Boi Khe Village

Located downtown Hanoi 50 km to the south village of Boi Khe. The village is located west southwest of Chuyen My commune, southwestern borders Minh Duc Commune - Ung Hoa district, south borders Van Tu Commune - Phu Xuyen district, Traditional craft villages of Boi Khe lacquer lies the highway 1A about 8,5 km.

Boi Khe used to be a commune in Phu Xuyen district in Thuong Tin prefecture in Son Nam Thuong region in the early 19th century. In the early 20th century, it belonged to Thinh Duc Thuong in Phu Xuyen district in Ha Dong province. After 1945, it became a hamlet in Minh Duc commune in Ung Hoa district in Ha Dong province. In late 1953, Boi Khe moved back to the administration of Chuyen My commune in Phu Xuyen district in Ha Tay province. Since 1 August 2008, when Ha Tay was merged into Hanoi, Boi Khe has been part of Chuyen My commune in Phu Xuyen district in Hanoi. Like any other Vietnamese villages, Boi Khe is home to a lot of

cultural values associated with local people’s lives and production including

historical and cultural sites and traditional festivals.

The history of the traditional lacquering craft

Nobody knows exactly when the craft first started in the village. Local artisans only know that it has existed for a very long time and has been passed down from generation to generation. As a matter of fact, Boi Khe, which specializes in making inlaid lacquer, is situated in Chuyen My, which is believed to be the cradle of the inlaying craft. Therefore, there must be some connection between the two crafts. Many people in Chuyen My believe that Truong Cong Thanh, a native of Ngo hamlet and a renowned general of the Ly dynasty, was the person who spread the inlaying craft in the village.

 Materials and tools

Materials

The main material used in traditional inlaid lacquer is the famous lacquer paint made in Phu Tho. Other materials include sawdust, stone powder, clay,wood, gold, silver, egg shells, shells and snail shells.

Tools

Boi Khe artisans’ tool kits partly explain how sophisticated this traditional craft is. In each stage of production there is a corresponding tool such as paintmakers, and other tools used in shaping products.

The process of making traditional lacquer

It is composed of two main

stages, making lacquer paint and making finished products.

Typical products 

Boi Khe is famous for  worshipping objects and handicrafts.

Tra Que vegetable- planting village

Tra Que Vegetable Village is a traditional vegetable growing village famous for organic methods exist more than 300 years of Cam Ha, the center of Hoi An ancient town is about 3 km. In particular, Tra Que vegetable planting village about 20 categories, including leafy vegetables and herbs. It has existed for at least 500 years and grows several vegetables and herbs though savoury, an aromatic herb, is its most famous product. Known as “rau hung” in Vietnamese, and similar to basil and mint, its leaves are widely used in Vietnamese cooking.

In the village, the vegetable growers are called ‘artisans’ and not ‘farmers’ because the entire farming process, from tilling the land, digging furrows, and planting seedlings, is done artistically.

A veteran Hoi An farmer, Cao Ngoc Day, said further the village’s soil, enriched by alluvium from the local De Vong River, and its traditional farming techniques gave “rau hung” its special fragrance.

"The farmers use neither manure nor chemical fertilisers but a kind of algae found only in a lagoon in Tra Que," Day said.As a result, the vegetables both look beautiful in their fields as well as possessing outstanding taste and flavour. "The savoury here is really tasty," attested Margit Martin, a foreign tourist visiting the village. "Supermarkets in my country sell several kinds of Vietnamese savoury but they don’t have as much flavour as this one."

Now, Tra Que vegetables are sold to many restaurants and hotels in Hoi An, Da Nang, and Ha Noi.The village has some 131 families farming, besides savoury, also cabbage, colza or rape, celery, kohlrabi, and herbs.

Many residents admit they do not know when their village first began to grow vegetables. A woman farmer named Ba said: "I was told by my grandfather it first started in Tra Que since the time of the grandfather of my great-great grandfather .The older people in the village always tell us the village has existed for at least 500 years."

