On July 11th, the People's Committee of Vinh Thanh Commune (Phu Vang) held a ceremony to announce the decision and receive the certificate recognizing Ha Thanh Communal House as a provincial historical site.

A communal house in Kon Ron village is 22m in length, 13m in width, and 20m in height. It has 6 pillars made of binh linh wood (taken from the old communal house).

Once following a friend of mine to Hoi An (Quang Nam province), I was quite impressed with the communal house of Cam Thanh commune. From outside, the building has a bold characteristic of the image of a Vietnamese village with a row of upright areca palm trees. In particular, the structure of sturdy wooden columns and bamboo frames, and available natural materials make visitors feel close to their homeland.

Along with the investment in completing traffic infrastructure, lighting system and public utilities, Hue City has recently prioritized the resources to allocate investment capital to upgrade and restore communal houses, in order to contribute to the conservation and restoration of relics in the area.

According to the People's Committee of Hue City, the city will invest more than 26 billion VND in 2023 to restore and embellish four communal houses in the city area, in order to preserve and promote the values of historical and cultural relics.

On the morning of February 2, a traditional Cau Ngu (fish worshipping) festival and a ceremony to kick off the Southern fishing season in 2023 were held at Thai Duong communal house, People’s Committee of Thuan An Ward, Hue City.

Annually, in the middle of the seventh month of lunar calendar, the descendants working from far away gather in the communal house of An Truyen (Chuon Village), Phu An Commune (Phu Vang District) for the Autumn offering ceremony.

On the early morning of January 10, lunar calendar (on February 10, 2022), the villagers of Lại Ân (also known as Sình village, in Phú Mậu commune - Hue city) went to the communal house to perform rituals to Thanh Hoang (Tutelary god), worship ancestors and organize “vật lệ” (a small-scale wrestling event) in front of the communal house yard.

Every time I visit Bao Vinh, standing at the Bao Vinh Bridge with the gentle quiet communal house, whose color has been fading with time, behind the old Bodhi tree, I am filled with mixed feelings beyond description.