The owner of the old house is named Sung Nhia Lung, a wealthy man in the area. However, later on, because his descendants drank and gambled, he sold the house to Mr. Than's family, also a Mong (from Dong Van town, Ha Giang) and since then the house has become a homestay, as well as a tourist attraction for tourists coming to Dong Van.
The Homestay Ancient House is a rammed earth house with 3 walls, the front is covered with planks, the sides and back are made of earth. It keeps the heat in the winter and the summer cool because the walls are 50cm thick, very good insulation, the sun cannot penetrate.
The house is roofed with yin-yang tiles, the ancient type of tile that the Mong people still use to build houses.
The exterior of the house is decorated with calcite stone tables and chairs that date back to the creation of the world.
Stepping into the door of an ancient Mong house, visitors will see amulets to pray for good luck and ward off evil spirits.
The most special thing about this house is that it has no rafters but only beams and columns. This is an ancient architectural style found only in the houses of the wealthy Mong people.
The entire house is made of red pine, a type of wood that very few houses can own today. Because red pine only grows on high rocky mountains, it is very difficult to exploit. To build a house, the wood must be thousands of years old.
The house is divided into 3 rooms and 2 floors. 2 rooms for sleeping and 1 room for receiving guests.
The lower floor is decorated with ethnic costumes: Lo Lo, Mong, Tay, Pa Then, Thai, Hoa and ethnic musical instruments such as Mong flute, Thai Tinh lute, guitar.
Behind the house is a Mong kitchen, where on winter days, tourists often gather around the fire and play musical instruments, sharing warm cups of corn wine. During Tet, the Mong kitchen will have buffalo meat on the stove and Chinese sausage on the stove. On normal days, Mr. Than will dry sticky rice and corn. In addition, there are some fossilized rocks, which tourists can see directly with their own eyes at home.
Behind the Mong kitchen is a traditional wooden handcrafted wine distillery. Here, Mr. Than will brew corn wine with yeast leaves to invite visitors from far away. Next to the wine distillery is a vegetable garden with all kinds of flowers and crops, serving meals to tourists.
Nowadays, this ancient house has become an extremely attractive homestay. Tourists to Dong Van often choose Nha Co homestay to experience the traditional cultural beauty of the Mong people. At this resting place, Mr. Than's family also has some local specialties such as do trong honey, tam that, corn wine, hung lap and sausage, dried beef, which tourists can buy as gifts for relatives.
This is not only a place for tourists to rest, but also a place for exchange and learning for many artists.