Coming to this vegetable village, visitors not only get firsthand look at the lush green garden, stroll around the rustic countryside, but also to become vegetable growers, too!

Coming Tra Que village, visitors will be guided through sowing, planting, watering vegetables and tending vegetables and harvesting by local people.

In addition, guests will also be learning food processing, from the vegetables and enjoy delicious cuisine amid the peaceful village. These moments of labor and relax in Tra Que vegetable village promises to be one of the great experiences for visitors traveling in Hoi An.

Ha Thai lacquer village

Traditional craft villages of Ha Thai lacquer lies the old highway 1A, near the Quan Ganh bridge, turn left on inter-communal Duyen Thai, pass viaduct then come to village. Past, the village has called Cu Trang Giang, in 1870 renamed the Dong Thai village and early twentieth century it was officially named Ha Thai village. Legend, Ha Thai paint job around the 17th century, then just paint job clarity. The land is not ancestral of Vietnam's paint job, but on Ha Thai painting ward was important because there are many talented craftsmen, skilled and creative.

Of the early 30th of previous century, the first painter Vietnam in the school of Fine Arts of Indochina was discovered explore other color materials such as eggs shell, snails, bamboo splint ... and especially bring technique grind, create a unique lacquer technique for creating lacquer paintings actually. The term lacquer and lacquer appeared since then.Lacquer color using traditional materials like black lacquer, yellow brown lacquer make adhesive matter, and other types of lipstick, silver steel, gold, steel, pearl shell

When new born, lacquer only three colors black paint , red lacquer  and yellow brown paint. Thanks to explore the creative process of many artists, the palette of lacquer is now richer. Splendid colors of lacquer, but loving, visible many layer. Lacquer products with elegant shape, the charming shapes ethnic shades such as banian tree & river wharf, ferry-boat with baboo, Halong bay, one pillar pagoda... It is often noted that lacquer is the point "nonsensical":  want to make dry drawings has just painted, drawings must be incubated in airtight cabinets and high humidity. Want to see the paintings that abration to see. Nowadays, people have built successful industrial paints can replace traditional types of lacquer, so many advantages, especially in production easier and color paintings are extremely rich.

Lacquer job have very elaborately, many stages. Each stage requires a professional to do it patiently, meticulously, take a loving care this job, if not, the complete product will not see a soul anywhere. It can be said lacquer technology only general principles, but differ in experience and techniques of each individual, each family, as it was making technical changes suitable paintings different create statue, different from decorative objects, paint cover golden age ... Technology can be described by a lacquer of the following main stages: bundle of cuttings build, decorate, grinding and polishing.

Create basic shape

Create basic shape (objects to paint) used to be on the trowel to use Ba paper, this paper made from Do wood that should very tough, durable firmly more fabric. A method to create basic shape was conducted following: used alluvial soil (today workers can use the stone powder) mixed with finely painted with Ban paper then fill in  slit of wood. Each class paint  line a layer paper (or material for mosquito-nets), then mortise chisel gills to set the paint  for horizontal wood hem  after wood against vertical cracks of fabric. Then, wood dried paint covered both the front, back. This stage is mainly to protect the body panels can not waterproof, no termite, environment dependent shrinkage of wood. Process more carefully, the longer the life expectancy for things to paint, each lacquer have life-span about 300 to 400 year.

Decorate

When there was the framework above (or model touch as flower vases, natural picture and other things), who manufacture the items glue, paste coloring materials for the work first such as eggshell , pieces of pearl, gold, silver ... then later painted surface grinding, followed by using color.

With the technical coatings paint statue and furniture like: incense, horizontal lacquered board, parallel sentences ... workers do in the closed room and gather around the screen to prevent wind blown material: yellow anemone, anemone silver, avoid dust paint is still wet.

