It’s located on the second floor of a big French-style house. To reach his house, we have to go up an old murky wooden stair, passing by some families who share tiny rooms. Passing by a lot of hanging clothes on a balcony, we arrive at a house with flowers blossoming outside, my grandfather’s house.
The house has Chinese-style architecture. Inside the house, the furniture has become darker and glossier with the passing years. Every morning, my grandfather cleared the dust covering the chairs with a chicken feather brush, and then went outside to drink tea among the flower pots. He was proud of his house. The city is proud of his house. His house is named in the list of old Hanoi houses that need to be conserved.
But that was the situation 5 years ago. When I returned more recently, the house door was locked. Part of the house had been turned into a modern kitchen. When I called my aunt to ask about the house, she said she has had no time to take care of it. “Many things are getting old and are on the verge of ruin. We have to destroy to rebuild”, she explained.
My grandfather passed away 3 years ago, taking with him the soul of the house.
Most foreigners who visit Viet Nam are attracted by the Ha Noi’s Old Quarter, where my grandfather’s house is located. The houses in the Old Quarter were built in the 18th or 19th century. They are charming with their mossy roof tiles and ancient small shapes. But one might not know that the people who own those houses have to live in poor and cramped conditions. Maybe 10 or more people of different generations live in 8 – 12 square meters. Eight households share an old toilet. The owner of an old house told me that he loves his house, but he needs more space for his children and his business. Gradually, they renovate their houses and change them into new styles, generally in a tube shape. The roof tiles turn into a flat cement roof.
Over time, house styles evolve. The number of old houses remaining shrinks amid the modern mixed architecture. City authorities ban modernizing them, but they don’t provide the money needed to maintain them. As a result, the houses are slowly deteriorating. One time, we heard a house was ruined. Another time, a house caught fire…
Taking photos of our Old Quarter might be the only way to preserve the deepest beauty of Ha Noi?
