Hai Ly Ruined Church

The church at Xuong Dien in Hai Ly was built in the nineteenth century well back from the sea, and it is now in it. The Nam Dinh coast here has been eroding for decades - the shoreline has moved inland by a considerable distance and villages have been relocated more than once - and by 1996 the sea had reached the church, which was abandoned. What stands is the bell tower and part of the front, roofless, salt-eaten and surrounded by water at high tide, with the rest gone. It has become a photographic subject, which is a strange afterlife for a building lost to coastal retreat.

What you actually see

• A church shell on the beach - abandoned to the sea in 1996.
• A coast that keeps retreating - villages moved more than once.
• A roofless tower and front - the rest of the building gone.
• Surrounded at high tide - the sea reaching the walls.

When to go

October to April; check the tide, which decides the view. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The structure is unsafe and going inside is unwise. The tide governs access to the base. The coast here is working fishing and salt ground rather than a resort. Storms have taken further parts of it.

Nearby

Hai Hau's other churches are inland; Nam Dinh is north-west.