Grinding and spruce up

Because shining oil has colored  to draw, it remains submerged in the gloss color forming deep level of paintings, so after each drawing must be grinding. The ancients used dried banana leaf as draft paper. Until now, the last method shine paintings nothing has replaced manual methods, because this type of paintings is not allowed the varnish. That is the unique point of lacquer. The success of a lacquer painting depends greatly on the final stages. There are some things to grinding and polishing as Xoan wood grilled, hair disorder, chicken liver stones.

To get the color of fresh products, a special stage is crucial phase of the paint. Each family, each facility has a separate paint mixing secrets, create your own style. Experience mix paint in traditional painting methods now give way to technical preparations for modern painting. There have been a few changes to reduce excess movements, creating new paint gloss, durable, beautiful. Overall, the mixing paints have especially important role, determining the success or failure of the product. So we paint mixing stage before as now, still requires an experienced painter to paint from cooking paint stage,  thick painted , to try to cooked paint stages. Whether any stage also requires workers to be patient, scrupulous.

In both traditional festival held in May 6 / 2009 in Hue, Ha Thai lacquer is one of 12 villages in the country known as Chu Dau pottery, Bat Trang, Tho Ha (North region), Bau Truc ( Ninh Thuan), Go (Binh Thuan), Binh Duong Ceramics, Pottery Quang Nam, Phuoc Tich pottery (Thua Thien Hue province), Binh Duong pottery, Quang Nam pottery ,Phuoc Tich pottery (Hue), Binh Duong lacquer : Gallery of Ha Thai lacquer has attracted large crowds of visitors, especially foreign tourists.

Lacquer products of Ha Thai trade villages have very nice area on the furniture of the trade Center construction materials and equipment furnished Melinh Plaza. This is where the foreign guests on the way to the airport can visit the shop and the Ha Thai lacquer products.

If you have a chance to Hanoi take a little time to visit Ha Thai trade village to get firsthand look at how the workers here blow soul in this art lacquer.

Quang Bo Bronze Casting Village

Quang Bo Village (Quang Phu Commune, Luong Tai District, Bac Ninh Province) has long been known nationwide as a supplier of bronze mechanical items. Over time, the village’s coppersmiths have developed their traditional craft with hundreds of enterprises involved in bronze-casting.

Products of Quang Bo Bronze-Casting Village, which are mainly bronze mechanical components used in the mechanical engineering sector, have gained the reputation for high quality and diversity. Now, the village’s copper-wares have made their way to numerous industrial parks inside and outside Bac Ninh Province, serving several big mechanical companies and corporations in Vietnam.

According to Nguyen Thi Thuy, Director of Manh Quyet Company, by 2011 the number of enterprises of varying sizes reached a three-digit number, not counting small establishments and workshops which employ only a few workers. It is estimated that up to 75 percent of the village’s households are involved in copper mechanical production.

Each household in the village mainly produces only one main product. For example, Thuy’s company specialises in manufacturing worshipping ornaments and decorations. Others are involved in nuts and bolts, hinges, electric wires, locks and valves. Since they produce different specialised products, each producer can commit time and resources to maximise its effectiveness, promoting its manufacturing capacity and turnout while perfecting its products without risks of local competitiveness.

Thuy said that she inherited the craft of bronze-casting from her predecessors with a small workshop of manual production in the beginning. But due to the impact of the market economy, she found it necessary to update advanced technology and extend the production line so as to meet the changing demands of customers. Therefore, a humble workshop that only produced simple products has developed into a modern one with 80 percent of the production done by machines. The products are thus more diverse and delicate. Manh Quyet Company’s products are now much sought after by both corporate and individual customers nationwide.

Each day passes in Quang Bo Village with the lively and exciting working atmosphere that proves its developing potential. The clear-headedness of the villagers has substantially contributed to the preservation and prospective development of Quang Bo Village as a main manufacturing place for bronze mechanical products. 

