[3][4] Old Town Hội An, the city's historic district, is recognized as a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century, its buildings and street plan reflecting a blend of indigenous and foreign influences.

[14]: 86–87, 205  In 1471, Emperor Lê Thánh Tông of Đại Việt annexed Champa[15] and Hội An became a Vietnamese territory, and also became the capital of Quảng Nam Province.

[16]: 23 In 1535, Portuguese explorer and sea captain António de Faria, coming from Đà Nẵng, tried to establish a major trading centre at the port village of Faifo.

Captain William Adams, the English sailor and confidant of Tokugawa Ieyasu, is known to have made one trading mission to Hội An in 1617 on a Red Seal Ship.

[citation needed] The city also rose to prominence as a powerful and exclusive trade conduit between Europe, China, India, and Japan, especially for the ceramic industry.

[20] Hội An's importance waned sharply at the end of the 18th century because of the collapse of Nguyễn rule, which resulted from the Tây Sơn Rebellion - which was opposed to foreign trade.

[16]: 28  Then, with the triumph of Emperor Gia Long, he repaid the French for their aid by giving them exclusive trade rights to the nearby port town of Đà Nẵng.

[citation needed] The efforts to revive the city were only done in the 1990s by a Polish architect and conservator from Lublin and influential cultural educator, Kazimierz Kwiatkowski, who finally brought back Hội An to the world.

[citation needed] In 1999 the old town was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, with buildings that display a blend of local and foreign influences.

[32] Owing to the increased number of tourists visiting Hoi An a variety of activities are emerging that allow guests to get out of the old quarter and explore by motorbike, bicycle, kayak, or motorboat.

[33][failed verification] This longtime trading port city offers a distinctive regional cuisine that blends centuries of cultural influences from East and Southeast Asia.

Hoi An hosts a number of cooking classes where tourists can learn to make Cao lầu or braised spiced pork noodle, a signature dish of the city.

Between 1996 and 1999, nearly three hundred thousand artifacts were recovered by the excavation teams, that included the Vietnamese National Salvage Corporation and Oxford University's Marine Archaeology Research Division.

[39] The Museum of History and Culture, at 13 Nguyen Hue St, was originally a pagoda, built in the 17th century by Minh Huong villagers to worship the Guanyin, and is adjacent to the Guan Yu temple.

[40] The Hoi An Folklore Museum, at 33 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, was opened in 2005, and is the largest two-storey wooden building in the old town, at 57m long and 9m wide, with fronts at Nguyen Thai Hoc St and Bach Dang St. On the second floor, there are 490 artifacts, organised into four areas: plastic folk arts, performing folk arts, traditional occupations and artifacts related to the daily life of Hoi An residents.

The items originating from Persia, China, Thailand, India and other countries are proof of the importance of Hội An as a major trading port in South East Asia.

[46] Cao lầu is a signature dish of the town, consisting of rice noodles, meat, greens, bean sprouts, and herbs, most commonly served with a small amount of broth,[47] with a strong resemblance to Japanese udon.

[51] To celebrate sister city status with Wernigerode, Germany, selected residents of Hội An lead a replica of the lantern festival as a sign of respect towards Vietnam-Germany relations.