Located on the coast of the South China Sea, in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, Hội An ("peaceful meeting place"; known historically as Faifo, from the Vietnamese Hội An phố - the town of Hội An) is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century, so was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique site.
The early history of Hội An is that of the Cham, being practically the commercial capital of the Champa Empire. Since the 16th century it flourished and became the most important trade port on the South China Sea. In the 18th century it was considered by Chinese and Japanese merchants the best destination for trading in Southeast Asia, even in all Asia. At the end of the century, the center of gravity moved to the north, to the nearby Đà Nẵng, the result being that Hội An remained almost untouched over the next 200 years.
The town has a distinctive Chinese atmosphere with low, tiledroof houses (almost entirely of wood, decorated with lacquer panels engraved with Chinese characters), and narrow streets. There are 1,360 relics and landscapes, divided into eleven kinds, including 1,068 ancient houses, 19 pagodas, 43 temples, 23 communal houses, 38 family temples, 5 assembly halls, 11 old wells, one bridge, and 44 ancient tombs. The traditional lifestyle, religion, customs and cooking have been preserved and many festivals take place annually.
About the stamp
The first stamp was issued on June 5, 2011, for celebrating Centenary of Ho Chi Minh's departure for national liberation (1911-2011).
The second stamp was issued on July 19, 2011 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the death of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway is the second American (after Norman Morrison, 1965) and the third foreign writer (after Maxim Gorky of Russia, 1968 and Rabindranath Tagore of India, 1982) featured on Vietnamese stamps.It seems to me quite obvious that the choice of these writers have no connection with literature, but with politics.
References
Hoi An - Wikipedia
Hoi An Ancient Town - Wikipedia
sender: Phan Quoc Vuong (direct swap)
sent from Thanh Hóa (Thanh Hóa / Vietnam), on 05.06.2013
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