Discover the unique Western house nearly a hundred years old on the top of the hill
(Baonghean.vn) - After nearly a century of existence, the Western house on the hilltop in Thanh Lien commune (Thanh Chuong) has seriously degraded, threatening the lives and safety of people.
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Just a few hundred meters from Giang market, on a low hill along National Highway 46C in Lien Truong hamlet, Thanh Lien commune, there exists a rather special house, which locals often call the Western house. The reason it is called the Western house is because this house was built by a Frenchman named Savange who used to "work as a tax collector in Thanh Chuong area" for his wife, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Duc, daughter of Mr. Nguyen Van Duom (Han Duom), a local. Photo: Huy Thu |
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Tay House was built in the 30s of the 20th century, is a reinforced concrete house with a unique architecture, the most unique in the area. The house has an area of about 200 m2, flat roof, four sides have porches supported by concrete columns. The house walls are poured concrete and then plastered on the outside. Photo: Huy Thu |
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The Western house was built in the style of a villa, with 3 interconnected rooms without dividing walls. Each room has 2 main doors facing each other in the front and back. There are 2 pairs of windows at the two gables. It is known that this house used to be the resting place of Mr. Savange and his wife whenever they visited their hometown and their plantation in Lac Son (now Da Son village, Thanh My commune, Thanh Chuong district). Photo: Huy Thu |
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In front and behind the house, on the middle room, there are 4 large Chinese characters. The 4 Chinese characters in front are "Di mou yen duc" which is said to come from the sentence "di quyet ton muu, di yen duc tu" (roughly translated: Passing on strategies to the grandchildren to make the children peaceful). The 4 Chinese characters in the back are "Mon ho sinh quang" which means the house door shines and radiates light. In the past, the house was located on top of a hill, surrounded by many tamarind trees, magnolia flowers, and crabapple trees. In front of the house, there is a path leading through the pine garden to the main road. Behind the house, there is a path down to the Giang River, all of which were elaborately built. Photo: Huy Thu |
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Next to the house is a water tank that can hold dozens of cubic meters of rainwater and is still intact. According to local people, after the August Revolution succeeded, the house was confiscated by the government. During the resistance war, from 1946 to 1947, this was the headquarters of the Nghe An Provincial Resistance Administrative Committee. From 1948 to 1952, the Tay house was the Duc Anh Institute, a place to raise orphans of cadres and families in difficult circumstances. The Tay house used to be a military warehouse, a place to temporarily detain French prisoners of war and American pilots. In the 1960s, the Tay house area was a school, then became a local food warehouse... Photo: Huy Thu |
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| For decades, the Tay house has been abandoned, leaving only the house with empty doors. Around the Tay house, there are many houses. In the summer, local people often come here to cool off. Some people even carry rice to dry on the ceiling. Photo: Huy Thu |
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After nearly a century of existence, the Tay house has seriously degraded, the walls and ceiling are crumbling, water seeps in, revealing rusty steel structures. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| In the middle of the West house there is a basement about 5m wide.2about 1.6m deep, covered with concrete. The old man living next to Tay's house, the great-grandson of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Duc, said that this cellar was used to store property in the house. Years ago, some strangers came to secretly carry the cellar cover up to dig underneath, causing the cover to break. Currently, walking on the cellar is quite dangerous, there is a risk of slipping and falling into the cellar. Photo: Huy Thu |
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Around this house, the concrete pillars are still quite intact, but the four brick pillars at the four corners have collapsed long ago, causing the structures above the ceiling to collapse at any time. Photo: Huy Thu |
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Behind the house, a large 3 meter long panel was about to fall down on the porch. Many people who used to live in the Tay house as well as curious visitors to the Tay house were worried because the deterioration of the house could cause accidents for people walking and playing under this structure. Photo: Huy Thu |