Lit only by lanterns, the darkened streets of Hoi An echo with the sounds of folk music. Foreigners stroll out of the ornate homes as women dressed in ao dai (traditional long dress) exchange bua chuc phuc, good luck cards, and men gather on the riverside to drink rice wine and compete in a poetry recitation contest.

Though a similar scene could very well have played out on an August evening in the 16th century, modern-day visitors to the historic town settled by Chinese, Japanese and European merchants will get a chance this summer to experience Hoi An as it once was.

The festival, Pho Dem Hoi An (Hoi An Streets By Night), is part of a summer-long tourism campaign called Cam Xuc Mua He (Summer Feelings) which aims to give tourists a better understanding of both the town’s history and contemporary inhabitants.

"[Through Pho Dem Hoi An] we want tourists to experience a night in Hoi An as it was a few centuries ago, when the town was a bustling port of traders coming from various countries like China and Japan," said Vo Phung, director of the Hoi An Culture Centre.

In addition to folk music performances, ruou hong dao (a special locally-made rice wine) tasting, a food fair and poetry contest, "tourists who like legends can dress up like their favourite characters from Vietnamese folk tales and join a fancy-dress party on boats travelling along the river," Phung said.

Motorbike ban

In an effort to preserve the town’s historic authenticity for the festival, as well as the United Nation’s Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) world heritage site’s historic architecture for prosperity, as of July 24 a pedestrian zone was established and motorbikes were banned from certain streets.

After four years of planning and consultation with the town’s residents, local authorities decided "the heavy flow of vehicles driving on the old streets prevents tourists from walking freely and is harmful to the historic sites and artefacts," Phung said.

Every weekend until August 20, motorbikes are barred from nine historic streets from 8-11am, 1-4pm and 6.30-9pm, creating a 4 ha pedestrian mall.

Resident for a day

Another programme under the Cam Xuc Mua He festival is called Mot Ngay Lam Cu Dan Pho Co (Be a Resident of the Old Streets for One Day), in which visitors learn about the lives of historic inhabitants from its modern residents.

"Since tours started last month, my family has welcomed many foreign visitors to our home and shop; most of them, are from European countries," said Tang Ngoc Thu, owner of a lantern-making business at 109 Tran Phu Street.

Thu said visitors learn the historic art of lantern making and get a chance to produce their own lamps.

Visitors have lunch with the family, tasting local delicacies prepared by the shop’s owners.

Farmers in Tra Que village, Cam Ha commune, in a suburb of the town, offer a tour in which visitors get a chance to work on a vegetable farm.

"Many young tourists have chosen this tour and they seem to like chasing locusts while working in the fields," said Pham Vu Dung, a guide from the Hoi An Tourism Service Company.

Farmers at the village show tourists how to plant and harvest different types of vegetables.

"This is the very first time I’ve ever held a hoe, I feel quite strange," said an Australian tourist, "it’s great to work on a real farm and to eat the vegetables we helped pick."

In Thanh Nam fishing village near the Thu Bon River, delta tourists can learn to row the small local wooden boats and cast a net.

Pumped: A snappily dressed tourist attempts some farm work. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Tuan Making tracks... Getting there By air: Vietnam Airlines flies three times a day from both Ha Noi and HCM City to Da Nang. One-way tickets priced about VND825,000 are available from Vietnam Airlines sales offices. Tel: (04) 832 0320 - Ha Noi (08) 832 0320 - HCM City. From Da Nang, take a car or bus to Hoi An (30km). By train: Five daily trains depart from Ha Noi to Da Nang. One-way tickets range from VND270,000-500,000 at Ha Noi railway station, 120 Le Duan St. Tel: (04) 7162868. Eight daily trains depart from HCM City to Da Nang. One-way tickets range from VND219,00-550,000 from HCM City railway station, 1 Nguyen Thong St, Dist 3. Tel: (08) 836 7640 Staying there Hotels include: Victoria Hotel (4 stars) Tel: (0510) 927011; Thinh Hung 4 Hotel (4 stars) Tel: (0510) 910 578; Hoi An Hotel (3 stars) Tel: (0510) 861 362. Contacting there Hoi An Tourism Information Office Tel: (0510) 910 919/ 0914 040 379 Websites: www.quangnamtourism.com.vn; www.hoianworldheritage.org

Heritage road

"All of the special tourism programmes this summer were launched to coincide with the Heritage Road Festival from August 26-29," said Dinh Hai, director of Quang Nam Province’s Department of Tourism.

The festival, held to celebrate the five year anniversary of Hoi An and My Son receiving World Heritage status from the UNESCO, will feature 300 Japanese dancers, tea-ceremony masters, tourists and thousands of Vietnamese.

The opening ceremony held on the banks of the Hoai River and the closing ceremony held on Cua Dai Beach will be broadcast live on Viet Nam Television’s VTV1 at 8pm on August 26 and 29, respectively.

Hai said that over the past five years, the total number of tourists visiting the province has increased 30 per cent annually. Last year alone, 900,000 people visited the province, 400,000 of whom went to Hoi An.

To attract more guests this summer, 67 hotels along the province’s Heritage Path from Da Nang to Hoi An, have reduced their room rates by 20 per cent, he said.

"However, to maintain tourism we must preserve, protect and repair damaged sites and artifacts," said Nguyen Van Ham, vice director of the Quang Nam Centre for Heritage and Antiquities Protection.

With assistance from various agencies including Italian and Japanese experts, he said, the My Son’s Cham towers complex and classic architecture in Hoi An have been restored.

A budget of US$2.5 million funded by the Japanese Government and $812,000 from Italy is slated for use in My Son and Hoi An, Ham said.