Tucked away behind the bustling streets of Ho Chi Minh City lies a rare wooden house built during the Nguyen dynasty. Inside, it holds numerous heirlooms cherished by the family as ancestral treasures.

A tranquil ancient home

Located in Nha Be Commune (formerly Nha Be District), the centuries-old home of 79-year-old Nguyen Kim Chung rests quietly in a peaceful garden blooming with flowers.

The house features yin-yang tiled roofing weathered by time and is framed by brick and cement arches and columns. Its walls, archways, and columns display elegant, European-style reliefs. Behind the arches and corridors, the house is constructed entirely from precious wood in the traditional Hue-style "nha ruong" architecture.

Mr. Chung shared, “My parents said this house was built by my great-grandfather, Nguyen Van Trong, also known as Nguyen Hien Hao, who served as an official during Emperor Minh Mang's reign. He hired a skilled team of carpenters from Hue, and it took three years to craft and decorate the house. Not a single nail was used.”

All joints - rafters, columns, walls, and screens - are secured using mortise and tenon joinery. The connections are so precise that even a hair strand cannot slip through.

Born and raised in this house, Mr. Chung has worked tirelessly to preserve it. Despite its age, the structure remains intact and beautiful. His great-grandfather personally selected old, large trees for timber. The outer wood was used for beams and panels, while the dense, straight cores were smoothed into house pillars. As a result, the columns show no signs of decay and gleam with a deep black sheen. The beams and crossbars are intricately carved and inlaid with shimmering mother-of-pearl.

The interior screens were carved from ancient jackfruit wood with ornate details - pheasants, chrysanthemums, apricots, and fruit - all outlined in mother-of-pearl. The roof is tiled with five layers of yin-yang red tiles, which have never needed repair.

Treasures passed down through generations

The family has preserved the ancestral altar exactly as it was originally arranged. It houses valuable antiques such as incense burners, bronze censers, ceramic jars, and vases. Several calligraphy panels and couplets written by Mr. Chung’s great-grandfather remain.

Mr. Chung recalled, “We used to have a set of antique wooden chairs carved with scenes from The Tale of Kieu, including the moment Thuy Kieu met Kim Trong.”

A pair of rare ceramic elephant statues placed in the center of the house have been kept by the family for five generations. “My parents said my great-grandfather cherished these statues greatly,” Mr. Chung said. “We treat everything passed down as precious treasures, carefully cleaning and preserving each piece.”

During Mr. Chung’s father’s time, many distinguished guests visited, including the famed Bac Lieu prince, Tran Trinh Huy. Mr. Chung remembers being a child when Mr. Huy often drove from downtown to pick up his father for visits to his home in Saigon. They would sometimes dine at Thanh The Restaurant, one of the city’s most luxurious eateries at the time, located at the junction of Le Loi, Nguyen Trung Truc, and Ta Thu Thau streets.

Today, the house still welcomes visitors and has even served as a filming location for several productions. Many admire the structure not only for its architectural elegance but also for its temperature-regulating quality - cool in summer, warm in winter.

Ha Nguyen