The village has been there with rain and sun, with joy and sorrow throughout centuries and empires. Conquering with the cruel devastation of time, Bát Tràng stands still and perfectly protects its precious treasure of the art of ceramics. At the first glance, Bát Tràng is completely no different from any other normal villages in Gia Lâm ward, except for having some pottery stores and workshops of all sizes and types.

Video to see Hanoi Ceramic Road:

When you go slightly deeper inside, the whole market, where some special snacks such as grilled coconut pies are served, reveals in the opposite of a big workshop. And what makes the place more worth-visiting are some fantastic famous ceramic artists’ houses.

It will be a long day to speak of the woeful and majestic history of Bát Tràng. However, it is known that the place has been existing for a long time but officially moved to Gia Lâm after Emperor Lý Thái Tổ moved the capital from Hoa Lư to Thăng Long (now as Hà Nội) in 1010. The villagers of Bồ Bát consisting the great five lineages Nguyễn, Lê, Phạm, Trần, Vương back then migrated their best artists and their families to Thăng Long and formed Bạch Thổ Phường (former name of Bát Tràng) near Red River bank, where had the best kaolin as a material.

Afterward, they started their living by making and selling potteries. Bát Tràng pottery is always amongst the finest and the most aesthetic kinds with superb quality bearing the soul and pride of once time magnanimous Asian Empire.

Map your way to the Bat Trang Village:

The road from the city to the village is reachable (from 10km – 15km) and it takes merely an hour.

Proudly saying about the place, but there are still some little reminders for whoever wants to visit the village. First of all, Bát Tràng is a ceramic village so there is nothing much can be done except for wandering around, trying to make some potteries and enjoying some snacks at the market.

Secondly, as arriving at the village, you will easily receive lots offers from the locals to drop by at their pottery workshop and they are quite consistent so you should stay calm and choose whether to do so or to go elsewhere.

Lastly, there are so many pottery workshops so it is a tough decision to make whether to choose this or that. Therefore, before having the intention of choosing one, remember to ask the owner for the process and the price for making and burning pottery. In the village, you can have some fun and spend time making pottery with your friends. It is an intriguing and hard process but you will learn after all. Most workshop owners are artists and they know how to make this well so you can count on them.

The price for sculpturing and folding one, as the last time I came here was around 40.000 Dongs with no time limit. However, if you want to burn pottery and bring it home, it will cost you another 40.000 Dongs or so. In the end, it is still about the moment so take your time and enjoy the beauty.

To see more photos, check the open album below or go to Flickr:
Photo Album Flickr
(Please use the left/right arrows to navigate in the files of the open album)

Words by Trang Nguyen
Photos by Hanh Le

More Villages in Vietnam? Read here

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1. Sinh Folk Painting Village

Originally, Sinh paintings are for worshipping purposes, exemplifying ancient Vietnamese philosophies in the face of the mysterious and holy nature. Now, although still retaining a very distinct charm, Sinh paintings cover more everyday aspects of life such as families, jobs, landscapes, etc.

2. Copper Casting Village

The Nguyen Dynasty witnessed the pinnacle of copper casting. You see those impressive bronze artifacts in Nguyen mausoleums, Thien Mu Pagoda, or Imperial City? Well, chances are that the great great grandfathers of the artisans you are to meet in this village built them. It would be really a shame if you do not pay the quintessence of a glorious era, so full of culture and history, worth a visit in Hue.

Address: Kiệt 317 Bùi Thị Xuân, Đúc Ward, Thừa Thiên Huế Province

3. Phuoc Tich Pottery Village

Phuoc Tich not only maintains the tradition of making pottery, but it also boasts a view scenic and serene like those paintings of a charming little town with a bright blue sky, a winding river, and huge old trees. In fact, there is a 700-year-old pottery standing right at the entrance of the village. A little further into the town lies a house displaying a handful of pottery pieces like a museum almost. Nearby is a shop where you can browse an extensive collection of jars, vases, and all other household objects.

