Hoi An (Chữ Nôm: 會安), formerly known as Fai-Fo or Faifoo, is a city in Vietnam's Quang Nam Province. Minh Huong (明鄉) refers to descendants of Ming (明) Dynasty immigrants who settled in southern Vietnam during the 16th and 18th centuries, they left many relics in Hoi An.
Minh Huong Buddhist Temple (Minh Hương Phật Tự), it was built by Minh Huong in the late 18th century to worship their ancestors who had founded the Minh Huong village.
Han Chinese refugees numbering 3,000 came to Vietnam at the end of the Ming dynasty, they opposed the Qing (清) Dynasty and were fiercely loyal to the Ming dynasty.
The descendants of these Han Chinese became known as Minh Huong and they strongly identified as Chinese despite influence from Vietnamese mothers.
The ancestral hall next to Minh Huong Buddhist Temple was built by Hoa people, the later Chinese migrants to Vietnam during the Qing dynasty.
At present, most of Minh Hương adopt Vietnamese culture. They are regarded as Kinh people instead of Hoa people by the Vietnamese government. They also recognize themselves as Kinh people.
