An old house in Dong Thap allows a peek into the opulence and romance that inspired The Lover, a novel by Marguerite Duras. 

The 258 square meter Huynh Thuy Le House was built in 1895 by Huynh Cam Thuan, a wealthy Chinese businessman, on the banks of the Sa Dec River, Dong Thap Province. The house, on 255A Nguyen Hue Street, combines Chinese architecture with some Western elements. 

When Thuan passed away, his youngest son, Huynh Thuy Le, inherited the house, and it was named after him.

Besides its architectural features and artifacts that reflect the luxurious lifestyle of a very wealthy person many years ago, the house acquired added interest with Le’s love story.

By chance, Le met Marguerite Duras, a writer, on a ferry in 1929. Le's father did not approve of their relationship and his will prevailed. After the writer returned to France, Le married a Vietnamese woman. Duras turned their relationship into an autobiographical novel, The Lover.

The work was awarded the Goncourt prize, France's top literature award and translated into 43 languages. It was later adapted into an eponymous film starring Hong Kong actor Tony Leung.

The love story attracts many tourists to Sa Dec. For nearly 10 years, the Huynh Thuy Le house has allowed visitors to stay there for VND550,000 ($24) per room per night, inclusive of breakfast and lunch.

The house has only two bedrooms, so reservations are required. In the fully equipped bedrooms, the The Lover is pre-set on TV. For those who only want to visit the place, the admission fee is VND20,000 ($0.86) per person.

On the roof of the house, the intricately carved reliefs are still intact.

The house's arches have a 17th-century Roman design with engraved patterns of flowers, plants and birds.

The house is reminiscent of a French villa. The floor level from the outside gets inclines downward gradually towards the center of the house, reflecting the feng shui practice that signifies money flowing into the house.

The house has three spaces with doors, pillars, altars painted in gold color with phoenix carvings. The altar of Quan Cong, a Chinese general (196–247 or 198–249, according to Wikipedia), is placed in the middle of the house.

Carvings of different creatures stand out in the living room. The gold color represents the nobility of the home owner.

On the wall are many family photos, including the portrait of Huynh Thuy Le and his wife.

Much of the house's interior is intact, including the the furniture, watch, mirror and chandelier.

A set of teapot, dishes, cups that is about as old as the house itself is still in the cupboard.

Behind the altar of Quan Cong, there are two bedrooms on either side. In the middle of the corridor is a wooden bed bench.

After Le died, his children left the country and settled abroad. The house was requisitioned as a police headquarters until 2007 when it was repurposed as a touristic spot. It welcomes tens of thousands of foreign visitors every year, a lot among them from the Francophone community.

The ancient house was certified as a provincial monument in 2008 and a national monument in 2009.