The home of the main character in French writer Marguerite Duras’s novel “The Lover” in Sa Dec town, Dong Thap province has been listed as one of Vietnam’s most impressive destinations by the Vietnam Federation of UNESCO Associations. 

The 119-year-old house owned by the Huynh Thuy family is famous for its unique architecture – a mixture of Southern Vietnamese, French and Chinese styles. The house witnessed the passionate love affair between Marguerite Duras - the well-known French writer who penned the famous novel L'Amant (The Lover) - and Huynh Thuy Le, a son of the Huynh Family. 

The wooden house was built in 1895. In 1917, Huynh Cam Thuan, the father of Huynh Thuy Le, rebuilt the house in the style of a French villa, using both Oriental and Western architectural elements. 

For more than 100 years, despite the destruction caused by time, the house remains beautifully intact. 

The novel L'Amant, set in Vietnam , has been translated into 43 languages and was made into a film of the same name by French director Jean Jacques Annaud in 1992. 

The famous novel and film have helped attract many tourists from France , the US , Australia , Japan , the Republic of Korea and the UK to the historic house in Dong Thap, which was named a national cultural-historic heritage site in 2009. 

The house is now included in tours designed by the Dong Thap Tourism JSC. In 2013, the number of European arrivals to the house increased by 20 percent compared with the previous year. 

Considering tourism development a key task in 2014, Dong Thap province has implemented a range of solutions to promote the house’s image and improve the quality of its services. 

Ngo Quang Tuyen, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the locality will focus investment in tourism infrastructure. 

The provincial tourism sector is also setting up hotlines and centres that will provide help to holiday-makers, he said.

VNA

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