Nguyen Huy Tuan’s house is one of a few ancient houses in Truong Son village in Truong Yen commune, Hoa Lu district, that retains the typical architecture of wooden houses found in the Red River Delta.
In the hundred-year-old house, many generations of Tuan’s family have lived together and preserved the cultural traditions of the land and the people of Vietnam’s ancient capital.
Truong Yen commune is home to 55 traditional houses with the typical architecture of three-room and five-room wooden houses. Most are made of elaborately and intricately carved ironwood. The traditional houses in Truong Yen are not simply a living space for a family, but also a place that fully reflect the values of sculpture, organised living spaces, and the art of dealing with nature. However, over time, these houses have deteriorated and are in need of preservation to promote their value and serve sustainable tourism development.
Figures from the Ninh Binh Department of Tourism show that in the core area of the Trang An heritage area are over 100 houses with typical traditional architecture built before 1945, mainly in Truong Yen and Ninh Xuan communes.
In mid-2023, Ninh Binh province issued a resolution to support the renovation and repair of houses with traditional architectural styles that are 50 years old or more in the core heritage area, and to support the construction of new houses in the area.
The province will introduce policies and mobilise resources to preserve and promote rural historical, architectural, and cultural values, thus supporting the renovation of and tourism development in the heritage area./.
