Hoi An is a small city on the coast of the South China Sea in the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is located in the Quang Nam province and is home to approximately 88,000 inhabitants.

The city possessed the largest harbour in Southeast Asia in the 1st Century and was known as Champa City. Between the 7th and 10th centuries the Champas controlled the strategic "Spice Trade" and with this came tremendous wealth. The boats still used today in Hoi An probably have the same hull shape as those used by the Champas for ocean voyages. The former harbour town of the Champa people at the estuary of the Thu Bon river was an important Vietnamese trading centre in the 16th and 17th centuries, where Chinese from various provinces as well as Japanese, Dutch and Indians settled. During this period of the China trade, the town was called Hai Pho (Seaside Town) in Vietnamese. Originally Hai Pho was a divided town with the Japanese settlement across the "Japanese Bridge"(16th-17th century). The Japanese bridge (Pagoda Bridge) is a unique covered structure built by the Japanese, the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist pagoda attached to one side.

In 1999, the old town was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO as a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, with buildings that display a unique blend of local and foreign influences.

Today, Hoi An is still a small city, but it attracts a fair number of tourists, also being a well-established place on the backpacker trail. Many visit for the numerous art and craft shops and tailors, who produce made-to-measure clothes for a fraction of the western price.Several Internet cafés, bars and restaurants have opened along the riverfront. Hoi An is famed for its centuries old Cao Lau noodle, which can only be uniquely served here.