Bach Dang Wharf & Boat Pier

For hundreds of years, this is where the world came to Hoi An. The Bach Dang Wharf is the historic heart of what was once one of the busiest and most prosperous trading ports in all of Southeast Asia, and standing here, you can almost feel the echoes of the merchant ships that once crowded these waters. The wharf as you see it today was formally constructed in 1872 during the French colonial period, but this stretch of riverbank had been used for anchoring and trading for at least three centuries before that. During the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries, Hoi An was known internationally as Faifo, and its port rivaled those of Malacca and Manila. Ships from Japan, China, India, Siam, and Europe would dock here for weeks at a time, trading goods and waiting for the monsoon winds to shift before continuing their journeys. The layout of the Ancient Town reflects this maritime heritage. The merchant houses along Bach Dang Street were designed with their front doors opening to the river for loading and unloading cargo, and their back doors opening to the parallel Tran Phu Street for retail. It was an ingenious setup that connected wholesale river commerce...