The woman was wearing a black dress, sheer and slit high at the hip, and was about to step onto the bridge on Aug. 4 when guide Truong Bui Ngoc Khue approached, explained the dress code in English and asked her to change. She and a companion listened and walked back out.
A clip of the exchange spread on Facebook the next day, drawing praises for the guide's intervention.
Khue said many first-time visitors to Vietnam do not know the local rules and customs, so she relies on explaining them until people understand and cooperate.
She has also asked tour operators to brief their clients before they reach Hoi An.
Pham Phu Ngoc, director of the Hoi An World Cultural Heritage Preservation Center, said rules on appropriate dress are already written into the visitor regulations at Hoi An's heritage sites. Staff advise visitors about clothing from the entrance to the old town, he said.
