Bao Ha Village in Dong Minh Commune, Vinh Bao District, Hai Phong is famous for its traditional craft of sculpting statues. Visiting the village today, one will see a bustling working atmosphere with the sounds of saws and chisels in the workshops.
In the 15th century, Nguyen Cong Hue who is considered the craft’s founder taught the villagers techniques on sculpting statues. Legend has it that the statue of Nguyen Cong Hue and another of King Linh Lang at the Bao Ha Village’s Temple are his masterpieces.
 A portrait statue of the craft’s founder Nguyen Cong Hue by himself. |
 A 500 year old statue of King Linh Lang, a famous masterpiece of the founder of the Bao Ha statue sculpturing village Nguyen Cong Hue. |
 An elder in Bao Ha Village decorates the altar of founder Nguyen Cong Hue. |
Succeeding their ancestors’ traditional craft, the villagers in Bao Ha have developed the craft and invested more to expand workshops and make a variety of products, meeting the increasing demand of customers. At present, the village has about 180 households engaging in sculpting statues with 20 large workshops that provide stable jobs for over 200 locals. Each year, the village’s craft contributes about 40 percent to the local’s revenue. On average, each workshop earns about 30 million dong/month, even 50 million dong during high season.
Talking about statues made by Bao Ha villagers, Nguyen Thi Ngan, a workshop owner, said that Bao Ha statues have a firm, well-proportioned and strong posture that require the artisans’ technique and high aesthetic taste. To become a skilled sculptor, it takes a long time of hard training and requires their diligence and creativeness.
 Using a saw to shape products. |
 Concentrating on sculpturing his product. |
 Artisans in Bao Ha create the shape of a large statue of Buddha. |
 An artisan in Bao Ha Village. |
 Grafting wood pieces to make shape for statue. |
 Artisan paints carefully the first layer for product. |
 Applying lacquer to product in detail. |
 Portrait statues made by Bao Ha artisans. |
 Artisan Nguyen Van Tuy applies silver to a statue of the Goddess of Mercy. |
Bao Ha Village is well known for not only traditional statues, but also portraits which look the same as the characters, showing the talent, skillfulness and creativeness of the artisans.
In 2007, the village was recognized as “The Traditional Village of Wood Sculpture and Lacquer” by Hai Phong City.
Story: Thuc Hien - Photos: Tran Thanh Giang
