Hen Dune

About this audio guide

This guide to Con Hen, a silt island in the Perfume River in Hue, follows the clam-fishing families said to have settled it under an eighteenth-century Nguyen lord, and the trade that still defines the island today. It traces how a working river became a playground too, from twice-yearly village boat races to the everyday rhythm of oars and rakes. You'll hear about the dragon-prowed racing boats. Best heard at the water's edge, where the racing course and the clam beds share the same stretch of river.