It is not probable to deny that traditional handicraft villages in Hanoi are one of the most special spots which make lots of tourists curious about the rural lifestyle in Vietnam. Not only that, those locations are where you can find the most high-quality handicrafts and products created by the cleverness, inventiveness, and meticulousness of inhabitants here. For a Hanoi city tour, don’t forget to explore some of these lands.
Bat Trang Ceramic Village
Bat Trang Pottery Village, Hanoi, Vietnam
The majority of Vietnamese people know about the following nice words used to imply the quality of Bat Trang ceramics: “I hope to marry you/I will purchase Bat Trang bricks to build a beautiful house for us.” Then, you don’t forget to visit this famous village before ending your Vietnam trip. According to some historical documents, the village was founded in 14th or 15th century, but inhabitants here told that it may be dated earlier. It is not hard to reach this destination since it is just 13km to the southeast of the center of Hanoi Capital. As for Bat Trang products, there is a wide selection of ceramics made with a high quality, and even experienced artists will customize the ones based on religious needs or for aristocratic families.
Van Phuc Silk Village
Van Phuc Silk Village, Hanoi is one of the traditional handicraft villages in Hanoi
One of the traditional handicraft villages in Hanoi, which should be featured in your Hanoi city tour is Van Phuc Silk Village right at the bank of Nhue River. The distance from here to Hanoi Old Quarter is just about 10km, so it is an ideal travel spot to visit. The village is famous for its beautiful weaving and silk products of a high quality. Due to the high quality, Van Phuc silk was used to make costumes for royals of the Hue imperial citadel in the Nguyen dynasty. Entering the silk village will bring you a feeling of immersing into the world of silk full of impressive silk products.
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Dong Ho Painting Village
Dong Ho Folk Painting Village, Hanoi, Vietnam
This village is situated at the left bank of Duong River and famous for its unique and ravishing paintings. It will not be a lie that the painting village is considered as an aesthetic symbol of the Vietnamese culture, and creating those excellent works is the peak of art. In fact, although the art works from this land are simple, they are meaningful and creative, which reflects cultural and spiritual life of Vietnamese people in the countryside, ranging from aesthetic values to humanitarian desires. The paintings’ traditional themes are based on popular folk stories, historical figures, or allegories.
Dao Thuc Water Puppet Village
Water puppet in Vietnam
Another traditional handicraft village in Hanoi for your journey to learn about the Vietnam’s cultural beauty is Dao Thuc Water Puppet Village. It is the traditional village where the art of performing water puppet shows has been preserved through hundreds of years. To have an excellent water puppet show, artisans must hide themselves behind bamboo blinds and control puppets from under water. Often, the show will be combined with the traditional folk music, such as “cheo” or “tuong.”
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Chuong Conical Hat Village
Chuong Conical Hat Village, Hanoi, Vietnam
From the center of Hanoi Capital, you can take a bus to the Chuong conical hat village, and the route is about 30 km. The village is located at Ha Dong road, Phuong Trung commune, Thanh Oai district. Here, most villagers made conical hats as their permanent career, and the market is full of those products. The key material for making the conical hats is palm leaves, and each of them is created by the locals’ clever hands. Despite the fact that this kind of hat now is not often used as it was in the past, the local market of conical hats has still attracted plenty of tourists, and they also want to buy some as souvenirs.
