View over houses into harbor with fishing boats at Hoi An

Several fishing boats are moored in the harbor at at Hoi An. Orange tile roofs are visible in the foreground and coconut palms can be seen on the far shore of the harbor. Hoi An is a fishing village that has been a stop on the merchant ship trade route since at least the 1700s. Coastal ports throughout Southeast Asia developed starting in the first millennium A.D. as maritime trade routes expanded between China and India.