Located 8 km southeast of Hue City, Thanh Thuy Chanh village has long been famous for its ancient architecture typifying the Hue culture.

In the 16th century, the people from Thanh Hoa province who followed Lord Nguyen Hoang en route to Thuan Hoa for settlement, stopped at an area called Thanh Toan, now Thanh Thuy Chanh village.

The Thuan Hoa region now comprises Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien - Hue provinces.

Thanh Thuy Chanh village currently has 3,000 households that mainly earn a living via wet rice cultivation. At leisure time, they also do other jobs – sewing conical hats and forging farming tools.

A farming museum was built at the village’s center in 2014 to introduce the history, culture, tools, fishing, and daily life of villagers.

Nguyen Mau Hoa, Deputy Chairman of Thuy Thanh Commune People’s Committee said, “The farming tools on display at the museum are related to the stories of Thanh Toan people. Local tour guides often demonstrate how to use the tools for visitors to understand the economic and cultural life of local people.”

Visitors can also discover many ancient architectural works, most notably of which is the national relic of Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge.

The bridge was built in 1776 on a small tributary of the Nhu Y River with the sponsorship by Tran Thi Dao, the wife of a high ranking mandarin of King Le Hien Tong.

The rainbow-shaped bridge is 17m long and more than 4m wide and is divided into 3 compartments. The roof is covered with enamel tubular tiles. Rows of wooden platform and railings where visitors can rest were built on two sides.

Every two years when the Hue Festival is held, local villagers usually hold a ritual to commemorate Tran Thi Dao, the bridge sponsor.

Nguyen Thi Kiem, a guide of Thanh Toan travel community, said: “During the ritual, a procession of Ma’am Tran Thi Dao’s tablet from the Tran family to Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge is held. It’s a very important ceremony involving all chiefs of the village and family clans to commemorate her merits.”

A nearby market is convened daily around the 4 ancient banyan trees. At every Hue Festival, Thanh Toan market is the venue of the “Rural market on festive days” program with demonstrations of agricultural and handicraft production, performance of folk games, and displays of farming and fishing tools.

Visitors are also be treated to art and poetry exchange programs and enjoy local dishes.

Thua Thien Hue provincial Department of Science and Technology has helped Thanh Thuy Chanh village build a tourism brand identity. At the Vietnam International Travel Mart - VITM Hanoi 2017, the village was one of 3 Vietnamese destinations to receive the ASEAN Community Tourism Award.  

VOV5/VietNamNet