Nguyen Van Luan, former Deputy Chairman of the Coal Handicraft and Fine Arts Association, who has engaged in coal sculpturing since the 1980s, said: “The craft has great cultural value, which has been close to the history of the coal mine region and life of the miners since the French domination period. Therefore, coal sculptures are meaningful souvenirs for tourists to the area.”

Coal Sculpture appeared in Quang Ninh at the end of the 20th century. Coal can be found anywhere in Quang Ninh Province. Tools for coal sculpture. One of the processes of coal sculpturing. A process is done manually. Coal sculpture requires skilled sculptors. A coal sculptural work. Some of uncompleted  products.

He also said that in the 1990s, coal sculptures in Quang Ninh were sought by customers and even exported to foreign markets. However, in recent years, the craft is likely to fall into oblivion due to the lack of interest of succeeding generations. At present, in Quang Ninh the number of households engaging in the craft can be counted on one hand and their production is on a small scale.
Many foreign tourists to Ha Long in Quang Ninh are interested in these unique products and want to visit sculpturing workshops to see the artists making coal sculptures.
Since Ha Long Bay became one of the new seven natural wonders of the world, it has attracted a large number of tourists. For this reason, apart from developing tourism services, Ha Long needs to have its own tourism products. Recently, Quang Ninh Provincial People’s Committee held a seminar themed “Building Tourism Products for Ha Long Bay” with a project on “Developing Tourism Products for Ha Long by 2020, Vision 2030.”

A buffalo statue.	A lion statue created from coal.
A couple statue.	The Venus de Milo statue.

VWith this policy, coal sculptured products are expected to be a leading choice because of the unique features, including the culture of the coal mine region.