Google honors Vietnam’s Hoi An on its homepage

By Nguyen Quy   July 16, 2019 | 12:40 am PT
Google honors Vietnam’s Hoi An on its homepage
Hoi An ancient town is a popular tourist destination in Vietnam, attracting millions of foreign tourists every year. Photo by Shutterstock/Hong Anh.
The Google Doodle features the ancient town of Hoi An today, making it the first Vietnamese destination to be honored thus.

An image of Hoi An in central Vietnam with symbols of the Chua Cau (Pagoda Bridge) and colorful lanterns are Google’s logo for the day.

The Google Doodle is a special temporary presentation that commemorates holidays, events, achievements and people.

A screenshot from Google Doodle featuring Hoi An ancient on its homepage, July 16, 2019.

A screenshot from Google Doodle featuring Hoi An on its homepage, July 16, 2019.

Vietnamese celebrations like Tet (Lunar New Year Festival), the Mid-autumn Festival, Teachers’ Day, and Independence Day have all been featured on the search engine’s home page.

In Hoi An, the Pagoda Bridge, a national relic that appears on VND20,000 ($0.86) bills, has been an iconic landmark of the 400-year-old town.

The bridge was built in the early 17th century by Japanese traders who once made up a large part of the town’s population.

Colorful floating lanterns are also a distinct feature of the town, which hosts the lantern festival on the 14th day of each lunar month, when the lights of the town are switched off and the only light comes from the lanterns being floated on the river.

The ancient town of Hoi An was recognized as a UNESCO world cultural heritage site in 1998 and has become one of the top holiday destinations in Vietnam, attracting nearly five million visitors last year, including 3.7 million foreigners.

Hoi An has topped this year’s tourism hotspot listing by New York-based magazine Travel + Leisure.

Last year, Hoi An ranked second among the list of 10 safest and most exciting places on the earth for solo travelers by travel editors at Momondo, a U.K. based travel site.

British newspaper The Telegraph last year named Hoi An among world’s cheapest global destinations, citing the Post Office’s annual Long Haul Holiday Report.

Global readers of the American news network CNN listed the ancient town as one of the 16 best places in the world to relax in and get rid of stress.

 
 
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