To understand how old Hanoi lived, step inside 87 Ma May — a beautifully preserved traditional tube house open as a heritage museum. Its clever, narrow design solved the puzzle of city living over a century ago.
1. What Is a Tube House?
Long and narrow, a tube house crams a shop, living quarters and courtyards into a slender plot. The design emerged because streetfront width was taxed, so homes grew backward instead.
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⏱️ 2 Hours
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2. Inside 87 Ma May
Restored to show 19th-century merchant life, the house leads you from the front shop through light-wells and courtyards to living and worship spaces — a complete world in a sliver of land.
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3. The Architectural Genius
Interior courtyards bring light and air deep into the narrow structure, while wooden screens and tiled roofs keep it cool. It's passive climate design centuries ahead of its time.
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4. Living & Working Under One Roof
The layout shows how family, commerce and worship coexisted — shopfront out front, ancestral altar within, courtyards to breathe. A blueprint repeated across the Old Quarter.
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5. Why Visit
It's a rare, quiet window into old Hanoi and the perfect primer before exploring the streets, where you'll now recognise the tube-house pattern everywhere.
6. Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is 87 Ma May?
A: A preserved 130-year-old traditional tube house, open as a heritage museum showing 19th-century Old Quarter merchant life.
Q: Is there an entrance fee?
A: Yes, a small ticket. It's inexpensive and one of the best value cultural stops in the Old Quarter.
Q: Why are Old Quarter houses so narrow?
A: Streetfront width was taxed, so houses grew long and thin backward, using courtyards for light and air — the 'tube house'.
