Ancient houses turned into restaurants

VietNamNet Bridge – Owners of many ancient houses in the central province of Quang Nam that have been recognised as national vestiges or are likely to be recognised as such want to withdraw their houses from the recognition to have the right to sell them as they can't afford for restoration.

Many owners of the houses of 100 years of age or older in Quang Nam said their houses were in serious disrepair. Some are likely to collapse. But there is no money to repair and restore them.

Many of those houses have been recognised as national vestiges but government money for restoration and preservation works for these houses is yet to be seen.

According to owners of recognised houses, if a house is recognised as a national vestige its owner cannot decide its fate. Owners are responsible for protecting their houses but don’t receive any financial support for preservation efforts.

Meanwhile, ancient houses in Quang Nam are much sought after. A run-down house can be sold for hundreds of millions of dong. Thus, many owners of recognised houses want to withdraw their houses from the recognition list in order to take back the right to sell them.

As for houses that are not yet recognised, though they may have been certified as meeting the requirements for recognition, more and more are being sold. In Loc Yen Ancient House Village in Phu Ninh District, for instance, 6 of 10 such houses have been sold. And in Tien Phuoc District, 10 of the 17 certified houses have suffered the same fate.

Since 2003, 350 ancient houses throughout Quang Nam have also been inspected and certified. Of these, 100 have been certified by the Japan and International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Bureau of Heritages under the Ministry of Culture and Information, and 150 of them have been sold. 

At the moment, many owners want to sell their houses in order to have money to construct modern cement ones.

“Quang Nam is keeping a treasure. Without proper preservation and exploitation, it might be wasted," said JAICA’s architects.

Yet, local authorities haven’t taken any action to protect those ancient houses.

Vu Trung