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By Andrew Forbes

Vietnam is sometimes likened to a narrow carrying pole with a pannier at either end. It wasn't always thus. The Vietnamese people trace their origins to the Red River Delta – the first pannier – from which they spread southwards, down the long central coast, to the second pannier – the rich Mekong Delta. People tended to concentrate naturally in these two fertile regions, centring on Hanoi and subsequently around Saigon. The process of southward migration was slow, and led to tensions between north and south that can still be felt today.

This split first became evident in the 16^th century, when the Nguyen Lords of Annam broke away from the Trinh Lords of Tonkin and set up their capital at Hue. Before long a formerly undistinguished fishing village emerged to serve Annam as a port. Its name was Fai Fo, and for two centuries it was visited by ships from all over Europe and Asia. During this period the narrow streets of the old town were filled with merchants and sailors from China and Japan, as well as Portuguese, Dutch, French and British adventurers seeking to make a fortune in the lucrative market for fine silks, porcelain, spices, tea, medicinal herbs and perfumed woods.

Of course not everyone was successful. In 1613 the East India Company sent a representative – memorably named Tempest Peacock – to the Court of Annam. On his arrival in Fai Fo he was promptly murdered, the first Englishman known to have died in the town. Despite such lawlessness the port prospered and the main street, Da Tang Jie (now Tran Phu) was soon filled with Chinese traders from Fujian sporting Ming Dynasty fashions. Meanwhile a Japanese enclave developed to the west of town, and was soon linked to the Chinese Quarter by a Japanese-style covered bridge completed in 1593.

Yet Fai Fo's days of glory were numbered. As the Vietnamese continued to push south Saigon and Cholon emerged as more important trading centres, while in the 18^th century the Thu Bon River, which links Fai Fo to the South China Sea, became irretrievably silted up. Subsequently Fai Fo fell into an obscurity which would help save it from the attentions of French, Americans and Viet Cong alike. By the time of the fall of Saigon in 1975 the town – now renamed Hoi An – was a forgotten and impoverished fishing port lost in a time warp. Almost nobody went there.

All this was soon to change. In 1986 the 6^th Congress of the Communist Part of Vietnam introduced limited free market reforms known as doi moi and the first tentative tourist arrivals began. Initially the authorities in Hanoi weren't interested in promoting Hoi An as a tourist destination. It hadn't played a distinguished role in the ‘American War', and it had been all but ruined by the great floods of 1964 when the water had reached the eaves of the old houses in the town centre. However in the 1980s Vietnam's then communist ally, Poland, realised the town's historical and cultural potential, and helped draw UNESCO's attention to the old port. As a consequence, in December 1999, Hoi An was declared a World Heritage Site – one of only four such in Vietnam.

Today Hoi An is protected by conservation laws which rigidly restrict alterations to buildings and ban cars from the streets which make up the heart of the historic old town. A charge of 50,000 Dong (US$3.50) is levied on visitors, and the money thus raised goes towards further conservation.

The result is a city that has become a cultural delight. Long, narrow ‘tube houses' interspersed with Chinese temples and pagodas, Viet family chapels and congregation halls built for various Chinese communities from Hainan, Fujian, Chaozhou and Canton line the streets. The 16^th century Japanese Covered Bridge has been lovingly restored, and local children will direct visitors to the Japanese cemetery on the northern outskirts of town. Here the tombstone of the merchant Yajirobei, who died in 1647, is clearly inscribed with Japanese kanji characters. The Museum of Trading Ceramics on Tran Phu is well worth a visit, and there's even a small French colonial quarter in the southeast of town which is currently undergoing restoration.

But Hoi An isn't just about history. It's a lively place that, after two centuries of isolation and neglect followed by two decades of failed and austere socialist economics is fast rediscovering its former commercial soul. There are lively fish and cloth markets by the banks of the Thu Bon River, and tiny coracles bring in the catch each day from the fishing vessels that trawl the nearby South China Sea.

Best of all, Hoi An is rapidly developing as a centre for Fine Arts and equally for fine food. Almost every other shop seems to be an art gallery, selling a bewildering variety of styles of paintings in oil on canvas or watercolour on silk. Traditional Vietnamese images of women in elegant ao dai dresses and non la conical hats abound, as do pastoral scenes drawing inspiration from classical China. But that's not all – the influence of French Impressionism, Russian Socialist Realism and other modern Western art forms is everywhere to be seen. Standards are high, and prices surprisingly reasonable. Perhaps the most impressive cluster of these galleries is to be found along Tran Phu on either side of the Japanese Bridge.

Hoi An is also justly renowned for its restaurants, many of which serve local specialities.  These include coa lau, a rice noodle soup said to be based on Japanese soba served with slices of lean pork, soy sauce and fresh lime juice. This is usually topped with crumbled banh da or rice crackers. Other local Hoi An dishes include fried won ton dumplings – perhaps, like the soba-based noodles, a legacy of the port's multi-cultural past – and the enduringly popular “white rose”, or steamed shrimps wrapped in rice paper. French cuisine is also available, as well as an increasingly good selection of wines.

But is there a downside to Hoi An's cultural and economic rebirth? Visitor numbers rose from around 10,000 in 1993 to almost 200,000 last year, and in a town of only 75,000 people this is bound to have an impact. Purists might cavil, but there's no doubt that most locals agree the newfound prosperity is a very good thing indeed. In earnest of this, on the 15^th night of each lunar month, when the moon is at its fullest, the lights of the old city are extinguished and the streets illuminated with colourful paper lanterns decorated with Chinese characters. It's a magical sight, as the old port city of Fai Fo successfully ensures its future by celebrating its past.

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Text by Andrew Forbes; Photos by Pictures From History - © CPA Media