Cai Be - Tien Giang has long been known to many people as a land of rich fruit trees, with a very developed type of garden eco-tourism associated with the Floating Market and the ancient village of Dong Hoa Hiep, attracting a large number of tourists. Vietnam Impressive Travel
Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village is located in Dong Hoa Hiep commune, Cai Be district, Tien Giang province, located in the lower Mekong River. From My Tho city, you can travel along National Highway 1A to Cai Be intersection, turn onto Provincial Road 875 about 4 km to Cai Be town center, go another 2 km to bridge number 2, you will see signs to the ancient houses: Ba Duc, Ong Xoat, Ong Tong...
Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village has a total of 7 hamlets, with nearly 4,000 households, living mainly on fruit gardens of all kinds: Hoa Loc mango, orange, green-skinned grapefruit, longan, Vinh Kim star apple... and traditional crafts such as: Com village, rice paper making, milk puff rolling...
According to historical documents, in the 18th century, in 1732, Lord Nguyen established a new unit in Phien Tran palace, Long Ho palace, and chose An Binh Dong village, Dong Hoa Hiep commune today, as the headquarters of Long Ho palace. In 1757, the headquarters moved to Long Ho village, Vinh Long city, Vinh Long province today. During the 25 years as the headquarters of Long Ho palace (1732-1757), Dong Hoa Hiep village gathered many mandarins and big landlords, making this land prosperous.
From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, many houses were built with precious woods and tiled roofs, tall and wide in both Eastern and Western architecture, hidden by rivers and cool orchards, contributing to creating an architectural appearance and landscape that stands out from other localities.
Along with Duong Lam village in Hanoi and Phuoc Tich village in Hue, Dong Hoa Hiep village is one of three ancient villages in Vietnam that have been selected by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to implement the Project "Supporting the Promotion of the Role of the Community in Sustainable Development in Vietnam, Through Heritage Tourism".
The road surrounding the village is shaded by green trees, with people growing flowers and vegetables on both sides, creating the soul of the countryside. That rustic beauty, combined with the poetic beauty of the Cai Be River and the canals winding in front of the ancient houses, makes this place even more attractive to international tourists to visit and experience the life of the people in the Tien Giang river region.
The first impression when visitors set foot here is the image of ancient houses bearing the bold architectural features of Southern garden houses dating back over 150 years. The ancient houses here are not located close together like in some other ancient villages but are interspersed with lush fruit gardens, creating a poetic beauty that attracts visitors. The ancient houses in Dong Hoa Hiep are scattered in An Binh Dong hamlet, Phu Hoa hamlet, An Loi hamlet, An Thanh hamlet... Some hamlets are connected to each other like a chessboard area, within a radius of about 2km, so visitors only need a bicycle or walk to go around the village...
First is the old house of Mr. Xoat (An Thach hamlet). This is the oldest old house in Dong Hoa Hiep, built in 1818, now 200 years old. Although the outside of the house has Western architecture, the inside has the appearance of a Hue traditional house combined with the architecture of a Southern folk house. Currently, the 6th generation descendants are living in the house.
Not as quiet as Mr. Xoat's old house, Mr. Kiet's old house (Phu Hoa hamlet) has many people coming and going, the children and grandchildren living in the house are also more crowded, full of the breath of life.
This house bears the mark of an ancient village in the Northern Delta with 5 rooms and 3 wings and many columns and rafters made of precious wood..., built in 1838. The house still preserves many precious antiques such as: a set of parallel sentences inlaid with mother-of-pearl, a set of tables and chairs with delicate patterns, porcelain items... known as the "nine great beauties" of Vietnam.
Located on an area of over 20,000m² and surrounded by a year-round fruit garden, Mr. Phan Van Duc's ancient house has an architectural style that harmoniously combines Southern and French culture.
The house was built in 1850, on a foundation 0.5m above ground, consisting of two houses, the front house and the back house, separated by a Thien Tinh courtyard (skylight). Currently, the house still preserves many precious and beautiful items, showing the luxurious and elegant hobby of wealthy families in the South in the past. In addition to the fruit garden that visitors can visit and enjoy, in front of the house there are also beautiful flower pots and bonsai trees. Even more poetic and lovely is the ferry dock in front of the house, convenient for visitors to visit by water, with bougainvillea blooming all year round.
There are many other ancient houses in the village. Each house has its own mark. Mr. Tong’s ancient house is hidden behind a fence of bright yellow trumpet vine flowers and in front of the house are many old apricot trees bearing the cultural identity of the Southern river region. Mr. Vo’s ancient house has a dark brown tiled roof, shiny black sofas bearing the color of time…
If you want to experience resting and eating in an ancient house, you can contact Mr. Kiet's family, Mr. Vo's family, Mr. Ba Duc's family... These ancient houses all have homestay tourism services. Visitors can experience daily activities with the locals: participating in making green rice flakes, making rice paper, rolling milk puffs, taking care of the fruit garden, going to Cai Be floating market , catching fish in the ditch; listening to traditional music; ...
Currently, Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village has 7 ancient houses built from 150 to 220 years ago and 29 houses built from 80 to 100 years ago. With its great cultural and architectural values, Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village was honored to be recognized as a National Monument by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2017.
Along with the ancient houses and lush green gardens, the people of Dong Hoa Hiep also preserve and promote the value of a simple lifestyle, creating a form of community tourism with its own identity. Traveling to Tien Giang, coming to the ancient village, visitors will feel the hospitality and honesty of the people of the Southwest region.
Since 2013, the Dong Hoa Hiep Ancient Village Tourism Festival has been invested in and since then, the Festival has been held regularly every two years, with many activities bearing traditional and folk cultural identities, attracting a large number of visitors.
