Vietnam: A model of a typical Chinese junk used by merchants and sailors for sailing...

Hoa Van Le Nghia (Chua Ba) or the Chinese All-Community Assembly Hall was built in 1740 and designed to serve all of Hoi An's ethnic Chinese communities. Thien Hau, thew goddess of seafarers graces the main altar. The small but historic town of Hoi An is located on the Thu Bon River 30km (18 miles) south of Danang. During the time of the Nguyen Lords (1558 - 1777) and even under the first Nguyen Emperors, Hoi An - then known as Faifo - was an important port, visited regularly by shipping from Europe and all over the East. By the late 19th Century the silting up of the Thu Bon River and the development of nearby Danang had combined to make Hoi An into a backwater. This obscurity saved the town from serious fighting during the wars with France and the USA, so that at the time of reunification in 1975 it was a forgotten and impoverished fishing port lost in a time warp.