Explore Loc Yen ancient village - Land of "fairyland of blessings"

Home to many ancient houses from 100 to 200 years old, unique stone alleys, mossy stone banks and charming scenery, Loc Yen ancient village is known as the land of "fairyland of blessings."

Home to many ancient houses from 100 to 200 years old, unique stone alleys, mossy rocky shores, and charming scenery, Loc Yen ancient village is known as the land of "fairyland of blessings."

Tree-lined stone alley in Loc Yen ancient village. (Photo: Thanh Hoa/Vietnam Pictorial)

As one of the 4 most beautiful ancient villages in Vietnam, Loc Yen ancient village (Tien Canh commune, Tien Phuoc district, Quang Nam province) is also known as the land of "fairyland of blessings".

I don't know if it's because the beauty of this place is like a fairyland or because the place name is associated with many fairy words, so people call this village "Fairyland." However, for whatever reason, the beautiful scenery in the ancient village will be enough to hold tourists back from their first visit. Because the unique terrain and climate have made the village even more beautiful.

According to documents, the ancient village of Loc Yen is associated with the reclamation and establishment of the village in the 15th-16th centuries. It was not until the Tay Son period (1771-1802) that Loc Yen village was officially born, with the initial name Loc An and later Loc Yen village. The village currently has a total natural area of ​​279 hectares, including 4 solidarity groups with 191 households and 896 people.

Currently, Loc Yen village still has about 50 ancient houses over 200 years old. Houses with wooden pillars, three-compartment stone walls, two wings with yin-yang tiled roofs hidden in lush green gardens... seem to maintain pure Vietnamese architecture, imbued with the regional identity of the ancient Quang people.

Loc Yen ancient village currently has many ancient houses made of wood that are more than 100 years old. (Photo: Thanh Hoa/Vietnam Pictorial)

Most of the houses here are built with their backs leaning against the mountain, facing the peaceful and spacious rice fields. In particular, the village is hidden in a circular valley, surrounded by mountains, with rivers and streams at the foot of the mountains, so the scenery here is always peaceful and fresh.

Spacious, airy brick courtyards, tall areca rows embracing beautiful deep stone walkways are easily recognizable features of the ancient houses here.

The houses are built in a combination of stone alleys and carefully manicured Chinese tea rows, creating the characteristics of Loc Yen village.

The harmonious combination of ancient houses, stone alleys, gardens, fields and winding paths creates a familiar and peaceful feeling for those who first step foot here. The ingenuity and sophistication in arranging the complex of ancient houses makes Loc Yen as poetic and beautiful as a charming picture.

Over many generations, the owners of the ancient houses here still maintain the simple lifestyle like many generations of their ancestors. That is also the factor that contributes to creating a quiet, pristine Loc Yen village, touching the bottom of the souls of tourists who want to find the cultural space of Vietnamese villages for generations.

In particular, the largest ancient house in Loc Yen village is nearly 200 years old, owned by Mr. Nguyen Dinh Suu's family. Today, the house has become a place frequently visited by many tourists.

A unique feature in Loc Yen is the stone alleys, stone banks, and ancient stone wells. In the past, people arranged stones to form embankments and stone alleys to keep the banks from being eroded by floods and rains, or to demarcate interconnected gardens.

In the past, there were many folk houses plastered with clay, mud mixed with straw according to the traditional method of the ancient Vietnamese, but the walls were plastered very flat like lime walls.

Neatly arranged stone steps form the path leading to the home yard. (Photo: Thanh Hoa/Vietnam Pictorial)

The unique feature of these stone fences and alleys is the art of arranging stones to create flat walls, without needing mortar or cement but still firmly connected, making stone walls protect the house.

The rocks are arranged alternately, creating a connection by angle and gravity, so it is quite solid. The time it takes to grow grass, flowers, and leaves in the cracks of the rocks, reaching out and clinging deeply to the rock and soil, makes the ancient houses, village roads, and fields so poetic.

People call Loc Yen a place that preserves a "miniature Vietnam" because this place fully converges the beautiful scenery of all three regions. That is the image of terraced fields of the Northwestern mountains, ancient villages of the North, fruit gardens of the South, and rivers and streams typical of the entire Central region.

In September 2019, Loc Yen was ranked a National Monument, becoming a destination in Quang Nam loved by many tourists. Visiting this small village, visitors will understand why this place has become one of the most beautiful villages in Vietnam. From the hundred-year-old houses, the village roads to the gardens, everything looks like it came out of a fairy tale painting./.

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Update day : 09/12/2023