at 149 Tran Phu, focuses on a distinct culture which flourished along the coast of central Vietnam between the second century BC and the second century AD; the name comes from the town 130km south of Hoi An where evidence was first discovered in 1902 (see "North to Quang Ngai").

Towards the east end of Tran Phu, the north side of the market square is dominated by the colourful frontage of Chua Ong, a seventeenth-century pagoda-temple conversion dedicated to General Quan Cong. Behind the temple lies Hoi An’s Museum of History and Culture, attractively housed in another former pagoda. Apart from the copies of ancient maps of Fai Fo, the primary appeal of this small, informative museum is its quiet courtyard and carved, wooden door panels, depicting the four sacred animals: crane, dragon, turtle and the mythical kylin.

The central provinces | Hoi An and around | The Town |

The market and around

Hoi An market retains an appealingly traditional atmosphere, despite the number of tourists. Like most, it’s best in the early morning, especially among the riverfront fresh-food stalls. Look out for jars of tiny preserved tangerines, a regional speciality, amid neat stacks of basketware, bowl-shaped lumps of unrefined cane-sugar, liniments, medicinal herbs and every variety of rice. Wandering down through the market square brings you out by the ferry docks and Bach Dang, which regularly disappears each autumn under the swollen Thu Bon River. The floods are bad news for Hoi An’s ancient buildings, occasionally precipitating the collapse of weakened roofs and walls, and the deterioration of the fabric as pollution levels increase. For most of the year, however, you can go dry-shod along Bach Dang and watch the river scene from beneath the cheery awning of a waterside café. It’s a spectacle best captured between 6 and 7am when the fishing boats are unloading their catch.

From the market, walk east along the river and you come to Phan Boi Chau, where the town takes on a distinctly European flavour – louvred shutters, balconies and stucco – in what was the beginnings of a French quarter. The interiors of these late nineteenth-century townhouses are characterized by vast, high-ceilinged rooms and enormous roof-spaces, markedly different from the Chinese abodes. You can take a brief tour round Tran Duong House, at no. 25, the home of an enterprising man who owns a smattering of period furniture (small donation expected).

Selling fish at the riverfront market

The central provinces | Hoi An and around |

Eating and drinking

Hoi An has a fine choice of restaurants at which you can sample an array of local speciality dishes (see "Hoi