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The Japanese Bridge in Vietnam, Hoi An, Ancient Town.

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The morning comes to Hoi An, an ancient Vietnamese town.

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The city is in central Vietnam.

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It began receiving foreign trading ships during the late 16th century.

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In the 17th century, Japanese merchants sailed here aboard shu-in-sen,

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ships granted permission to trade overseas by the Japanese shogunate government.

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In the 18th century, Chinese people started to settle here

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and built houses that are still part of the cityscape.

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Houses were built with a narrow shop front and a small front entrance

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to allow as many merchants as possible.

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One of the old bridges in Hoi An is called the Japanese Bridge.

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It was originally built by the Japanese and later rebuilt by the Chinese.

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The bridge is also known as Lai Vien Bridge.

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It converts a bridge of friends from faraway countries.

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At first sight, it resembles pictures from the early Edo period

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when Japanese merchants came here to trade for silk and spices.

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Several hundred Japanese lived here and created a Japanese quarter.

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Most of the remaining old town was built by the Chinese.

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This is a typical single-story house built over 150 years ago.

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Here, triple-layered beams add great character to the building.

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Successive masters of this house have taken care of it

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by regularly applying resin to the surface

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before the beginning of the new Chinese New Year.

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The house is narrow and long, extending past the inner garden and deep into the rear.

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These houses are similar to the merchant houses in Kyoto in Japan.

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The kitchen is at the farthest end of the house.

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As the number of foreign visitors increases,

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many people are thinking about repairing their old houses.

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Renovation requires special skills and is expensive.

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To keep tradition alive,

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old timber building parts are taken out and reused where possible.

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The same kind of wood must also be used when new parts are made.

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People on bicycles now have to push their bikes across the Japanese bridge.

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The people of Hoi An now think seriously

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about protecting their traditional heritage and culture.