Duong Lam village is the only one which maintains the structure integrity and lifestyle of an ancient Vietnamese village in northern of Vietnam. It is located in Mong Phu, Duong Lam commune, Son Tay town, about 50km west of Hanoi. Let’s take a look at what make Duong Lam a unique rural village with the house structure, village way of life..
In 2005, the ancient village of Duong Lam has been recognized as the National Artistic Monument. This is the first ancient village in the nation ranked national monument. At your first sight when you get to the entrance of the village.
Duong Lam still preserves most of the basic features of a traditional Vietnamese village with village gates, banyan trees, water well, communal house…
Duong Lam is also known as the land of two kings, since it’s the home of Phung Hung and Ngo Quyen, two national heroes who had been instrumental in expelling the Chinese invaders in the 8th and 10th centuries. This is also home of the envoy Giang Van Minh, the eminent diplomat (late 16th and early 17th centuries), who bravely sacrificed himself overland to the protect of the nation.
We pay a visit to a typical old house, which built from the 17th – 18th century, covered with moss color, attached to the yard, garden, wells, along the roads in the shape of fish bone. Duong Lam’s house is built with traditional materials such as: sandstone (to ensure the house be cool in summer, warm in winter), bamboo, rice husk, mud, sawdust, lime, sand, straw…
The houses has the structure of 5 rows of columns, consist of 5 compartments or 7 compartments and 2 lean-tos. The roof curves as of the kite, roof tiles are put in the style of insertion, knit together as dragon flakes. Beam roof with engraved date; The barrel, door arch is engraved with many decorative patterns. The middle compartment occupies most of the area, is the place where the ancestors worshiped with the horizontal lacquered board, the parallel sentences, ancient paintings… The bottom of the altar set antiques beds and couches to sit. On the table always a hot pot with green tea to invite guests or a bowl, bamboo tube to smoke tobacco pipe.
In addition to the old houses, Duong Lam also has a system of family ancestor, pagodas, communal houses, ponds, lakes and dozens of old trees.. are always attractive to photographers when the golden rice season comes or the green corn season with stretching green color.
You can come to visit Duong Lam village in our tour of historical and cultural relics, tours of ancient architecture, agricultural experience (vegetable cultivation, fruit and vegetable harvesting, fish catching, watering, plowing, rice planting, tea picking…), tour to experience traditional handicraft (candy peanuts, candy, sesame candy, making bread)…