The antique beauty of the old house blends seamlessly with the garden, creating a serene and tranquil atmosphere. Photo: VNA

Home to heritage wooden houses

The traditional wooden house is preserved and maintained in intact conditions. Photo: VNA

 The village is now home to 40 traditional wooden houses aged between 100 and 300 years. They share a common architectural lineage, built by master carpenters from famed My Xuyen carpentry village using sturdy frames joined with pegs and mortise techniques, without iron nails.

Phuoc Tich village communal house. Photo: VNA

Crossbeams, decorative doors, rafters and roof trusses are carved with fine motifs and patterns drawn from ancient Vietnamese culture.

Inside an ancient traditional house in Phuoc Tich village. Photo: VNA

Each house follows a Hue-style layout with gateways, gardens, ponds, decorative screens and trimmed hedges. Visitors touring the homes get a briefing on their architecture, cultural significance and history.

A pottery kiln still preserved in Phuoc Tich ancient village. Photo: VNA

Beyond the wooden dwellings, the village holds a rich mix of spiritual and religious structures, including communal houses, pagodas and shrines.

Tourism push

Phuoc Tich’s landscape blends into its natural surroundings, wrapped in bamboo groves and centuries-old trees. Homes and lanes, separated not by walls but by lush green hedges, create an uninterrupted swath of green and an open settlement pattern typical of Vietnam’s north-central countryside.

Ancient lychee trees are closely associated with traditional wooden houses. Photo: VNA

Cultural researcher Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Manh said it is exceptionally rare for a village in central Vietnam, a region battered by prolonged war and bombing, to have preserved its ancient structures, temples, and trees as remarkably as Phuoc Tich.

A space of traditional wooden house in Phuoc Tich village. Photo: VNA

The village was recognised as a National Heritage Village in 2009. Seventeen years on, it has made progress in both conservation and tourism. From 2024 through late 2025, the village welcomed more than 50,000 visitors, generating over 3.2 billion VND (123,000 USD) in tourism revenue.

The walls separating the houses are lined with rows of lush green tea plants, creating a verdant space for the ancient village of Phuoc Tich. Photo: VNA

 Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Deputy Director of the Public Service Centre of Phong Dinh ward (Hue city), said the village now offers nine tourism service categories engaging about 40 local residents, including heritage house tours, food services, bicycle rentals, guided tours, pottery demonstrations, traditional cake-making, and folk cultural exchanges.

Among the preserved ancient houses, 11 now welcome visitors, four run homestays, and four offer culinary experiences.

To bring in more arrivals, local authorities have been working with over 40 travel agents and schools that arrange educational and experiential tours to Phuoc Tich.

Local authorities are also planning to step up training for residents and guides, develop new tourism products and improve homestay services. The aim is for visitors to do more than sightsee and stay, but immerse themselves in the village’s cultural identity and local hospitality, spreading Phuoc Tich’s image across Vietnam and beyond./.