Ceramics

Bamboo products

Embroidery

Wood work

Copper casting

Dong Ho folk painting village

Silk Village of Van Phuc

Vietnam conical hat making

There are many villages throughout the country that produce ceramics. Some of these villages include Phu Lang in Bac Ninh Province, Huong Canh in Vinh Phuc Province, Lo Chum in Thanh Hoa Province, Thanh Ha in Hoi An (Quang Nam Province), and Bien Hoa in Dong Nai Province.

Bat Trang is an ancient village situated on the northern bank of the Red-river, about eight kilometers from the center of Hanoi with seventy-two white ground hillocks and Chu Dau china of Hai Duong province.

As far back as 600 years the village has supplied ceramic bowls, cups, bottles,   jars   and   tiles   to   the   whole   of Northern   Vietnam.   With   precious   soil, unique secret methods of making ceramic enamel and wonderful artistic depictions on the   products,   Bat   Trang   ceramics   have become   valuable   goods   that   are   highly appreciated by domestic and international communities and  have been  exported to places as far away as Indonesia, India, Japan, Turkey,  Iraq and  Egypt.  Bat Trang bricks were also used to build the Forbidden City in Beijing and famous mosques in Egypt and the Middle  East thanks to their creative carved images.
As far back as 600 years the village has supplied ceramic bowls, cups, bottles,   jars   and   tiles   to   the   whole   of Northern   Vietnam.   With   precious   soil, unique secret methods of making ceramic enamel and wonderful artistic depictions on the   products,   Bat   Trang   ceramics   have become   valuable   goods   that   are   highly appreciated by domestic and international communities and  have been  exported to places as far away as Indonesia, India, Japan, Turkey,  Iraq and  Egypt.  Bat Trang bricks were also used to build the Forbidden City in Beijing and famous mosques in Egypt and the Middle  East thanks to their creative carved images.
After rebuilding and developing the handicraft village, Bat Trang has become a large center for tourism and trade in Hanoi. Hundreds of domestic and foreign tourists visit Bat Trang daily to buy unique products made by the skillful craftsmen. When you come here, you are not only able to choose from a wide range of goods but you can also go for a sightseeing tour or try to make china products yourself under the supervision of one of the craftsmen. Furthermore, the area is renowned as a place of literature in Hanoi, with 346 people passing national examinations here and going on to become the highest-ranking officials of Vietnam in the feudal time. The village festival is held from the 15 to 22 February of lunar calendar (about March of the solar calendar), at the same time as the Gom market festival, one of the biggest market festivals of Vietnam.

Vietnamese ceramic is now well known in both the domestic and international markets. Traditional products include kitchen items and trays. The flower-patterned bowls of Bat Trang have been exported to Sweden, the cucumber pots to Russia, and the teapots to France.

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In Vietnam, bamboo and rattan products (hereinafter referred to as "Bamboo Products") are mainly produced by manual method; skillfully and meticulously handled by our traditionally – well trained craftsmen.

In Vietnam, and in Ho Chi Minh specifically, bamboo and rattan products (hereinafter referred to as "Bamboo Products") are mainly produced by manual method; skillfully and meticulously handled by our traditionally – well trained craftsmen.
The exporters in the field have often signed sales contracts with foreign buyers and then signed processing-contracts with sub-contractors locally for products’ making. In some circumstances, the exporters assign local sub-contractors to manufacture only semi-products and take care of the finished products themselves to meet customers’ specification.
Raw material sources and Labour forces in Bamboo and Rattan area
Palm-leaf, bamboo, rattan, almond-leaf, coconut-leaf, water hyacinth, sea-grass, and jute are commonly used as natural raw materials for Bamboo products. Local raw material sources concentrate in North-East South: Tan Uyen (Binh Duong Province); Cu Chi, Hoc Mon (Ho Chi Minh City); North-West forests, North Central Coast (Thanh Hoa), and Red River Delta (Ha Tay); Leaf as raw materials in North East South (Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan), Mekong River Delta (Tien Giang) and Red River Delta (Ninh Binh, Ha Tay).
Up to now, the number of craftmen working in the field is estimated at 20,862 people and 11,640 people in the North and the South, respectively. The labour forces mainly come from Ha Nam, Quy Nhon, Ninh Binh, Ha Tay (Phu Vinh, Phu Nghia) … For the time being, there are mainly handicraftmen and a large volume of manual workers may be mobilized in case of demands.

