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Travel News | The secret of Hoi An’s ancient wells | | Besides relics including ancient houses, temples and tombs, ancient
wells are a special part of Hoi an ancient town, a world cultural
heritage site.
Most old wells in Hoi An are located in the northern bank of the De
Vong river, in Cam Thanh commune and Thanh Ha ward. These wells are
often 50-150m from the river and some are even closer.
In Hoi An’s suburbs, ancient wells are mainly in circles but wells in
Hoi An’s inner area are often square or in a circle at the top but
square at the bottom. These wells are mainly located in temples and
club-houses of Chinese Vietnamese.
According to Hoi An authorities, there are three major forms of ancient
wells: circle (63 percent), square (17 percent), circle at the mouth
and square at the bottom (15 percent) and other shapes. The most famous
well in the town is Ba Le.
Ancient wells in Hoi An were built in different times. Some researchers
believe the wells in circle at the mouth and in square at the bottom
were built by Cham people before the 15th century and others were built
by Vietnamese and Chinese after that.
Though they have different shapes, these wells all have iron and wood
made frames, which are submerged in the water. This frame is used to
prolong the lifespan of wells, preventing the well walls collapsing.
The well walls are made by bricks which are arranged without mortar.
Water runs through the slits between bricks to enter the well. In
addition, all wells have altars worshipping the well gods.
Nguyen Chi Trung, director of the Centre for Preservation of Hoi An’s
Relics, said that Hoi An’s people believe that each well has its own
god who protects the well and ensures pure water.
Though ancient wells are located near a river their water is clear and
cool all the year round. The water levels are always stable, even in
the dry season.
All food specialties of Hoi An, such as cao lau and my quang and other cuisines are cooked with water taken from these wells.
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