The former harbour town of the Champa people at the estuary of the Thu Bon river was an important Vietnamese trading centre in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, where Chinese from various provinces as well as Japanese, Dutch and Indians settled down. During this period of the China trade, the town was called Hai Pho (Seaside Town) in Vietnamese. During the French colonial period (1883-1945), it was called Faifo.

Foreign merchant ships came to Hoi An in great numbers and a bustle for annually commercial fairs, each lasting from 4 to 6 months. Right in this town, Japanese, Chinese, Dutch, Indian traders set up their emporiums or established their own quarters for permanent habitation.

Thanks to fortunate opportunities, the old town of Hoi An, a unique concentration of architectural monuments of various forms: living house, assembly hall, communal house, pagoda, shrine, temple, water well, bridge, wharf, market...has been preserved rather intact. 

They are along the streets that cut one another, forming palaces and giving a good example of symbolic oriental cities in the Middle Age. So wonderful with its old aged and traditionally well kept habits and customs, the town is now an excellent model of a living museum of architecture and urban lifestyle.

On 4th, December 1999, it was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Today, Hoi An is still a small city, but it attracts a fair number of tourists, also being a well established place on the backpacker trail. Many visit for the numerous art and craft shops and tailors whom some of them are world reowned recognised for their craftmanship, who produce made-to-measure clothes for a fraction of the western price.

Several Internet cafes, bars and restaurants have opened along the riverfront. Some popular evening venues, especially with Western visitors, are Tam Tam's restaurant and bar, the Before and Now bar on Le Loi, the Mango restaurant as well as the Salsa on the other side of the river.  In addition, Hoi An City boasts one of the finest beach coast lines and resorts in Vietnam.

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