The impression of hundreds of years old, the ancient architecture of the village gate, banyan tree, water well, communal roof, and poetic tranquility are what people remember forever when they have the opportunity to visit ancient Vietnamese villages.
Stretching across the Vietnam map, from the North, Central to the South, are prominent villages with classic and poetic beauty. And, today let’s explore the most well-known ancient villages in Vietnam with Vietnamdrive through the article below.
Duong Lam Village, Hanoi
Dubbed one of the oldest villages in the North, Duong Lam impresses with a harmonious combination of green trees, and clear blue sky combined with ancient brown colors from the small house.
It is very exciting to go to Duong Lam on a peaceful afternoon, watching the dark colors emanating from the moss-brown walls boldly imprinted with time.
Duong Lam Village is located 50 km from the center of Hanoi to the west. This ancient village belongs to Son Tay town, Hanoi.
This site is the only village that still retains the intact structure and lifestyle of an ancient Vietnamese village in the Northern Midlands region.
The village is a living museum that preserves cultural and historical relics worth thousands of years with immutable customs, practices, beliefs, and festivals over many generations.
Along the winding village road, you will encounter familiar images of Vietnamese villages, such as village gates, banyan trees, wells, communal courtyards, and ancient houses.
You can combine visiting the old village with Son Tay Citadel (located in the center of Son Tay City), and Mang Son Temple.
Bat Trang Pottery Village, Hanoi
Bat Trang Pottery village is located in the Gia Lam district, more than 10km southeast of the center of Hanoi City.
The first impression when coming to Bat Trang is the communal house of Bat Trang – a place of worshiping Thanh Hoang and also a site to hold festivals.
This primitive village preserves almost intact unique and ancient architecture. Going to the end of the village is the ancient house of Van Van, a wooden house with a roof covered with green trees.
The house displays more than 400 ancient pottery items from the 15th to 19th centuries. The Van Van House was built in 2002 by Tran Ngoc Lam, a member of the UNESCO Center for Antiquities Research and Conservation.
Currently, Bat Trang village is a busy business and trading area for pottery. This is also a good sign when the old craft village is developing day by day, the households also have a better standard of life thanks to the pottery profession. Typically, this village still keeps the rustic and rural space.
Uoc Le Spring Roll Village, Hanoi
Uoc Le village is situated in Tan Uoc commune, Thanh Oai district, Hanoi, which is famous for its delicious flavor of spring rolls here.
However, when you visit this ancient village, the first thing that makes you overwhelmed and fascinated is the architecture that bears the imprint of time.
Here, you can admire the value of the prominent Vietnamese culture.
The first thing that catches your eye is the curved bridge over 2 meters wide, about 10 meters long, spanning a wide ditch leading into the village.
Next, the gate with traditional arches will greet you. On the gate of the village, it has a big picture: “My Tuc Kha Phong” in Chinese characters, meaning the Beautiful customs bestowed. Legend has it that King Tu Duc the 33rd (1881) bestowed this noble title on the Uoc Le village.
Not having the bustling, noisy, touristy atmosphere like many other ancient villages, the Uoc Le village still retains its serene, quiet, country-like spirit like a time away.
Not only the village gate, the houses and markets with ancient architecture still exist as the clearest proof of the glorious history of the peaceful land.
Cu Da Village, Hanoi
15km from the center of Hanoi to the West, on the banks of the Nhue River, Cu Da village in Cu Khe commune, Thanh Oai district, Hanoi is famous for many people as the businessmen village.
Since the early years of the 19th century, many villagers went to Hanoi to trade. They got prosperous businesses and had the conditions to come back to their hometown to build many beautiful houses.
Specifically, Cu Da is the first and only ancient village in Vietnam with house numbers, with signboards showing the names of alleys and hamlets like streets.
A special thing there is that every gateway runs to the river bank with a brick floor reaching the water’s edge. And, the village also has a long tradition of making soy sauce.
However, the ancient architecture of this village is still highly valued by the Cu Da people. Besides the gates, pagodas, and communal houses, many old houses have the intact architecture of the Northern Delta and French architecture more than 100 years ago.
Like many other ancient sites, Cu Da also possesses the beauty of a traditional craft village, making soya sauce.
For a long time, Cu Da village has delicious reputation for making soy sauce, the oldest work of the locals, which can help them earn for living.
The people of Cu Da make soy sauce from natural ingredients such as sticky rice, soybeans, rainwater, and white salt.
Besides soya sauce, there is a famous brand name of Cu Da vermicelli, Miến Cự Đà in Vietnamese.
Cuu Village, Hanoi
Cuu Village (Cựu means former) is an ancient place belonging to Van Tu commune, Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi. It impresses with the villas mixed with ancient Vietnamese and French architecture.
Smooth green stone covers the road in the alley. The village gate is proud of its 500-year history, built like three-door gates found in the temples in Vietnam. You can see unicorns, wine bottles, flowers, and fancy Chinese characters on the gateway.
