A distinctive feature of Trà Quế Traditional Vegetable Farming Village – Hội An is that the crop varieties grown here are primarily indigenous, preserved and maintained for hundreds of years…
Trà Quế Traditional Vegetable Farming Village – Hội An, located in Cẩm Hà Commune (now under Tây Hội An Ward, Đà Nẵng City), lies about 2.5 kilometers north of Hội An’s center. The village resembles a river islet, embraced by the Để Võng River and Trà Quế Lagoon. When mentioning the name Trà Quế, the first association is its renowned traditional vegetable farming craft, which has existed for centuries and is closely tied to the formation and development of this land.
OUTSTANDING VALUES OF TRÀ QUẾ TRADITIONAL VEGETABLE FARMING VILLAGE – HỘI AN
Trà Quế is a land that was established quite early. Archaeologists have discovered traces of the Sa Huỳnh Culture here dating back 2,000 years. From the place name Trà Quế to relics such as Bà Yàng Temple and the ancient stone well, not only do these sites recall the imprint of the Cham people in history, but together with numerous historical, cultural, and revolutionary relics of the Vietnamese in Trà Quế, they also testify to the long-standing and continuous historical journey of the community residing in this land.
According to various historical sources, more than 300 years ago, the first Vietnamese settlers — belonging to the Phạm, Mai, Nguyễn, and Lê families — came to settle in the land of Trà Quế, followed later by the Trần and Hồ families. In the beginning, the residents mainly earned their livelihood by fishing and shrimping on the river.
During their daily life, they discovered that cooking certain wild vegetables with shrimp, crab, and fish created a particularly delicious flavor, so they brought these plants home to cultivate for regular use. Through creativity and hard work, some villagers began clearing more land to grow vegetables and rice. From there, beds of coriander and basil appeared, followed by perilla, scallion, mustard greens, chives, and many other vegetables.
Thanks to being cultivated on soil highly suitable for farming, together with careful cultivation techniques, the vegetables not only thrived but also developed a distinctive aromatic and flavorful taste. For this reason, Trà Quế gradually became a vegetable-growing village renowned far and wide.
HISTORY OF FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT
In history, the place name Trà Quế was also known as Nhự Quế, Thanh Quế, or Nhà Quế. According to local folklore, around the 18th century, a king once traveled along the Đế Võng River and stopped by the village. After tasting a kind of vegetable, he found its fragrance similar to tea (trà) and its spiciness akin to cinnamon (quế). Impressed, he named the vegetable village Trà Quế.
In the land register of Thanh Hà, compiled in the 17th year of Gia Long’s reign (1818), the name Trà/Nhà Quế was also recorded. Thus, at the latest by the early 19th century, the place name Trà Quế had already appeared.
In the Quảng Nam Village Records, compiled by the École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO) in the 1940s, the Thanh Hà village produce was described as follows: “Thanh Hà Village has an area of over 700 mẫu, with about 5,000 residents including both locals and outsiders. The specialties of this village are particularly fresh vegetables, rice, sweet potatoes, and cassava. Apart from fresh vegetables, which are produced in surplus, the other crops were not sufficient for the villagers’ consumption. The characteristic crafts of this village include tile-making, brick-making, and pottery. The village also engaged in fishing, though only in a simple manner, and farming occupied about half of the village’s activities. Besides these main occupations, there were other trades, but they were of little significance.”
This demonstrates that in the past, vegetable farming was virtually the primary occupation for the village’s economic development. During the resistance wars against the French and the Americans, Trà Quế served as an important revolutionary base for the army and people of Cẩm Hà Commune and Hội An Town. To evade enemy surveillance, the people of Trà Quế farmed vegetables by day and dug shelters to hide and protect cadres by night.
The baskets of Trà Quế vegetables not only sustained families but also nourished soldiers and revolutionaries. The fragrance of Trà Quế vegetables carries not only the essence of the sea, the wind, the sand, and the seaweed of Trà Quế Lagoon, but also the sweat, tears, and even the blood of the people of Trà Quế, who sacrificed to defend, preserve, and build this land.
