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Unique craft of making miniature boats

For over 10 years, Mr. Pham Van Mong has made a living by making miniature boats, ships, and canoes into decorative objects. With his skillful hands, large watercrafts have become beautiful miniature display models that are loved by many people.

Báo Nhân dânBáo Nhân dân20/10/2025

Mr. Chin Mong with the ferry model that once operated in An Giang but no longer exists.
Mr. Chin Mong with the ferry model that once operated in An Giang but no longer exists.

Along Provincial Road 943, passing through Tay Hue 1 Hamlet, My Hoa Commune (now Long Xuyen Ward), An Giang Province, people always see small flower boats, sailboats and small boats... hanging on wooden shelves. These unique products displayed on the roadside belong to Mr. Pham Van Mong, also known as Chin Mong, 54 years old.

Mr. Mong named the handicraft establishment Chin Mong. When meeting us, Mr. Chin Mong smiled humorously, calling it a facility for fun but in fact the facility only has him, from sawing trees, planing wood, making boards, painting mini boats and ships. The place to display products and the "workshop" to build boats and ships is a small corner of the yard that he borrowed from an acquaintance to make a living.

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Miniature boat models displayed for sale on the roadside.

In the story of his life's turning point, Mr. Chin Mong said that he grew up in Long Hau commune, Lai Vung district (now Hoa Long commune), Dong Thap province, famous in the Mekong Delta for the craft of making boats and canoes in Ba Dai canal. Mr. Mong's biological father was a carpenter who specialized in building boats and canoes and passed the craft on to Mr. Mong's brothers.

Later, after getting married, Mr. Mong moved to Long Xuyen to live and continued his old job. When he finished making boats and boats waiting to deliver them to customers, in his spare time, Mr. Mong used planks to make small boats about 30cm long to entertain himself. But unexpectedly, many people asked to buy them for their children to play with, so from then on, he made more small boats to sell.

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The boat - a familiar image of merchants.

In 2011, Mr. Mong had an accident and broke his leg. Since then, his health has declined and he cannot continue his job as a boat builder, always holding a saw and a planer in his hand. When he was at a dead end, Mr. Mong remembered the mini boats and considered them his salvation.

Mr. Mong made many small boats to sell on the roadside. Customers saw the unique product and bought a lot, so Mr. Mong was temporarily not worried about the economy . Many customers commented that the product was too monotonous, so Mr. Mong listened to their advice and made many different models.

Up to now, Mr. Mong has made 10 product models, which are sampans, hull boats, bau boats, tac rang boats, rice boats, etc. Mr. Mong also makes sailboat models according to customers' requests, and mini canoes according to customers' requested sizes.

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Mr. Mong with miniature boat models.

Making mini boats is easy to look at but difficult to do because it requires the craftsman to be skillful with each saw and chisel. Although the products are modeled after large ships and boats, the sophistication and precision required are high, with a slim, soft shape. And the vast Mekong Delta is still the place where boats, canoes, and sampans are used for transportation, so although the products are simplified, they must have a real soul. People are familiar with the image of boats going up and down the water, so if the designs are not sophisticated, customers will get bored and not buy.

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Mini boat models are of interest to many people.

Mr. Mong confided that it takes a day to make a small 3-foot canoe, while other models such as boats and ships take two days or more. Model boats and canoes are mainly for display in the house, so they take a long time to break.

Customers come from all walks of life. There are people or small businesses who buy boats or mini-boats to display as miniature landscapes in the corner of the yard or on their desks. There are elderly people or people who used to live on the river and now have retired from the profession and miss the days of going up and down the river and canals so they buy a small boat or a rice-carrying boat to display in their house to ease their nostalgia. There are also customers who buy boats or boats to display and arrange fruits and flowers to make them look nice...

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Mini boats have taken care of Mr. Mong.

Pointing at the ferry model, Mr. Mong said: "In the past, the ferry on the Long Xuyen-Ba The-Nui Sap route often ran through My Hoa commune to pick up passengers and this image was once familiar to the people." According to Mr. Mong, later on, buses and passenger cars developed so the ferry routes gradually narrowed and disappeared, so today's young people do not know what a ferry is. From that idea, Mr. Mong made a ferry model of Long Xuyen-Ba The-Nui Sap and many elderly people ordered it to reminisce about a time long gone.

According to Mr. Mong, mini boats often sell well near Tet. At this time, many places decorate their houses to welcome spring and worship, so they buy boats to display fruits. Therefore, Tet is always a busy time, but on normal days, they sell just enough to make a living. The products are sold at all prices, the cheapest is 250,000 VND, the highest is 2 million VND.

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Mr. Mong is completing the product before delivering it to the customer.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/doc-dao-nghe-lam-ghe-xuong-thu-nho-post916689.html


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