Thái Hưng Communal House

Thái Hưng Communal House, commonly known as Cầu Quan Communal House, is a thần đình (communal house dedicated to village tutelary deities) located in Phạm Ngũ Lão Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Although it is a thần đình, this communal house is better known in the history of cải lương (Vietnamese reformed theatre) as the residence and performance venue for many years of the Vĩnh Xuân troupe family.

The communal house was built in 1920, on land donated by Mr. Nguyễn Văn Bành and with contributions from the residents of the Cầu Muối area. The original name in chữ (classical script) was Thái Hưng, but as the đình was situated next to a bridge spanning a small canal (now a section of Yersin-Phạm Ngũ Lão street), popularly called Cầu Quan (the Official's Bridge), it became known as Cầu Quan Communal House.

Initially, the communal house was simply constructed, located on a mound in Tân Khai village, surrounded by muddy canals and ditches. Later, the canals and low-lying ponds were filled in, and the bridge was demolished, but to this day people still commonly refer to it as Cầu Quan Communal House.

The đình worships the thành hoàng (tutelary deity) of the former Tân Khai village, which was destroyed by the French colonialists to clear land for the construction of government offices, barracks, residences, and religious establishments for the colonial administration in Cochinchina. According to retrospective investigations, the village's imperial decree (sắc thần) was kept by Mr. Phủ Báu and passed down to his descendants, and is worshipped annually at the communal house on the 12th day of the second lunar month. In addition, the communal house also worships Tiền quân Nguyễn Văn Thành, former Governor of Bắc Thành under the Gia Long era.

After the Vĩnh Xuân troupe took up residence at the communal house, it was renovated and embellished many times, becoming a large communal house. The grounds were significantly expanded to include both the worship area and an enlarged Võ ca area (traditional performance space) for hát bội (classical Vietnamese opera) performances, as well as residential quarters for members of the hát bội troupe.

Currently, the grounds of the communal house have been considerably reduced due to many years of encroachment by local residents for housing. The encroached area has also been earmarked for clearance to build apartment blocks. Because many generations of artists have lived here, a large number of current residents are descendants of cải lương artists.

The communal house has undergone many repairs, the most recent being in September 2013. However, most of the old architecture no longer remains intact.

Also in the early 1920s, the Vĩnh Xuân hát bội troupe, led by bầu Thắng, was established. Initially, the troupe toured widely, but around 1925 they settled at Cầu Quan Communal House. From that time onwards, many generations of artists were born, grew up, and became famous here, such as Minh Tơ, Khánh Hồng (second generation), Thanh Tòng, Thanh Loan, Bạch Lê, Bạch Long, Thành Lộc (third generation), Tú Sương, Quế Trân (fourth generation), and others.