Audio walk · Hoi An
Ancient Town east (assembly halls and market)
Put your phone in your pocket and walk. Your phone reads each stop aloud, then waits while you walk to the next one; tap “I've arrived” to carry on. Everything it says is written out below, so the walk works without sound too.
- 4 stops
- about 6 min of listening
- about 7 min between stops
- Cluster guide
4 stops · about 6 min listening · about 7 min between stops
Before you start
Voice and speed
The script is in English. On-device voices keep working with no signal once this page is open or saved.
Transcript
Everything the tour says, in order. Read it instead of listening if you prefer.
Before you start
Welcome to the Ancient Town east (assembly halls and market) audio walk in Hoi An. 4 stops: Hội An Central Market, Quan Công Temple, Fujian Assembly Hall and Museum of Trade Ceramics. The Chinese assembly halls and the market: Phúc Kiến hall and Quan Công temple before 10:00, the market's food hall for lunch, the Trade Ceramics museum if it rains.
Old town east of Lê Lợi: Trần Phú east half with the assembly halls, the central market and the riverside to Hoàng Văn Thụ. Underfoot: paved lanes; market floors wet; slope: flat; shade: medium.
Hội An was a busy international port for about two centuries and then, when its river silted up, it simply stopped changing. That accident is why a whole merchant town of timber shophouses, guild halls and family chapels survives.
Before you start: Market lanes: step aside for delivery motorbikes. Keep your eyes on the street, and pause the audio before you cross a road.
1. Hội An Central Market
Chợ Hội An
Look for
- Dawn fish quay
- Food hall
- Fabric market
Stop 1 of 4: Hội An Central Market. Locally, Chợ Hội An. Arrival point: Trần Phú / Bạch Đằng corner, east old town.
Morning market by the river: fish on the quay at dawn, produce in the lanes, and a covered food hall for cao lầu and mì Quảng at 11:00; fabric and tailors on the lanes behind.
Look for Dawn fish quay: Boats unload along Bạch Đằng before 07:00. Look for Food hall: Cao lầu, mì Quảng, bánh xèo and chè at counters. Look for Fabric market: Behind the main hall; take cloth to a tailor.
Food-hall stalls call out loudly: point, ask the price, sit. Locals at dawn; tour groups mid-morning. Dawn for the quay, 11:00 for the food hall. Ask food prices before sitting; menus are posted at most counters. Where do I eat cao lầu here? The food hall counters; ask the price first.
Walk:Next, stop 2: Quan Công Temple. It's about 2 minutes on foot, about 150 metres to the north-west. Route: Cross the road. The tour waits here. Tap I've arrived when you get there.
2. Quan Công Temple
Miếu Quan Công (Chùa Ông)
Look for
- Guan Yu statue
- Horse statues
- Carp pond
Stop 2 of 4: Quan Công Temple. Locally, Miếu Quan Công (Chùa Ông). Arrival point: 24 Trần Phú, opposite the central market.
Ten minutes in the 1650s temple to the loyal general Guan Yu, with his life-size red horse; it sits opposite the market, so pair it with a food-hall lunch.
Look for Guan Yu statue: Red-faced general flanked by his guardians. Look for Horse statues: Life-size red horse and white horse. Look for Carp pond: Symbol of perseverance, at the back.
The halls and temples have their own dates: Quan Công temple marks its god's festivals in the 1st and 6th lunar months, and the Fujian hall honours the sea goddess Thiên Hậu.
One ticket stop; 10 minutes; combine with the market. Is it worth a ticket stop? If you pair it with the market; otherwise choose the Fujian hall.
Walk:Next, stop 3: Fujian Assembly Hall. It's about 3 minutes on foot, about 200 metres to the west. The tour waits here. Tap I've arrived when you get there.
3. Fujian Assembly Hall
Hội quán Phúc Kiến
Look for
- Triple gate
- Dragon and carp fountain
- Thiên Hậu altar
- Rear altar of the midwives
Stop 3 of 4: Fujian Assembly Hall. Locally, Hội quán Phúc Kiến. Arrival point: 46 Trần Phú.
The grandest of the Chinese guild halls: gate, dragon fountain and the sea-goddess altar in 20 minutes; the best single use of an old-town ticket stop.
Look for Triple gate: The green-tiled gate added in 1975 — the famous photo. Look for Dragon and carp fountain: Mosaic dragon in the courtyard. Look for Thiên Hậu altar: Sea goddess of Fujian sailors. Look for Rear altar of the midwives: Twelve midwives worshipped by couples hoping for a child.
East of it, the Chinese communities built their assembly halls (hội quán) on Trần Phú: Fujian, Cantonese, Chaozhou, Hainan and a shared hall for all five groups.
Do not touch incense coils; step round worshippers. Groups 09:00–11:00; worshippers on lunar festival days. One old-town ticket stop; 20 minutes. Is it a temple? An assembly hall of the Fujian traders that doubles as a temple.
Walk:Next, stop 4: Museum of Trade Ceramics. It's about 2 minutes on foot, about 100 metres to the south-west. The tour waits here. Tap I've arrived when you get there.
4. Museum of Trade Ceramics
Bảo tàng Gốm sứ Mậu dịch
Look for
- Shipwreck ceramics
- The house
Stop 4 of 4: Museum of Trade Ceramics. Locally, Bảo tàng Gốm sứ Mậu dịch. Arrival point: 80 Trần Phú.
Twenty minutes in a restored two-storey merchant house with shipwreck ceramics that show why Hội An mattered; the upstairs balcony over Trần Phú is the calm spot in the old town.
Look for Shipwreck ceramics: Blue-and-white wares from Vietnam, China and Japan traded through the port, 9th–19th centuries. Look for The house: A restored wooden shophouse; the upstairs balcony.
One ticket stop; the rain-hour museum. Is it worth a ticket stop? Yes on a wet day or if you want the port's story; otherwise the Fujian hall first.
End of the walk
That's the end of the Ancient Town east (assembly halls and market) walk. To carry on, Ancient Town west (Covered Bridge end) is about 5 minutes away (walk west on trần phú). To carry on, Cẩm Thanh coconut village is about 12 minutes away (bicycle or car east, 10–15 min).
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