Fai Fo was a bustling port in which Chinese and Japanese merchants traded silk, lacquer and porcelain with Indians and Europeans, worshipped at ornate temples and met at clan houses. The streets were filled with traders from east and west, and conical-hatted Vietnamese going about their business. Much money changed hands every day.
Hoi An is an old town of narrow streets, lined with chic restaurants and pretty guesthouses, dozens of art dealers and scores of tailors' shops, and highlighted with ornate temples and clan houses. The streets are crammed with tourists from Asia and the west, and conical-hatted Vietnamese going about their business. Much money changes hands every day.
Wealthy from trading with foreigners, Fai Fo and Hoi An are the same place, with a few centuries and several culture shocks separating them. And were an 18th-century Fujianese merchant to rise from the grave and walk onto its streets again, he would recognise much of what he sees.
Hoi An is a historical gem that has found a way to revitalise itself and to grow rich again. No longer collapsing into ruin as it was before doi moi (Vietnam's economic policy, instituted in 1986), protected by law from inappropriate modernisation, honoured by Unesco as a World Heritage cultural site (one of only three in Vietnam) since 1999 and substantially renovated, the old town has blossomed with a new self-belief and a vibrant energy funded by tourist yen, euros and dollars.
Few towns in Asia have such a concentration of history in such a good state of repair and such rude economic health, even if chasms exist between the new tourist economy and the old local economy. A tumble-down house next to a chic boutique, a smelly old street market leading to a parade of elegant restaurants, glitzy motorbikes jostling with battered handcarts - these are the contradictions of a town in flux.
Hoi An is probably now at its optimum state. Fifteen years ago, it was moribund. Fifteen years ahead, it could well be a gaudy theme park. Today, it enchants with a balance of controlled touristification and everyday Vietnamese life, a haven of historical integrity in a country whose physical heritage has largely been annihilated.