You could find so many kind of bamboo products from Vietnamese manufactories as: bamboo bag, bamboo basket, Bamboo bucket, bamboo tray, bamboo box. etc.

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It is believed that embroidery originated in Quat Dong Village in Ha Tay Province. Although it is applied with new technology in embroidery but hand embroidery in handicrafts villages still attract customers for its art works value and Vietnam Embroidery products have been welcome  worlwide such as: Japan, France, Italia, USA...

You can find many kind of embroidery products from Vietnam as: landscape picture, flower picture, portrait pictures, fashion, table wares, matress, bed decoration...
It is very easy to find embroidery shops in Hanoi on Hang Gai streets or China town in Ho Chi Minh city.

The wood handicraft in Vietnam own its long history of development. Many products from wood has been made by skilled hand of technician from many handicrafts village through out the country.

Many wood handicraft villages are found throughout the country. Their products are varied, from architecture (palaces, communal houses in the village,…); furniture (beds, cupboards, tables, chairs, supports for flower pots,…); worship objects (lamp stands, incense burners, horizontal lacquered boards, pairs of wood panels on which are inscribed parallel sentences,…); wooden statues (Buddha, saints, and famous people) to toys such as dolls, chessboards, animals, birds,…

In recent years, Vietnam’s woodcraft industry has witnessed healthy development both qualitatively and quantitatively. There are 342 craft villages in whole country. Major examples of these villages are the Van Ha Village of Hanoi; Huu Bang, Du Du, Van Diem, Chuong My, and Nhi Khe villages of Ha Tay Province; Bich Chu Village of Vinh Phuc Province; Dong Ky Village of Bac Ninh Province; Dong Giao Village of Hai Duong Province; La Xuyen Village of Nam Dinh Province; My Xuyen Village of Hue City; and Kim Bong Village of Quang Nam Province. Vietnam wooden products are exported to more than 100 countries, with the following serving as major examples: Japan, America, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the EU

Vietnam woodcarving products are noted not only for good quality but also for availability in a range of designs meeting the demands of daily life – fro furniture such as tables, chairs, cupboards, and lamps to statues, decorations, and kitchen utensils.

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Copper casting is one of the most famous and enduring traditional art forms of Vietnam. With the help of technology, several ancient copper items from all over the country have been preserved. Approximately 3,000 years ago, ancient Vietnamese discovered how to cast copper to make brass tools, weapons, and ornaments; therein, initiating the metal age. Some brass statues that have been preserved serve as proof of the blooming period of copper casting in Vietnam. In later years, pursuing their forefathers’ talents, handicraftsmen created many innovative brass products that suited the needs of society.

 Some of the most famous copper pieces known today include a series of brass drums that were cast over centuries. As well, there are brass artefacts currently exhibited in Hue, such as a bronze kettle at the Imperial Palace (1659-1684), the bronze plaque of Thien Mu Pagoda (1677), the bell of Thien Mu Pagoda (1710), the Nine Cannons (1803-1804), and the Nine Dynastic Urns (1835-1837).

 Today, only a few copper casting villages remain, such as Ngu Xa in Hanoi, the casting quarter near Hue, and Phuoc Kieu in Quang Nam.

