Northern Vietnam's Traditional Villages: From Tradition to Modernity
As explored in "Lands of a Hundred Trades," the unique culture and life of these Northern Delta villages have deep roots in Vietnamese history. Dr. Pham Con Son, in his book "Traditional Vietnamese Villages," defines a traditional village as "an ancient administrative unit, a place where a large number of people live together, with organized activities and their own customs. The solid foundation of a traditional village is the combination of collective work, economic development, and the preservation of national identity and local characteristics".
Traditional villages in the north, some dating back centuries, are known for their diverse range of traditional crafts. From pottery and embroidery to rattan weaving, hat making, and papermaking, each craft possesses its own history and time-honored techniques, passed down through generations. Despite the loss of many over time, the Northern region still boasts numerous villages that retain a strong connection to their ancient culture.
Among these, four famous villages—Yen Thai Flower Village, Bat Trang Pottery Village, Dinh Cong Goldsmiths Village, and Ngu Xa Bronze Casting Village— known as the "four pillars" of ancient Thang Long, are frequently celebrated.
Many villages, including Ngu Xa (bronze casting), Dinh Cong (goldsmithing), Phu Vinh (rattan weaving), Thach Xa (bamboo dragonflies), Chuong (hat making), Ha Thai (lacquerware), Chang Son (fans), Dao Thuc (water puppets), Tay Tuu (flowers), and Quat Dong (embroidery), are well-known throughout Vietnam. Several, such as Van Phuc (silk), Bat Trang (ceramics), and Me Tri (green rice), have earned national brand recognition for their products.
Nam Dinh, alongside Hanoi (formerly Thang Long), has a long and storied history of traditional crafts, giving it the well-deserved title "land of a hundred trades." Its hundreds of traditional villages, many dating back centuries, are clustered in ancient areas. Notable examples include the villages of Tong Xa (bronze casting), La Xuyen (wood carving), and Cat Dang (lacquerware) in Y Yen District; Vinh Hao (rattan weaving) in Vu Ban District; Vi Khe (bonsai), Ban Thach (water puppetry), and Giap Nhat (turban making) in Nam Truc District; and Co Chat (silk reeling) and Cu Tru (fabric weaving) in Truc Ninh District.
In these traditional villages, skilled artisans work diligently, their hands shaping materials and their creativity breathing life into age-old crafts. They are the inheritors of ancestral knowledge, preserving, maintaining, and evolving these traditions for generations to come.
Currently, traditional villages in the northern region are adapting to the market economy by embracing two key strategies: integrating technology into production and developing tourism. For example Bat Trang Pottery Village (Gia Lam District, Hanoi) exemplifies this trend, rapidly adopting technology to improve production, design, and quality to meet market demands.
Tran Duong Quy, a ceramics businessman specializing in e-commerce, noted that Bat Trang ceramics have reached eight million consumers in just four years of online sales, primarily through Facebook. "E-commerce has significantly broadened the Bat Trang brand's reach," he explained, "allowing wholesalers across the country to learn about our new product lines via our website and Facebook".
Ha Thi Vinh, Director of Quang Vinh Ceramic Co., Ltd. and a key player in Bat Trang's pottery development, highlighted the company's export success: "Over 90% of our ceramic products, produced in our two factories in Bat Trang and Dong Trieu (Quang Ninh Province), are exported to more than 20 countries. This contributes significantly to our revenue while also sharing Vietnamese culture with the world". Included in the "innovation" battle to improve production and develop the market, Ha Thai Lacquerware Village (Thuong Tin District, Hanoi) is also embracing innovation to improve production and expand its market. This includes adopting digital technology across management, production, and sales, as well as investing in modern machinery. Along with investing in modern machinery for production, many households in the village are actively seeking new markets through social media and e-commerce platforms.
Coming to the land of a hundred trades in Nam Dinh, the traditional Binh Minh Mother-of-pearl Inlaid Woodwork Village in Hai Minh Commune, Hai Hau District has invested heavily in modern machinery and automation, including CNC drilling and carving machines. These technologies enhance the skill and creativity of village artisans, enabling them to create more aesthetically pleasing and complex products, such as statues, furniture, artwork, and religious items.
The combination of the skills and craftsmanship of artisans with modern machinery has helped Binh Minh Woodwork Village produce many wooden products with high artistic value and durability such as cabinets, tables, chairs, paintings, sculptures, tea cabinets, beds and ancestral altars.
The bold application of science and technology in production has helped the Binh Minh Woodwork Village establish a solid position in the market, contributing to economic development and increasing the income for many households.
Tong Xa Metal Casting Village (Lam Town, Y Yen District) has evolved from crafting small household and religious items to producing highly sophisticated products. By embracing modern technology, particularly 3D and 4D technology, the village now creates complex pieces like Buddha statues, celebrity statues, national leader statues, bells, and feng shui items.
In addition to small-sized traditional handicraft products that are being sold widely domestically and internationally, thanks to the application of science and technology, Tong Xa artisans have also successfully cast many large-scale bronze statues such as the 16.2m tall, 220-ton Dien Bien Phu Victory Statue; the statue of 14 Tran kings located at the Thien Truong Historical and Cultural Relic Complex (Nam Dinh); the 35-ton monolithic Buddha statue at Non Nuoc Mountain, Soc Son District (Hanoi); the 50-ton Triad Buddha statue at Bai Dinh Pagoda (Ninh Binh).
Tong Xa artisans, in addition to producing smaller handicrafts for domestic and international markets, are now crafting large-scale bronze statues of remarkable complexity and scale. Using advanced technology, they have created such impressive works as the 16.2m, 220-ton Dien Bien Phu Victory Statue; the statues of the 14 Tran kings at the Thien Truong Historical and Cultural Relic Complex (Nam Dinh); the 35-ton monolithic Buddha statue at Non Nuoc Mountain (Soc Son District, Hanoi); and the 50-ton Triad Buddha statue at Bai Dinh Pagoda (Ninh Binh).
The resurgence of traditional crafts in the Northern Delta has coincided with a growing interest in cultural tourism. Villages across the region, particularly in provinces and cities like Hanoi, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, and Bac Giang, now welcome both domestic and international visitors eager to experience their unique heritage. These villages, with their vibrant crafts and time-honored customs, offer an authentic glimpse into Vietnamese culture, while tourism provides crucial support for the preservation and promotion of these invaluable traditions./.
Story: Thong Thien/VNP Photos: VNP Translated by Hong Hanh