Photos of Hoi An taken by a Dutch photographer about 30 years ago are now becoming the locals' "family album." When photos of Hoi An's Old Quarter taken in June 1997 byFrank van den Berghe (76)の写真がSNSで広まると、写真の中に自分や亡き親族の姿を見つけた住民が次々と名乗り出た。観光地になる前のホイアンを写した1枚が、約30年（29年）の時を越えて人をつないでいる。
約30年前のホイアンが甦った
What Frank shot was daily life: the Japanese Covered Bridge (Chua Cau), Bach Dang Street, in front of the Ceramics Museum, people selling mi quang at stalls, people fishing in the river. It's a scene of simple living, different from today's Hoi An bustling with tourists. When the photos were released, local reactions spread, "this is my grandmother," "this is the man next door."
The family found within the photos
Tran Thi Du (41), a Hoi An resident, spoke about the lives of the people in the photos and the customs of the time. Her grandchild Do Ngoc found in the photos the figure of her grandmother Huynh Thi Mai, who used to sell smoked fish by the river, and was moved. There too was "Old Man Thoi," a neighbor of Du's family who used to fish in a small boat. It was a moment when lost time returned to the family's hands in a single photo.
Hoi An before it became a tourist destination
According to Frank, Hoi An in 1997 wasn't accustomed to English being common or to receiving international tourists. He was refused when buying gasoline because the language didn't get through, and was puzzled by pricing born of unfamiliarity. Even so, the photos of that time record the people's expressions and the town's true face. It's another face of today's Hoi An, known as a World Heritage site.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Photographer | Frank van den Berghe (Netherlands, age 76) |
| When photographed | June 1997 |
| Where photographed | Hoi An Old Quarter (the Japanese Covered Bridge, Bach Dang Street, and others) |
| Response | Spreading on social media, residents found late family and neighbors |
From old photos that connect, to today's Hoi An
ランタンの街並みを歩くとき、その路地に積み重なった暮らしの時間を思うと、旅の景色は少し違って見える。次にホイアンを訪れたら、写真に残された約30年前の街並みを重ねて歩いてみたい。
Related reading:
・Hoi An's "Thanh Ha pottery village" tops 250,000 a year — 95% of visitors are foreign, transformed over a quarter century
・The man who created Hoi An's "folding lantern" — half a century of the over-90-year-old craftsman Huynh Van Ba
・"Art Meets Gastronomy" on Da Nang's Son Tra Peninsula — a gourmet festival gathering Michelin 3-star chefs
Source:VnExpress
