Lying in the center of Mekong Delta, 110 kilometers far from Ho Chi Minh city to the South and 70 kilometers far from Can Tho province, Ba Duc Ecotourism and Ancient House is known as an interesting and appealing destination for all tourists at home and abroad.
The house was first built in the nineteenth century by Mr. Phan Van Dang. At that time the house wall was made of wooden boards that bound together and the front consisted of wooden bars that exactly conformed to the southern Vietnamese traditional houses.
In 1938, Mr. Phan Van Cuong had the house reconstructed on the solid cement-made foundation, surrounded by a 3-hectare precrinct full of ornamental plants and fruit trees, making the place the most beautiful one for tourists to take pleasure.
The house is a harmonious combination of two architectural styles: Vietnamese and French, whose shape is similar to a colonial-period house. It is built in high foundation (0.5m higher than the base ground), thus protecting itself from floods during the rainy seasons. It is said that its contemporary houses were not generally built on that high position; this, therefore, has made the house unique and fine.
The house is divided into two distinct parts, the front and the back. Between the two lays a space called the sky-yard in order to let in sunlight which brings brightness and warmness to the house.
The front house is considered as the main house where guests and visitors are usually welcomed and where all the family’s ancestor worship activities take place. We meet a fairly wide corridor with firm handrail before entering the main door, which opens up a splendid view for tourists to enjoy.
All of the house objects belong to the French domination period and are arranged in a beautiful traditional way. In the middle of the house, there are four sets of pillar made of xylia xylocarpa “cam xe” wood which enhances the house’s firmness and stability. Attached to pillars is a couple of wood panels on which the old Chinese charaters inlaid with mother of pearl were engraved, conveying the meaning that the descendants shoud always live for the good.
Three sets of worship cabinet (1924) inlaid with mother of pearl bring more luxury and shine to the house. Especially, it is a pride for the whole village to have “Royal proclamation for Deities title conferring”, which give Gods titles to protect the villagers from natural calamities, awarded by emperors: Minh Mang, Thieu Tri and Tu Duc from 1846 to 1860.
The walls of the house are decorated with beautiful patterns, especially the nine murals painted on the three main walls, each represents a peaceful village surrounded by one branch of the whole nine branches of the Mekong Delta.
To the back is a big spaceful house which had been once used for daily activities and food storage but was seriously damaged by wars. This part of the house has been rebuilt to serve as a stopover for tourists.
The current owner of the house is Mr. Phan Van Duc who is the family’s sixth generation.