VietNamNet Bridge – Some people are ready to pay up to VND70 billion ($3.34 million) to own a three-room timber-made house with fine bas-relieves, pillars of dark-red color with veins in Bac Giang city.
The small house is located in a deep alley on Nguyen Van Cu road, Le Loi ward, Bac Giang city.

The house stands firmly with 24 shining wood pillars, of around 30cm diameter each. The house’s frame has dragon head carved on it.

Both the pillars and frame is in dark red color and the house is covered by timber fragrance.

According to Khong Trong Binh, the house’s owner, he sought to buy a timber-made house in early 2011 as a temple of forefathers. His friend recommended this house to him.
Binh’s friend bought this house from the central province of Ha Tinh. However, this house does not fit his plot of land so he sold the house to Binh at the price VND350 million ($16,700).

Binh was introduced that this house is over 100 years old, made of iron wood. He hired 20 best carpenters in Bac Giang to clean the house frame by dried banana leaves and toothbrushes.

During the cleaning process, carpenters discovered that the house is not made by iron wood but sua timber (Dalbergia tonkinensis prain) because the more they cleaned the timber, the more veins emerge like rock veins and they turn into red color. They burnt a small piece of wood to test. The piece of wood burnt but it did not turn into black ashes but white ashes, with the fragrance like aloe wood.

Binh said he cleans up pillas every day and more veins emerge. Curious people have flocked to see the house and the story about the sua timber-made has been spread very far.

Some people wanted to buy the house at the cost of VND50-70 billion ($1.5-3.34 million) but Binh did not sell.

As a wood item trader for over 30 years, Binh does not know whether the house is made by sua timber or not. However, Binh knew that this timber is rare because he has never seen such a kind of wood which is hard, glossy, fragrant and having miraculous veins like this.

“I will not sell this house at any price because this house is to worship my ancestors and I want to preserve it for my descendants,” Binh said.

Nguyen Van Phong, deputy director of the Museum of Bac Giang province, said that the house’s patterns are symbolic architecture of the late 19th century, early 20th century. Chinese scripts carved on the house’s roof show that it was built in 1919.
Sua timber is very rare and valuable. It is often used to make worshiping objects. This is the first sua timber-made house found in Vietnam so far.

In the past, sua timber was used to make wood items for kings and mandarins only.

Recently Chinese traders bought sua timber from Vietnam at billion dong (tens of thousands of USD) per a cubic meter. As a result, sua trees have been hunt down throughout the country. In Hanoi, a lot of sua trees were illegally chopped down. Police and local authorities have to protect sua trees.


Kien Trung