Gathering 350 domestic and international craft booths at Thang Long Imperial Citadel

This is also a practical activity to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Agriculture and Environment sector (November 14, 1945 - November 14, 2025); to welcome the success of the 18th Hanoi Party Congress, term 2025-2030, towards the 14th National Party Congress.

Delegates attending the Festival. *Photo: Anh Duong*

Attending the ceremony were Party Central Committee members: Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Le Minh Hoan, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front - President of the Vietnam Women's Union Nguyen Thi Tuyen; Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Vo Van Hung; former Party Central Committee member, former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong and representatives of leaders of central ministries, departments and branches.

Delegates from Hanoi attending the opening ceremony included: Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung; Member of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen and representatives of leaders of provinces and cities across the country.

International delegates included: Mr. Sundeep Kumar - Vice President of the World Craft Council in the Asia-Pacific region; Ms. Jude van der Merwe - President of the Asia-Pacific Craft Alliance; Ms. Barbara Velasco Hermader - President of the World Craft Council in the Latin America region, and representatives of leaders of 30 countries and territories in the field of conservation and development of global handicrafts.

Convergence of traditional craft villages

The 2025 International Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival takes place from November 14 to 18 at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel Center. The event has 350 booths displaying, demonstrating and creating typical craft village products from Hanoi, domestic and international provinces. This year's theme is "Conservation - Development - Integration", including the following spaces: Conservation, Development, International Integration, OCOP and Cuisine.

Central, city, domestic and international delegates visit booths at the Festival. *Photo: Anh Duong*

The Festival also has many special activities: Vietnam Handicraft Product Competition, attracting hundreds of artisans and skilled workers with nearly 500 entries; a procession of craft founders, honoring outstanding artisans and skilled workers; displaying and introducing products from Vietnamese and international craft villages; seminars, international exchange forums with the participation of the World Craft Council and many experts and artisans from different continents...

Hanoi - the land of hundreds of crafts, is the land of convergence of traditional craft villages with more than 1,350 craft villages and villages with occupations, of which 337 occupations, craft villages, and traditional craft villages have been recognized.

In 2024, the city has two craft villages, Bat Trang ceramics - Bat Trang commune and Van Phuc silk weaving - Ha Dong ward, which have officially become members of the Network of Creative Craft Cities worldwide. These are also the first two craft villages in Vietnam to be honored to be recognized.

Currently, Hanoi city continues to submit to the World Craft Council for consideration and recognition of two craft villages, Son Dong lacquer carving village and Chuyen My commune mother-of-pearl inlay and lacquer craft village, as members of the Network of Creative Craft Cities worldwide.

Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung speaks. *Photo: Anh Duong*

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung emphasized: This year's Festival is not only a place to display quintessential products, but also a space for exchange, sharing, learning and commercial connection. This is also an opportunity for domestic and international artisans to enjoy and experience the culinary culture of OCOP Vietnam, where each dish is also a "storytelling identity", a thread connecting culture - people - nature.

With a sustainable development strategy, Hanoi always thoroughly grasps the spirit of the Party's Resolution on building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity, while at the same time keeping pace with the global creative trend. Today's Festival is a vivid demonstration of that orientation: both preserving heritage and creating new values, making culture an endogenous resource and driving force for sustainable development.

Honoring the elite - integrating and developing

Festival 2025 not only honors the quintessence of Vietnamese crafts but also welcomes international friends. Craft villages from around the world converge, bringing Japanese ceramics, Thai silk, Lao silver carving, Indonesian brocade, Indian wood carving, French hand embroidery and traditional African weaving. Each product is a cultural story, creating a colorful picture of human craftsmanship.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Vo Van Hung speaks. *Photo: Anh Duong*

Speaking at the Festival, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Vo Van Hung emphasized: The opening ceremony of the International Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival 2025 is a cultural and economic event of profound significance, honoring the quintessence of Vietnamese and international craft villages, affirming the sustainable vitality of traditional craft culture in the new era. Handicraft products are not only a livelihood, but also the soul of national culture, a symbol of ingenuity, perseverance and creativity.

Deputy Minister Vo Van Hung affirmed: Each profession, each village is a cultural page, a symbol of the land - a place to preserve traditions and breathe life into each product. Vietnam has also contributed to the world's cultural treasure with sustainable values, creating its own identity in a colorful world, reviving traditional values, and at the same time, creating products of high economic value, conquering the international market.

Currently, the rural industry sector has about 600,000 production establishments, creating jobs for more than 2.1 million workers, including many elderly people and people with disabilities; the export turnover of handicraft products in 2024 reached over 2.3 billion USD, a clear demonstration of the enduring vitality and great potential of Vietnamese craft villages.

Central, city, domestic and international delegates visit the booths. *Photo: Anh Duong*

Hanoi capital - the land of a thousand years of civilization, the heart of the whole country, is not only the political center, but also the cradle of Vietnamese culture and traditional crafts. The meeting between Vietnamese and international artisans at the Festival is not only a professional exchange, but also a cultural dialogue, where the identities of different ethnic groups blend together, aiming for the common value of preserving, creating and spreading the beauty of humanity.

Delegates perform the opening ceremony of the Festival. *Photo: Anh Duong*

Deputy Minister Vo Van Hung affirmed that this year's Festival is not only a cultural and commercial festival, but also a bridge for cooperation, innovation and sustainable development. He believes that the rural industry and craft villages in Vietnam will continue to develop strongly, both preserving cultural heritage and improving competitiveness and added value of products, contributing to job creation, increasing income, protecting the environment, and building Vietnam's countryside to be increasingly rich and civilized.

Also at the opening ceremony, the Organizing Committee awarded prizes to the authors of the Vietnam Handicraft Product Contest and the Hanoi Craft Village Contest 2025.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/hoi-tu-350-gian-hang-thu-cong-trong-nuoc-va-quoc-te-tai-hoang-thanh-thang-long-723341.html