Hội An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Quảng Nam province in Central Việt Nam. In the daylight, Hội An dazzles with architectural riches reflecting its history as a trading port and cultural hub: well-preserved wooden Chinese shophouses, French colonial buildings, traditional Vietnamese tube houses, and Japanese covered bridges. By night, the town is illuminated with colorful lanterns crafted from bamboo, adorned with silk, and fashioned into elaborate shapes, like bánh ú– a traditional Vietnamese glutinous rice cake. These lanterns serve as symbols of reverence for Gods and ancestors, while also representing wishes for luck, prosperity, and peace. Off the bustling main street Lý Thường Kiệt, nestled away in an alley just wide enough for a car, sits Nhà Lao Hội An (Hội An Prison). The building is reclusive and unassuming amid the charming city of its namesake. The prison in this serene and ancient town bore witness to some of the most intense fighting in the region’s history. (read more...)