Tran Van Ho’s ancient house is located at no. 18, Bach Dang street, Phu Cuong ward, Thu Dau Mot city, is a National Artistic Architecture Monument ranked on January 7th 1993.
Mr. Tran Van Ho (also called Dau) is a former French colonial Governor under French. His ancient house was built in 1890 in the shape of the Chinese letter “Dinh”. In the front yard are bonsai, rock-work and ornamental plants. The house is roofed by yin and yang tiles imbued with the traditional architecture of the Vietnamese people. The most salient feature of the house is carved patterns like unicorns, leaves, phoenixes and creepers. The style of the interior decorations with parallels, couplets and a worshipping cupboard also highlights the ancient beauty of the house.
The main materials to build these houses were precious timber, such as Cam lai (Dalbergia bariaensis Pierre), Giang huong (Pterocarpus macrocarpus) and Sen (Madhuca pasquieri H.J.Lam). Over time, this wood has become a shiny black that has combined with the red and gold colour of parallels and couplets and the shiny silver of mother-of-pearl. They highlight the beauty of the houses and show the prosperity and aristocracy of the house owners from the past. More importantly, the former owners of these houses knew to combine all factors of the traditional architecture of the Vietnamese people, creating harmony between the house and its surrounding landscape. Besides the aesthetic and architectural values, these houses reflect the cultural, economic and social factors of the upper classes in the 19th century. For this reason, these houses are considered a type of unique heritage in Vietnam.