NO BAN COMMUNAL HOUSE

No Ban Communal House is located in No Ban Village, Hong Van Commune, Hanoi City, formerly part of Van Tao Commune, Thuong Tin District. The communal house lies within the traditional rural setting of No Ban and is closely associated with the cultural, religious, and community life of local residents. The relic was ranked as an architectural and artistic relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 2001.

No Ban Communal House worships Cao Son Dai Vuong as the village tutelary deity. According to materials at the relic, the people of No Ban revere Cao Son Dai Vuong as a protective deity who safeguards the village community. In addition, the communal house also jointly worships two local doctoral laureates, Nguyen Duc and Nguyen Toan, men of merit and contribution to their homeland.

Regarding architecture, the communal house has main components including Nghi mon (gate), Ta mac (left wing), Huu mac (right wing), Dai bai (main hall), and Hau cung (rear sanctuary). The Dai bai building consists of 5 bays, with a wooden structure, a roof covered with ri tiles, and brick-ended gable walls. The truss sets are crafted with many rich forms of carving, notably dragon imagery in the artistic style of the Later Le period and the 18th century. Some dau du (beam ends) are carved with dragon heads, and the rường cốn panels feature lively dragons executed with exquisite raised relief carving techniques.

The communal house currently preserves many valuable artifacts such as a dragon throne, ancestral tablets in the Le artistic style, a palanquin of the Nguyen period, phong statues, horizontal lacquered boards, and scroll boards. In particular, about 30m northwest of the communal house is a stele house preserving a stone stele dated to the 14th year of Vinh Thinh (1718), recording the life and career of the two doctoral laureates Nguyen Duc and Nguyen Toan.

With historical, architectural, artistic, and religious values, No Ban Communal House is a typical cultural work of the locality and also a place preserving the historical memory and studious tradition of No Ban Village. In 2024, the relic was restored and embellished, contributing to preserving the traditional cultural space and promoting the heritage value in community life.