KARUNA SHINSHO, CNN ANCHOR: In this week's postcards, we go to Hoi An in Vietnam, a town that seems to be trying to light up the world one visitor at a time. Terry Ozanich reports.</s>TERRY OZANICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four hundred years ago, the Vietnamese town of Hoi An was inhabited by traders from Japan, China and Vietnam. One tradition the three cultures shared was hanging lanterns outside their homes. More recently, the town was named a world cultural heritage site. Now helped by a government keen to profit from tourism, lantern making a comeback. However, some craftsmen admit, it was not an easy art to learn.</s>HUYNH NAV BAY, LANTERN MAKER (through translator): Frankly speaking, at first, my lanterns did not look very nice, but I could still sell them, because they were all handmade. I sold a lot of them at a very good price. My business started from those simple frames.</s>OZANICH: Thousands of tourists visit the town every year, and the lantern makers are proud of the distances their products are travelling.</s>TANG NGOC THU, LANTERN MAKER: What I'm doing now in Hoi An is like lighting the land. My lanterns now are also lighting many other parts of the world. They are present in all continents: in Australia, Britain, France America, and, in this region, in the Philippines and Malaysia.</s>OZANICH: However, Hoi An is not just about lanterns. The town also hosts traditional opera performances, poetry readings, and chess competitions. But, how many of those can visitors take home with them?</s>ERIC VERSEEF, DUTCH TOURIST: Well, we are definitely going to buy one of the lanterns and take it back home, because it's one of those things which is bringing the atmosphere here in this small town -- to just bring it back home and try to create the same atmosphere back home. Terry Ozanich, for INSIDE ASIA.
Vietnamese Town of Hoi An Shines With Famous Lanterns