An Hai Communal House Festival

An Hai Village, formerly called Phuoc Vang Commune, used to be part of Phuoc Chau, Hoa Vinh District (now Hoa Vang District). It was renamed as An Hai Commune, An Luu, Dien Phuoc District, in King Nguyen Phuc Chu’s reign (1691 - 1725).

This area, on the eastern side of the Han River, was chosen by the Nguyen Dynasty to build a citadel called An Hai.  Together with Dien Hai Citadel on the western side, it was responsible for protecting the Da Nang harbour.  After many attacks by French and Spanish allied troops on the city in the early morning of 1 September 1958, both citadels were badly damaged.  Although the remains of the An Hai Citadel have virtually disappeared now, the history of this glorious resistance is still in the hearts of Da Nang’s citizens.

An Hai Communal House Festival was restarted in 2000 to remind people of the past glorious resistance. The festival is celebrated on the 10^th day of the 8^th lunar month.  After the opening ceremony, people rush to the riverbank to watch "lac thung", a traditional sporting game for people in the coastal areas, whilst on the village common, participants try their best to be the winner of a chess tournament.  All the teams joining the "tug-of-war" game are ready.  In addition to these traditional games, there are many modern sports too such as athletics and badminton.  In the afternoon, people enjoy watching a lion dance.  When night falls, after the traditional performances, people gather around the stage in front of the communal house to enjoy "tuong" (traditional opera).  In the main ceremony the next morning, the representatives of the families review  all the good traditions of the village before the traditional offering ceremony.