page_title: Hằng Nga Guesthouse
section_title: Reception
hierarchical_section_title: Hằng Nga Guesthouse / Reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Hang Nga's "Crazy House" in Dalat, Vietnam
context_page_description: Hằng Nga guesthouse, popularly known as the “Crazy House”, is an unconventional building designed and constructed by Vietnamese architect Đặng Việt Nga in Đà Lạt, Vietnam.
  Described as a “fairy tale house”, the building's overall design resembles a giant tree, incorporating sculptured design elements representing natural forms such as animals, mushrooms, spider webs and caves. Its architecture, comprising complex, organic, non-rectilinear shapes, has been described as expressionist. Nga has acknowledged the inspiration of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí in the building's design, and visitors have variously drawn parallels between it and the works of artists such as Salvador Dalí and Walt Disney. Since its opening in 1990, the building has gained recognition for its unique architecture, being highlighted in numerous guidebooks and listed as one of the world's ten most “bizarre” buildings in the Chinese People's Daily.
context_section_description: The five-storey-high guesthouse has generated a great deal of attention and controversy since its inception, with reactions ranging from criticism and derision to open admiration. The house was dubbed the "Crazy House" by early visitors, a name which Dang soon adopted for the house herself.
  Visitors have generally responded positively to the house, describing it as "brave", "brilliant", "quintessentially cosmic", and lauding Nga for her vision and dedication to her work. One French tourist commented as follows:
  Local authorities, including the People's Committee of the city of Da Lat, opposed Nga's work on the house for many years, rejecting her proposals while citing concerns about its ad-hoc character, its lack of formal aesthetic and its structural integrity. With perseverance—and private funding from friends and family—Dang was nevertheless able to further develop and refine the house, and was eventually able to convince the national government in Hanoi to endorse her work, allowing her to continue building without restrictions.
  The building has been highlighted in numerous travel guidebooks: the third edition of Frommer's Vietnam, for example, called the guesthouse "an interesting, evolving piece of pop art", and "a fun visit". In 2009, the building was listed by the Chinese People’s Daily as one of the world's ten most “bizarre” buildings.
caption: Reactions to the guesthouse's unique architecture have been mixed.
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