Location: Binh Thuy Communal House, known in the past as Long Tuyen Communal House, is located in Binh Thuy Ward, Binh Thuy Dist., 5km from the centre of Can Tho City. Characteristics: On 9 November 1893, the communal house, which was built in 1844, was named Bon Canh Thanh Hoang by King Tu Duc. Then, the communal house has been rebuilt and was completely renovated in 1910.
The architecture of Binh Thuy Communal House is different from the communal houses in the North. The front and the back buildings are square, and each side has six rows of columns. All the bases of the columns are very wide, which make the buildings more stable. The roofs of the two front buildings were built overlapping each other.
The main sanctum, at the rear, has three roofs. The top of the roof is covered with ornamentation of people, lions, and fish transforming into dragons. In the front of the building, there are cement columns.
Inside the ancestor-worshipping house, there are altars which are dedicated to Nghi Ha and Nghi Trung. In the square house, there are altars dedicated to Huong Chuc, Tien Giac, and Hau Hien. The middle room dedicated to Hau Than is very close to the rear partition and Huu Ban and Ta Ban altars are on either side.
An opera house for performances of classical Vietnamese drama was built in front of the communal house.
Later, the communal house was also dedicated to the spirits of the land, such as Dinh Cong Trang, Nguyen Trung Truc, Bui Huu Nghia, and Vo Huy Tap.
Every year, the local people organize Thuong Dien (the land breaking) ceremony and Ha Dien (initiating farm work) ceremony in honour of Agriculture God. The festival involves many folk games, such as duck races, tug of wars, and cooking contests.
Can Tho City
Add: 93 Cach Mang Thang 8 St., Can Tho City
Tel: (84-292) 3889 889/ 0917 234 774
Add: 466 Cach Mang Thang 8 St., Binh Thuy Dist.
Tel: (84-292) 3885 822