Dong Ho is a small village in Thuan Thanh, Bac Ninh province, located on the southern side of the Duong river (30km to the east from Hanoi,) is one of the villages that remains to preserve ancient cultural relies of Kinh Bac area (red river delta, north of Vietnam.) Dong Ho paintings have about 300 years of history in the north of Vietnam.
Dong Ho folk painting is very famous because Dong ho is the only village where people know to make the "Dzo" painting with completely natural materials. The printing paper is made of bark of a tree called "Dzo." The background paper is originally white. People use natural materials to change the colors of the papers which are usually orange, pink, yellow, purple,.. Colors of the painting are refined from various kinds of tree leaves, that people can easily find in Vietnam. Particular, the red color is taken from earth of hills and mountains; the black color is from coal of burned bamboo's leaves; the glitter white color is made of sea shells; The original point of Dong Ho folk painting is the durability of colors. The painting is covered by a layer of sticky rice paste (called "ho nep") to protect the painting and their colors. They are so long lasting, so that it is very difficult to make them dimmer even time or daylight.
These paintings are bought in Dong ho village, and are made by Mr. Nguyen Huu Sam and Mr. Nguyen Dang Che, two famous masters of Dong Ho folk painting, who are still living in Dong Ho village. Each painting is completely hand printed on Dzo paper following the ancient style and tradition. The provocative color is made by natural material. Especially the glitters are made by sea shells.

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Van Phuc is situated on the bank of the Nhue River, 10km from the centre of Hanoi. m the township of Ha Dong. The people of this village excel in the traditional skill of weaving silk. In the village, there is a Temple that was built for the ancestor who taught the weaving profession to the people of the village and to the apprentices from other provinces who worked at the weaving looms.
The silk of Van Phuc is famous for being very fine. Today, the inhabitants of the village practice this traditional profession on an even larger scale. The silk of Van Phuc is not only used in Vietnam, but it is also exported to many other countries all over the world.

In Vietnam, the national hat is without question the nón, or conical hat. Along with the lithe ao dai, the conical hat has become a sort of informal Vietnamese national symbol recognised worldwide.
Nobody really knows when the first conical hat was donned in Vietnam, but doubtless it dates back to the region's earliest civilisations thousands of years ago.
The ingredients, after all, remain quite basic - bamboo and palm leaf - and the need for a sunhat would have probably paralleled the first cultivation of rice.
The non has been around a long time, and this distinctive hat may well be one of the most timeless aspects of the Vietnamese landscape.
Today the conical hat is made in different parts of the country, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.
Different regions put their own spin on the basic design. The conical hat of Hue remains famous for its lightness and supple thinness. The central province of Quang Binh makes its own Ba Don non, which is a sturdy version inlaid with elaborate decoration.
The different countries of southeast Asia, in fact, have all designed their own unique versions of the basic palm-leaf hat. Thai women, for example, favour a palm-leaf hat that resembles an upside-down basket.

In the northern province of Ha Tay, a tiny village has devoted itself almost exclusively to the production of conical hats. Situated just a few kilometres from Hanoi, the poky village of Chuong is, so to say, the headgear capital of Vietnam.
The community makes a number of designs, including the non dau (the smallest model), the non quai thao (a flat design), the non thung quai thao (a larger version of the flat design) and the basic non.
Conical hats have been the community's traditional product for as long as one can remember and they are marketed throughout Vietnam. An estimated 3,000 families - roughly 80% of the community - are involved in the hat-making industry.
Visitors will often find roads to the village are completely covered with bright green palm leaves, which villagers have spread out in the sun to dry.
The process is relatively simple: the leaves are dried, whitened, stitched into bamboo frames and given some decorative touches.
It takes five to six hours to craft a basic, no-frills, conical hat. When sold in a typical town market, a conical hat might turn a VND 5,000 profit.
Fortunately for the village of Chuong and other conical hat producers nationwide, the non has gained popularity among western tourists. Visitors to Vietnam often buy the hats as souvenirs, as decorative wall-hangings, and of course, as highly-effective sunhats.
You will frequently see these hats, often embellished with complicated decorations, for sale wherever foreigners shop. The simple non does look slightly out of place sitting in a gift shop on Hang Bong Street or Noi Bai Airport duty-free (which also sells such intriguing items as air conditioners and washing machines), but they are typically the establishment's most sought-after item. The markups at such exclusive shops generate a profit far higher than VND 5,000, of course.
If you want a basic conical hat at local prices, go to the market and bargain with a smile. You won't get a hat at local prices but, with persistence, you can come close. After all, any price is a bargain. Remember that taking home a non is like taking home a piece of Vietnam.

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