What’s new in regulations on protecting Vietnam's Hoi An Ancient Town

The historic town, located in the central coastal city of Da Nang, continues to be regarded as one of Vietnam's most carefully managed cultural heritage areas.

Recently, plans by the Da Nang People’s Committee to review, revise, and upgrade conservation regulations for Hoi An Ancient Town, expected to be issued in the near future, have attracted significant public attention.

Hoi An moving towards sustainable development

Speaking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Truong Thi Hong Hanh, director of the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Sports of Da Nang, said the city is building on the existing framework and improving it further to better preserve the integrity of Hoi An’s architecture, urban space, and traditional way of life.

“In fact, Hoi An previously applied this set of regulations and created consensus between authorities and residents in preserving and promoting heritage values,” Hanh said.

“The issuance of the regulations this time is an inheritance and continuation following the reorganization of the two-tier local government system.”

“Hoi An has done very well for many years, so we have a responsibility to continue preserving the urban heritage space in a better way,” she added.

The regulations governing the conservation of Hoi An Ancient Town are considered a unique form of regulatory document, established and maintained through long-standing consensus within the local community.

According to Hanh, one of the strengths of the regulations is that every provision directly relates to each stakeholder, each ancient house and each household in Hoi An.

Detailed regulations for activities in the ancient town

Beyond legal regulations, any intervention or decision must also comply with commitments signed with UNESCO, in which preserving original heritage values is considered especially important.

Due to the highly distinctive nature of Hoi An, many current legal provisions are difficult to translate into detailed regulations covering every aspect of activities within the ancient town.

For example, repairs to a protected heritage house in Hoi An must follow separate procedures, including regulations on roofing materials, interior architectural arrangements and roof structures, to avoid disrupting the integrity of the centuries-old architectural space of the ancient town.

When regulations are difficult to fully specify in practice, Hanh said adjusting the existing conservation framework through a new set of regulations on protecting the World Cultural Heritage site of Hoi An Ancient Town is necessary to ensure the city’s long-term sustainability.

To strengthen the legal effectiveness of the framework, the Da Nang People’s Committee will issue the regulations, while local authorities, professional agencies and the community will be responsible for implementation.

A unique regulatory framework in Hoi An

The conservation regulations for Hoi An Ancient Town were established decades ago based on community consensus, with local authorities responsible for issuance, supervision, and enforcement.

The initiative emerged from the reality that many legal provisions could not fully address the day-to-day aspects of life and business activities within the ancient town.

The framework is considered a highly distinctive model, similar to a community convention, yet it has played a major role in governing detailed activities in the ancient town where many legal regulations could not effectively reach.

In addition, Hoi An has long maintained four other sets of regulations covering business order, advertising signboards, tourism activities, and operations on the river.