Hằng Nga Guesthouse

Nga has acknowledged the inspiration of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí in the building's design, and visitors have variously drawn parallels between it and the works of artists such as Salvador Dalí and Walt Disney.

Nga, daughter of Trường Chinh, who received a PhD in architecture from the University of Moscow, has stated that her overall design was inspired by the natural environment surrounding of the city of Da Lat, along with the work of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí.

[1][4][5] To help alleviate the financial burden associated with what was essentially a personal project—having accumulated upwards of VND 30 million in debt—Nga expanded the building into a guesthouse, and opened the house to paid visits by tourists in late 1990.

[3]Local authorities, including the People's Committee of the city of Da Lat, opposed Nga's work on the house for many years, rejecting her proposals while citing concerns about its ad-hoc character, its lack of formal aesthetic and its structural integrity.

With perseverance—and private funding from friends and family—Dang was nevertheless able to further develop and refine the house, and was eventually able to convince the national government in Hanoi to endorse her work, allowing her to continue building without restrictions.

[1][3] The building has been highlighted in numerous travel guidebooks: the third edition of Frommer's Vietnam, for example, called the guesthouse "an interesting, evolving piece of pop art", and "a fun visit".