Cu Da Village

Cu Da village is located on the bank of the Nhue river, about 15 kilometres from Hanoi, bearing characters of a Vietnamese village with hundred-year-old banian-trees, rivers, ponds, village wells and ancient mossy walls.

In the 1920s, 1930s, Cu Da was a very busy place for traders to do business all day and night. As a result, Cu Da village’s economy was developed rapidly and the living standard of villagers was improved considerably compared to other regions. Cu Da villagers moved to all regions in the country to do business and settle down there. Some people who were better off had come back to the home village and brought along with them the cultural characters from the city. Houses with the western architectural style mixed with traditional art were built. These were communal houses built under the French-style so that villagers could gather together and make decisions on things of common concern. Each house was numbered like in a big city. Cu Da is among a few Vietnamese villages whose houses were numbered. This has made it so unique, rarely seen in any village in the northern delta area.

The cultural features of Cu Da have been preserved intact which serve as an evidence of a flourishing development period. The most remarkable relics in Cu Da are 50 French-style villas. Partly damaged by time and historical changes as they were, these houses are still kept intact with typical French style. These are two-storey villas with balcony, archway, enamel tile-paved pillars, porcelain-paved walls and so on. Tiles to pave and decorate houses were all made in France in 1910 – 1920 and imported to Vietnam. Architectural patterns and designs of these houses remain, showing the harmony between eastern and western architecture in the early years of the 20th century.

Not only bearing European-style architecture, Cu Da is also imbued with traditional values of a riverside village in the northern delta area. These were ancient Vietnamese houses and houses of worship built one century ago. These iron wood houses with delicate carvings still stand there to the test of time. The most remarkable house is the ancient house of Trinh The Sung built in 1874 under the Tu Duc’s reign. The house features the typical architectural art of the Nguyen Dynasty as it was made entirely from timber with sophisticated patterns on its doors.

Such unique relics on a flourishing development period of Cu Da riverside ancient village have made it a ‘must’ tourist destination, attracting an increasing number of visitors and researchers in and outside the country.