Ngoc Ha charming flower- planting village

Ngoc Ha is flowers village. Regarding to the floriculture, providing flowers for Hanoi to mentioning Ngoc Ha village the first, then to the village Huu Tiep, Dai Yen ... This village form long time ago ... Ancient books have recorded the last time Tran dynasty, Tran Chau general bring about Thang Long in 1526, has garrison troops in Hoang Hoa market.

French time of the Ngoc Ha village flower very famous. It is not growing peach blossom as Nghi Tam, Quang Ba, Nhat Tan village, but is the flower of the year, during the month ... Roses, daisy, violet, gladious, butterflies, especially with lilies and Phăng flower (carnation) more ...

 Often the morning, elegant the girls , first round wire chit tissue, mailed death, that is blue, the buff slippers, crooked deal as girls go Huong pagodas throughout the poet by Nguyen Nhuoc Phap , gently to carry flower into town.

Through the Western city, and old street, other city people, they sell flowers, often for the French official, Vietnam official, the ancient trading city ... Many of her acquaintances in the sale of Dong Xuan market, the Hom maket, or delivery of goods to shops selling flowers here ...

 Ngoc Ha village flower. Specifically, the fifteenth of the lunar month, the first of the month, they often the goods harden for acquaintances. Packages are also flowers in the package is Rong- Dieng leaf, scroll or break square or round corner, forced by a bamboo string very thin and then suspended door at each home.

In the package also has flowers roses, Ylang ylang, magnolia and few flowers flower branch wood fibers or flowers ... just enough out in a small disk, with mediation perfume  incense insurgent spirit of Buddha and the first months or midway months ...

Flowers that the village is also where elegant boys than girls , is the time to convert each other, put together to visit, then purchase the gift a dozen beautiful roses bloom best, or ask a gladiolus for a wedding soon to ...

Ngoc Ha village flower in Hanoi. After this, the land of rare ... People sell the garden, field grown flowers, even fill pond then flowers beautiful ancient village hours only memories in the elderly. Ngoc Ha minutes remaining only a short side street outside the garden Bach Thao, the first Tay Son street, where a small market, also named Ngoc Ha market. Ngoc Ha Street not long to four, five hundred meters ...

Top of Ngoc Ha street is a one home to worship Huyen Thien Hac De, one to hold the northern communes. Ngoc Ha is also the vestiges of history. On 5-12-1898, the Ngoc Ha has with Nhue, Vong, Cot insurgent army, according to Nguyen Thanh and Nguyen Quang Hoan, occupy France military post in Ngoc Ha.

After the National resistance day, 20-12-1946 night, to self-defend the neighborhood and defend one's country make an ambush this military post again, break through french's plan attacks to expand the western city ...

In 12 day Dien Bien Phu in air, a part of the B52 was exposed at the sides of the lake in the Ngoc Ha village.

Dong Ho painting village

Dong Ho painting is printed by hand on the surface of wooden plate. Each printing color has its own engraved board. The black one is printed last. Thanks to this way, paintings are made in bulk and do not require sophisticated techniques.

Folk painting is o­ne of the special cultural features of Viet Nam. Since the ancient time, there have been a lot of painting villages, such as dong Ho village (Bac Ninh Province), Hang Trong village (Ha Noi), Kim Hoang village (Ha Tay Province), Nam Hoanh village (Nghe An Province), Sinh village (Hue city), and other villages in the south and mountainous areas.

Dong Ho is located on the southern side of the Đuong river (40 km to the east of Ha Noi) is one of the villages that preserves ancient cultural relics of Kinh Bắc area (Red river delta, north of Viet Nam).

Dong Ho paintings mainly reflect the aspiration for a peaceful, happy and prosperous life. Dear animals in people’s life, such as cow, pig, dog, cat and chicken are also depicted in a lot of paintings. Especially, some paintings like “catching coconuts”, “mice wedding” and “jealously” attract the attention of many domestic and foreign visitors.

The painting fair is annually held on Tết holiday in the communal house in Đông Hồ village, which draws a large number of tourists. From the afternoon of March 14th (lunar calendar), shoddy goods competition is also held at the same place. Painting fair is a distinctive cultural feature of Đông Hồ villagers.