THE PERIOD FROM 1975 TO THE PRESENT
After 1975, the residents of Trà Quế Traditional Vegetable Farming Village – Hội An began rebuilding and restoring their homeland, reclaiming and improving farmland for crops, gradually stabilizing their lives and developing the economy through their traditional vegetable farming craft. Infrastructure was progressively improved, and the living standards of the villagers were increasingly enhanced.
By 2001, Hội An Town (now Hội An City) had planned and developed a concentrated vegetable production area covering a total of 15 hectares. At present, Trà Quế Vegetable Village has 207 households specializing in vegetable farming, with a workforce of 345 laborers
The cultivated vegetable land area has been expanded to 18 hectares. In 2018, vegetable yield reached 792 tons with a production value of 10.73 billion VND. The average monthly income of vegetable growers and service providers was about 4.4 million VND per person.
According to statistics, Trà Quế Traditional Vegetable Farming Village – Hội An produces around 55 types of vegetables. Among them, certain varieties such as hành hương (fragrant shallot), rau diếp (local lettuce), xà lách son (watercress), and rau húng dài (long basil) have disappeared. The remaining varieties, however, have been well preserved and continue to thrive, with quality being increasingly improved.
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES AND FOLK KNOWLEDGE
In addition to preserving traditional farming methods throughout the vegetable cultivation process — from seed selection and preservation to sowing, tending, harvesting, and distribution — the villagers have accumulated valuable experience, adjusting their techniques and production practices to yield vegetables that are safe for consumers, of high quality, and less time-consuming to produce.
The folk knowledge accumulated over generations is reflected in every stage of production, embodying the meticulousness and diligence of hardworking farmers who pour their devotion into each bed of vegetables. These experiences are not the property of any single individual but rather the shared heritage of the entire community, resulting in common production practices that few other craft villages can achieve with such harmony.
Over generations, thanks to favorable soil conditions and appropriate cultivation and care techniques — particularly the use of nutrient-rich green manure made from seaweed in Trà Quế Lagoon and the Để Võng River — the vegetables here have developed an exceptionally unique fragrance and flavor.
Each type of vegetable has its own distinct form and taste. Their appearance and size differ from those grown elsewhere: the leaves are smaller and thicker, the plants are shorter yet sturdier, and above all, the vegetables are remarkably aromatic with a more intense flavor. They are tender and mild, melting softly in the mouth without being fibrous.
When mixed together, the vegetables create a harmonious blend of five flavors: spicy, sweet, bitter, sour, and astringent. To prepare the most delicious dishes, the locals carefully select suitable varieties of vegetables and adjust the proportions to taste.
Trà Quế is home to distinctive vegetables that every visitor must taste, such as basil, perilla, baby mustard greens, chives, and more. These vegetables are not only part of the daily family meals but also indispensable ingredients that enhance the deliciousness of local specialties such as tam hữu (three friends spring rolls), ram cuốn (fried spring rolls), mỳ Quảng (Quảng-style noodles), cao lầu, and bánh xèo (Vietnamese savory pancakes).
Beyond their culinary value, Trà Quế vegetables also serve as traditional folk remedies, believed to help treat colds, chills, rashes, and various seasonal ailments.
INDIGENOUS CROP VARIETIES AND CONSERVATION EFFORTS
Another outstanding feature of Trà Quế vegetables is that the crop varieties grown here are primarily indigenous, preserved and maintained for hundreds of years. For seed-bearing plants, the seeds are characteristically small and firm, while for those propagated by cuttings or branches, the stems are sturdy, slender, and highly aromatic.
The local people always place great importance on preserving these traditional varieties because of their superior qualities: distinctive fragrance, suitability to the local soil, resistance to pests and diseases, and stable yields. Safeguarding these traditional varieties is not a simple task but rather a long-term process requiring deep attachment to the craft, along with careful cultivation and attentive care, to ensure the sustainable preservation of the seed stock.
After the process of reviewing and appraising the dossier, on April 4, 2022, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism issued Decision No. 784/QĐ-BVHTTDL announcing the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage. In this decision, Trà Quế Traditional Vegetable Farming Village – Hội An, located in Cẩm Hà Commune, Hội An City, Quảng Nam Province, was inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List under the categories of Folk Knowledge and Traditional Craftsmanship.
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