4. Ke Mon Jewelry Village

Intricate patterns and sophisticated designs with subtle carvings here and there, Ke Mon pieces of jewelry give off major royalty vibes, so be ready to loosen the purse string. If anything, know that you are in the good hands of skilled craftsmen with wonderful tastes.

5. Chuon Village

Chuon Village has a reputation for being the cradle of distinguished scholars since the beginning of time. With vast knowledge and beautiful handwriting, Chuon’s most celebrated persons started making “ Liễn”, which can be seen as a Vietnamese taking on calligraphy, every Tet (Vietnamese New Year). What’s written on Liễn usually reflects people’s wishes for health, luck, and wealth at the start of a new year.

6. Bao La Knitting Village

Bao La produces household appliances all made from bamboos, which are widely considered to be the symbol of Vietnamese people. Bao La offers not only basics such as baskets, beds, drainers, and Vietnamese hats (Nón lá) but also decorative products like lanterns and vases. Bao La Village is definitely your go-to place if you want to take some kind of souvenir home.

Address: Bao La, Quảng Phú Commune, Quảng Điền Town, Thừa Thiên Huế Province

7. My Xuyen Wood Carving Village

My Xuyen wood carvings are held in high esteem across the country, having been awarded several medals and certificates. From mythical animals like dragons, phoenixes to war heroes, artisans here know how to breathe life into what seems to be inanimate objects.

Address: 110 Điện Biên Phủ, Trường An Ward, Phong Hoà Commune, Phong Điền Town, Thừa Thiên Huế Province

8. Thanh Tien Paper Flower Village

A century ago, every December, Thanh Tien, a normal farming region, spices up its community with the mass making of paper flowers as decorations preparatory to Tet Holiday. The production of such flowers is now all year round to maintain one of the country’s oldest traditions. It should be noted that at a length of a few meters, the handmade lotuses look remarkably vivid and real. Should you wish to make a bouquet yourself, the local craftsmen are there to help.

Address: Phú Mậu Commune, Phú Vang Town, Thừa Thiên Huế Province

The post Hue’s 8 Most Traditional Handicraft Villages appeared first on Maze Vietnam.

Having existed for over 20 years by far, Thổ Hà, a village in Bac Giang Province Northeastern Vietnam, is recognized as a well-known trade village making rice paper with more than 400 families involved in. The place was inherently a pottery village back in the 50s of the 20^th century and has “changed its shirt” to produce rice and rice paper since the 90s.

As being said, the village first appeared in the 12^th century and got to be one of the 3 oldest pottery villages of Vietnam, besides Phù Lãng and Bát Tràng. Surrounded by Cầu River, Tho Ha soon became a bursting commercial port in the Gulf of Tonkin*. The extreme prosperity rewarded its citizens with splendid temples, pagodas, village main gate, and other magnificent buildings. Until the year of 1988 when goods made of plastic took over, the pottery village was dissolved in the lack of popularity and markets, which marked the end of its 900-year golden age. Fortunately, it seems like a good chance as it opened a new door for later generations in the village. They started making different kinds of rice paper and noodles from rice flour.

Frequently, rice is soaked for one night and grounded in the next morning. It then gets spread on a large pan and dried on a bamboo wattle where it takes 2 to 3 hours to get done. Simple as it sounds but the quality depends much upon the craftsmen’s experience, especially for the soaking and spreading technology. In addition, the weather is another important factor that should be taken into account. Heavy rain can make the rice papers fusty and excessive sunlight will turn them to be crunchy and easily – broken. Rice paper is considered in good quality when it reaches the status of softness, tough, thin, unbroken and light salty.

Nowadays, given high technology with electric devices, labor productivity is much increased to 3 or 4 times. Besides appearing in the inland market, products of Tho Ha are exported to Taiwan, South, Korea and Japan with high popularity.

*Gulf of Tonkin: given name for Northern Vietnam, as called Vịnh Bắc Bộ in Vietnamese, along with Annam (Central Vietnam) and CochinChine (Southern Vietnam). Tonkin is the French pronunciation for Đông Kinh in Vietnamese.

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