The printing paper is made from the bark of a tree called Gió. The background paper is originally white. People use natural materials to change the colors of the paper which are usually orange, pink, yellow, purple, etc. colors of the paintings are refined from various kinds of tree leaves that can be easily found in Việt Nam.

Particularly, the red color is taken from earth of hills and mountains; the black color is from the coal of burned bamboo’s leaves; the glitter white color is made of sea shells. The original point of Đông Hồ folk painting is the durability of colors. The painting is finally covered with a layer of sticky rice paste (called hồ nếp) to protect the paintings and their colors. They are so long lasting that it is very difficult to make them dimmer due to time or light.

The most common idea carries congratulation meanings, for instance, “Honor-Prosperity”, “Spring Ritual”, “Chicken Family”. Another plot is daily activities, which include “Jealously”, “Playing flute”, “Farmer and Water Buffalo”. Those paintings with Chinese characters have clearer meanings. For example, the painting “Justice” that portraits a child carrying a frog, which means humanity and justice.

Remember to come to Đông Hồ on Tết holiday to mingle yourselves in the atmosphere of a painting fair, which is an opportunity to choose one to your taste

Van Phuc Silk Village

Situated on the bank of Nhue River, about 10km southwest of Hanoi Old Quarter, Van Phuc silk village is renowned for its traditional weaving and premium quality silk products.

Location & History

Situated on the bank of Nhue River, about 10km southwest of Hanoi Old Quarter, Van Phuc silk village is renowned for its traditional weaving and premium quality silk products. At the age of more than 1,200 years, Van Phuc is proud to be the most ancient silk village which provides the best silk in Vietnam.
Visitors to Van Phuc village will be impressed by typical manner of an ancient village in the north of Vietnam with banyan tree, well, communal house, and the sound of power-looms everywhere. Walking on the main road in Van Phuc, tourists will be lost in the world of silk with various products like shirts, ties, crafts, dresses… made of silk available in the village.
For a long period of time, silk was considered as extremely precious handwork which was only used to tailor Royal members' and aristocrats’ dress. The special beauty of Van Phuc or Ha Dong silk was inspiration for many Vietnamese poems, songs and movies (see The White Silk Dress, one of the 5 most outstanding Vietnamese movies).
In Nguyen dynasty time, Van Phuc silk was brought to Hue imperial citadel to make dress for royal members. Between 1931 and 1932, Van Phuc silk was on display in international exhibitions for the first time in Marseille, then Paris and was highly appreciated and preferred by the French. From 1958 to 1988, Van Phuc silk mostly was exported to Eastern European market, and since 1990, it has been known widely in many countries all over the world.


Silk production

Van Phuc silk has been known for its smooth, light weight, and elegant appearance. Especially, a traditional kind of silk called Van Silk made in Van Phuc make the wearers feel cool in summer and warm in winter. Today, to satisfy various demand for silk of the market, Van Phuc silk producers have expanded their silk and garment goods like embroidered silk, , wrinkled silk, double layers and more colors for silk products.
Many families in Van Phuc open their own shops on the main road of the village; create a “town of silk” that sell eye-catching and high quality silk products. Tourists may buy available nice souvenir and clothes in the shop, or select the most suitable materials to then get customized products. The sellers are very friendly and can speak a little English and French to communicate to foreign tourists.
Nowadays, although the weaving has been mechanized for higher productivity, there are still simple manual looms in some houses in the village which help tourists contemplate the genuinely traditional Vietnamese way of making silk.


How to get there

Tourists can join a tour to Van Phuc village available in travel agencies, or visit Van Phuc on their owns by car, motorbike, or catch the local bus 02, 21 then walk 500m to reach the village.
Tourists should travel south west out of Hanoi center on Nguyen Trai road until reach the border of Ha Dong district, then turn right and drive about 3km to reach the village.