The Rong communal houses of Vietnam are towering wooden houses that are built on stilts and can reach up to 100 feet in height. Take a look.

Amanda GohApr 21, 2022, 10:11 IST

Traditional Rong house of the Bahnar people in Vietnam.Valentin Wolf/Getty Images

A towering stilt house can be found in villages of the ethnic minorities in Vietnam's Central Highlands.
Known as the Rong, the communal building was traditionally made from wood and bamboo.

The Bahnar people are one of 53 ethnic minorities in Vietnam. They live primarily in the provinces of Dak Lak and Kon Tum in Vietnam's Central Highlands, which borders Cambodia and Laos. At the center of Bahnar people's villages stands a grand communal house called the Rong.

A young girl stands underneath an ethnic Rong house in Central Highlands, Vietnam.Andrew Woodley/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The Bahnar people are one of 53 ethnic minorities in Vietnam. They live primarily in the provinces of Dak Lak and Kon Tum in Vietnam's Central Highlands, which borders Cambodia and Laos. At the center of Bahnar people's villages stands a grand communal house called the Rong.

The Rong is the heart of the village. It's a communal area where villagers gather for events and discussions.

Members of the ethnic Bahnar group dance and sing at a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the building of the Rong house in the square of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi, June 4, 2003.REUTER/Kham HBM/DL

Villagers traditionally used bamboo and wood to build the communal houses.

The interiors of a Rong house in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.Andrew Woodley/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Villagers access the building by climbing up steps carved into logs.

Visitors walking down the steps of the Bahnar communal house at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology.Bruno PEROUSSE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Inside the Rong is a single room that's large enough to accommodate all the villagers.

Bahnar ethnic people gather inside of their communal Rong house around large jars of alcohol.Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

In recent years, many traditional Rong houses have been repaired with concrete and metal.

A Rong communal house in Kon Tum, Vietnam. It has been replaced with a metal roof, and the steps are now made from concrete.Leisa Tyler/LightRocket via Getty Images

There are ongoing efforts to conserve Rong houses, some of which are open to visitors despite being in use.

A visitor walks down from a real Bahnar ethnic minority communal house from Vietnam's Central Highlands on display at the Hanoi Ethnology Museum, 15 February 2006.HOANG DINH NAM/AFP via Getty Images

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The Rong communal houses of Vietnam are towering wooden houses that are built on stilts and can reach up to 100 feet in height. Take a look.

The Bahnar people are one of 53 ethnic minorities in Vietnam. They live primarily in the provinces of Dak Lak and Kon Tum in Vietnam's Central Highlands, which borders Cambodia and Laos. At the center of Bahnar people's villages stands a grand communal house called the Rong.

The Rong is the heart of the village. It's a communal area where villagers gather for events and discussions.

Villagers traditionally used bamboo and wood to build the communal houses.

Villagers access the building by climbing up steps carved into logs.

Inside the Rong is a single room that's large enough to accommodate all the villagers.

In recent years, many traditional Rong houses have been repaired with concrete and metal.

There are ongoing efforts to conserve Rong houses, some of which are open to visitors despite being in use.