Luckily the Vietnam War left this old riverside town in central Vietnam undamaged. More than 2,000 years old, it once was a station of the maritime Silk Road. In its heyday (16th until 19th centuries) Japanese and Chinese seafarers settled here to trade silk and porcelain. Dutch, Portuguese, Siamese, Chinese and other trading vessels called at this legendary port until the Thu Bon-river which links Hoi An with the sea silted up and became impassable. Hoi An became a Sleeping Beauty. Its hibernation endured the war and the hard times of socialism and lasted until the wake up-call of tourism brought a new era to this ancient town. (Today Hoi An is a picturesque showpiece of Vietnamese and Colonial architecture that retains a sense of history.)