A 19th century Chinese Mu temple in historic Hoi An has won honors from UNESCO in its annual awards for outstanding cultural heritage conservation projects in the Asia-Pacific region.

The 2009 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation recognize the efforts needed to restore and conserve structures and buildings of heritage value in the region.

The oddly named Tang Family Chapel was among the four recipients of UNESCO’s Honorable Mention, which include the Academy of Visual Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University in Hong Kong, the Heritage Buildings in Cicheng Historic Town in China and the YWCA Lady Willingdon Hostel in Mumbai, India.

The shrine belongs to the Tang family, who, originally from China’s Fujian Province, migrated to Vietnam during the 18th century. A number of the family’s descendants went on to reach the top rungs of the public service ladder.

Although called a chapel - a moniker used for Christian denominated places of worship - the building is known as a Mu back in southern coastal Fujian.

The newly-refurbished temple is still in use by the family as a place to worship their ancestors, a tourist attraction as well as a key landmark in UNESCO-listed Hoi An.

“(It) is one of the typical wooden houses in Hoi An and it is under the care of the family’s descendants,” Tong Quoc Hung, who heads the preservation of historical relics in Hoi An, said.

“The restoration project cost VND537 million (US$30,107) with local authorities covering 60 percent of the project’s budget.”

The shrine has been competently repaired by specialists and craftsmen who are knowledgeable about traditional construction techniques, UNESCO commented on its website.

The project has employed a minimum intervention approach that emphasizes respect for the historic building materials and finishes.

The Tang Family Chapel was among the 13 projects honored in this year’s UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards out of 48 entries from 14 countries.

The entries include hotels, offices, cultural institutions, educational institutions, religious sites, public institutions, residential buildings and urban districts.

In 2000, a conservation project for Hoi An was awarded with UNESCO’s Excellent Project Award.

Also, a project to preserve six Vietnamese traditional folk houses was presented with the Award of Merit, part of the 2004 UNESCO Heritage Awards.

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