The City of Lanterns shimmers along the Thu Bon River, where centuries old timber houses and winding alleys seem frozen between past and present. Hoi An has drawn travellers for over 2000 years, its history etched in buried ceramics and whispered legends. Beneath the glow of lanterns, the streets still carry the energy of centuries of trade, daily life and the people who shaped the town into the vibrant place it is today.

Originally known as Wangcun, this stunning 2000 year old village began as a sleepy Tujia ethnic settlement, nestled deep within the rugged cliffs of western Hunan Province. Established during the Han Dynasty, it was once little more than a modest cluster of wooden dwellings, with smoke curling gently from hearth fires and echoes of ancestral chants reverberating across the canyon.