Exploring our land

An Agricultural Exhibition in Hue

Recreating the life of farmers in the Central Vietnam through the display of agricultural and fishing tools, Thanh Toan exhibition hall has become one of the popular tourist destinations in Hue. The display also involves the participation of local people. 
The exhibition hall is located in Thanh Toan Village, Thuy Thanh Commune, Huong Thuy Township, ThuaThien Hue. The village is 6km from downtown Hue. It has a history of nearly 600 years and has many old buildings that are not big but are impressive in their ancient appearances. One of the key attractions in the area is the Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge crossing the Nhu Y River. It is of cultural and architectural significance that has been recognised as national relic, as old as the Japanese Bridge in Hoi An.

In the exhibition hall, around 200 exhibits and nearly 100 photos have been displayed in four themes, the history and culture of Thanh Toan Village, agricultural life, fishing life, and daily life. This is a place where younger generations can go to learn about the values and lives of their predecessors.

Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge, a famous bridge built according to the model of "thuong gia ha kieu"
(the house is above and the bridge is below).
Going to the exhibition hall, visitors can experience farmers’ activities such as pounding rice.
They can also witness stages of manually processing rice.
Tourists can hear lullabies performed by local people.
Tourists examine agricultural tools of locals in Thanh Toan. 

Visiting the exhibition hall, one can see tools and other things used long ago such as stone mills, ceramic tableware and narrow bamboo beds. There are also agricultural tools such as water redirecting tools, twin rattan baskets, rice categorizing tools as well as fishing tackle such as nets and rattan traps. The image of a bygone village with its objects is recreated, telling stories about the cultural and spiritual values of the village.

At the exhibition hall, visitors can also meet farmers to learn how to use agricultural and fishing tools.  They can also learn about the daily life in Thanh Toan Village as well as participate in interesting activities like redirecting water into fields and pounding rice. Clear and detailed information about each exhibit is provided so that visitors can learn more about the tools.

Thanh Toan exhibition hall is not only an addition to the tourist destination of Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge but also constitutes a new kind of tourist attraction itself, which is part of the community tourism model to meet the increasing demand of and allure more tourists coming to ThuaThien Hua.


Tools used to catch fish are displayed with clear and detailed explanations of their use.
Costumes used for the rituals of local people are also displayed. 


Wedding articles according to traditional rituals are on display.
A corner of a typical village bedroom with a narrow bamboo bed, cradle and pillow.
Traditional tableware used during a meal is ceramic plates and bowls and earthen pots. 

A corner displaying agricultural tools.


Exhibits are displayed with images so that visitors can easily imagine them in real life.
A rice categorizing tool is important during the processing of rice.
Agricultural tools such as stone mills, rice pounders and flat rattan baskets are on display in a corner of the exhibition hall with information in Vietnamese and English.
 
By Thanh Giang

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