All-Chinese Assembly Hall

Here is a place that tells one of the most remarkable stories of cooperation in Hoi An's history. The All-Chinese Assembly Hall, known locally as Hoi Quan Ngu Bang, was built in 1741 as the one place where all five Chinese communities could come together under a single roof. Fujian, Chaozhou, Guangdong, Hainan, and Jia Ying — each had their own separate hall, their own dialect, their own patron deities. But here, they set aside those differences. To understand why this matters, you need to picture Hoi An in the eighteenth century. The Chinese merchant community was the economic engine of this port town. They controlled the silk trade, the ceramics market, the shipping lanes. But they were also deeply divided by regional identity. A Hokkien speaker from Fujian and a Teochew speaker from Chaozhou could barely understand each other. Their customs differed, their gods differed, their business networks ran along separate lines. Building a shared assembly hall was not just architecture. It was a political act, a declaration that unity served everyone better than division. Walk inside and notice how the architecture itself embodies this philosophy of harmony. The central altar is dedicated to Thien Hau, the Heavenly Mother...