Covering the space are ancient houses with typical French architecture. Going from the beginning to the end of the village, each deep alley is a secret of style.
The smooth green stones cover paths in the alleys. Following the small alleys, you will enter the peaceful ancient village, helping you forget the noisy life and stresses.
Tho Ha Village, Bac Giang
Situated on the banks of the romantic Cau River, Tho Ha village in Van Ha commune, Viet Yen district, Bac Giang province preserves extremely rich and unique traditional cultural values.
The village has classical beauty bearing the characteristic imprint of a pure Vietnamese village with a very unique architectural, cultural, and landscape complex.
Among them, there are many ancient architectural works built from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries such as Tho Ha communal house, Doan Minh Tu pagoda, Van Chi, and village gate.
The village still retains a few dozen ancient houses located deep in mossy alleys. Many houses use ceramic pieces, creating a unique and delicate architecture that is rare anywhere.
The owners decorate their houses with local products created by the village artisans, such as ceramic jars, ceramic vases, and flower vases.
Unlike villages in the Northern Delta, the residents of Tho Ha do not have fields but live mainly on handicrafts and small businesses.
Before 1960, the village was famous for making pottery. But later on, people turned to make thin rice paper wrappers and rice noodles. If you visit this countryside, it is not difficult to see people who are diligently working in a peaceful setting.
Tuy Loan ancient village, Da Nang
Tuy Loan ancient village is located in Phong Hoa commune, Hoa Vang district, about 10 km from Da Nang city center.
This old village is over 500 years old, situated in a very open position, facing the river, looking towards the mountains, and charming scenery.
You will immerse yourself in the quiet countryside space with rivers, water wharves, and green rice fields over there.
Tuy Loan communal house also preserves 20 certificates for deities, the most recent from the reign of King Khai Dinh (1916 – 1925), creating a different feature compared to other communal houses of Vietnamese villages.
In front of the communal yard is a screen in the style of a large letter. The front side is embossed with a style of dragon and horse, the other side has a unicorn.
All images are assembled with the art of crockery, very unique. Going through many historical events, although the Tuy Loan communal house does not keep the original status quo, you still see majestic and classical features. This temple is a place where you like to find something ancient when visiting Tuy Loan village, Da Nang City.
Phuoc Tich ancient village, Thua Thien Hue
Phuoc Tich ancient village is located downstream of the O Lau River, the boundary between Thua Thien – Hue and Quang Tri provinces, more than 40 km from Hue City Center. The village of hundreds of years is considered a living museum of Vietnamese village culture.
Phuoc Tich is a complex of ancient communal houses, with more than 100 houses, containing up to 37 ones over 100 years old, and temples and shrines. There are 12 houses of rare types, with a lifespan of 150 – 200 years with delicately carved pillars and panels.
You will feel lost in a quiet space filled with green gardens. Warm rays of sunlight go through the canopy of hundreds of years old trees, creating a simple peaceful scene.
From the roads to the gardens, and communal yard in Phuoc Tich is always clean, and the trees are carefully cared for. So, this village is also listed as one of the most beautiful villages in Vietnam.
You will also see ancient pottery items with sophisticated patterns or experience how to make clay pots in the village.
Long Tuyen ancient village, Can Tho
Long Tuyen ancient village has the Binh Thuy River flowing through, winding like a dragon’s body. This village is the birthplace of the historical character Bui Huu Nghia, who had made merit against foreign invaders.
Coming to this area of the countryside, you can explore many ancient houses located on Binh Thuy market.
The most prominent is the ancient house of the Duong family built in 1870, often called “the old house of Binh Thuy”.
Binh Thuy house is one of the rare houses with good preservation, on large land with nice gates and walls around. This place is also an area to keep a precious antique store through many generations.
Despite going ups and downs of history and wars, Long Tuyen ancient village still retains its cultural features of the garden style in Southern Vietnam.
Phong Nam ancient village, Da Nang
With its classical architectural features, Phong Nam ancient village in Hoa Vang district, Da Nang City is an attractive destination for tourists when coming to the sunny and windy Central region of Vietnam.
You can find peaceful countryside with green rice fields, shaded bamboo rows on countryside roads, and mossy old houses.
Phong Nam village still maintains many former architectural works such as a communal house, pagoda, temple, the ancestors’ chapels…
What is better than relaxing under the bamboo shade, the faint scent of sticky rice, or listening to the gentle waves of the river wharf?
Over the years, under the impact of urbanization, Phong Nam still has the beautiful characteristics of a traditional Vietnamese village.
Ancient villages in Vietnam live with many generations almost naturally and authentically, which will tell true stories about the old style of the countryside with deep culture.
Please range your time to try coming to these villages once to understand more about Vietnamese folklore.
>> You may want to check out more of the beautiful fishing villages in Vietnam.