Mong Phu communal house is the meeting hall and shrine of Mong Phu, the central hamlet of Duong Lam. It was built in 1684, in the reign of Emperor Le Hy Tong, and it is still where the hamlet worships its guardian spirit and holds its festival in the first ten days of the first lunar month.
The old village gate a few minutes away is where most visits begin: a small gate with a house-like roof of two tiled slopes, standing on the road into the hamlet.
Start where the village starts
Your guide begins at the gate and explains the communal house before the coach groups arrive.
★Duong Lam Half-Day Private TourThe laterite lanes, a 400-year-old house and a che lam kitchen, with your own guide · About 5.5 hoursSee the tour →Duong Lam & Thay Pagoda Day TourDuong Lam in depth, lunch cooked in an old house, then the pagoda where water puppetry began · About 9 hoursSee the tour →The village gate
Northern Vietnamese village gates often have a raised pavilion; Mong Phu’s is simpler, built in the style of a house above a gate, with two tiled roof slopes over the passage. It once had four doors and was rebuilt with two in the 20th century. Banyan and bamboo stand in front of it and a lotus pond lies beside it.
The ticket booth is next to the gate, so this is where you pay 20,000 VND (~$1) and where your visit naturally starts.
Inside the communal house
The complex has a ceremonial gate, a courtyard and a main hall flanked by two side buildings. The hall has no surrounding walls, only open wooden railings, and it rests on a raised wooden floor, a trace of stilt-house building shared with the Muong people of the nearby hills. Dozens of great wooden columns carry the roof, and the beams are carved with dragons and phoenixes.
The courtyard sits lower than the land around it. When it rains, water collects and drains out through two channels on either side, which locals liken to a dragon’s whiskers; the village says the hall stands on the dragon’s head.
The well and the banyan
In front of the communal house is the old village well, lined with laterite, and an ancient banyan. Well, banyan and communal house are the three signs of a traditional northern village, and here all three survive together.
See it with the stories
Our guides start every Duong Lam day at the gate and communal house.
Duong Lam Half-Day Private TourAbout 5.5 hoursSee the tour →Duong Lam & Thay Pagoda Day TourAbout 9 hoursSee the tour →Festival and visiting times
The hamlet’s festival runs from the 1st to the 10th day of the first lunar month, with offerings, processions and games. It is a joyful time to visit and a busy one. On ordinary days the hall is open in daytime and quiet in the early morning.
For the rest of the village, see our Duong Lam visitor guide and why it is built of laterite.
Questions people ask
When was Mong Phu communal house built?
In 1684, during the reign of Emperor Le Hy Tong of the Later Le dynasty.
Is the communal house included in the ticket?
Yes, the village ticket covers it; donations inside are optional.
When is the Mong Phu festival?
From the 1st to the 10th day of the first lunar month, around Tet.
Begin your Duong Lam day at the gate
Private car and licensed guide, every fee settled, free to cancel until 3 days before.
★Duong Lam Half-Day Private TourThe laterite lanes, a 400-year-old house and a che lam kitchen, with your own guide · About 5.5 hoursfrom$45/ person›
Choose your group size · price is the group totalSolo traveller$165BOOK →2 guests$170BOOK →3 guests$175BOOK →4 guests$180BOOK →See the full tour page →Duong Lam & Thay Pagoda Day TourDuong Lam in depth, lunch cooked in an old house, then the pagoda where water puppetry began · About 9 hoursfrom$93/ person›
Choose your group size · price is the group totalSolo traveller$275BOOK →2 guests$305BOOK →3 guests$340BOOK →4 guests$370BOOK →See the full tour page →Dates and architectural details from Vietnamese heritage sources, checked September 2026.