Huong Canh Pottery Village - Rustic Vinh Phuc Ceramics

Huong Canh pottery village (Binh Xuyen, Vinh Phuc ) is over 300 years old with high quality ceramic products and diverse designs. It was thought to have disappeared, but the love for the craft has helped the village survive to this day.

"Who comes to buy a jar of Huong Canh?

Whoever comes back, I will send it to you and her."

In the past, the Huong Canh ceramic brand was famous far and wide with the saying “Mong Cai ceramic, Huong Canh jar”. In the 60s of the last century, Huong Canh ceramics developed extremely prosperously. During the difficult time of the whole country, market demand changed, household ceramics here were no longer popular, and the ceramic craft faded away.

Photo: VOV.

Beautiful ceramics. Photo: Vietnam +.

Therefore, everyone gave up the profession. However, in recent years, with the efforts of artisans who love their profession and young people born and raised here to innovate and diversify their products, Huong Canh pottery has gradually revived.

Diverse ceramic products. Photo: Vietnam +.

Photo: VOV.

Huong Canh pottery village produces earthenware products with a rough, rustic appearance and the color of burnt earth. The soil and water, mixed by the artisan’s hands, combined with fire, create a shiny, bright surface, as if covered with a layer of glaze, often called “glaze in the soil”.

Photo: VOV.

The earthenware here is very water-resistant, blocks light, and preserves the contents well. Jars for making soy sauce, wine, fish sauce, pickles, etc. retain their full flavor, producing the best finished product. Jars for holding tea make the tea dry and crispy; for holding tobacco, the tobacco stays soft and fragrant. People still believe that water wears away stone, but Huong Canh pottery will last a thousand years and never wears away.

Handmade ceramic shaping. Photo: People's Public Security Newspaper.

Huong Canh pottery is made from locally mined green clay, which is smooth, rich, less sandy, less boney, and more meaty than other types of clay. The process from raw clay to pottery clay must go through 5 stages. After that, the clay becomes flexible and easy to thin, allowing potters to freely create.

Photo: Vietnam +.

What makes Huong Canh pottery special is not only the quality of the pottery but also the color and sound. Due to the structure of green clay, when fired, earthenware often makes a clinking sound when tapped, similar to when touching metal.

Pre-process the soil to make it soft, smooth and supple. Photo: Vietnam +.

In addition, the products are both sinewy and strong, creating a very unique and attractive feature. In particular, ancient Huong Canh ceramic products often do not use glaze or colorants, but the products are still eye-catching. Huong Canh ceramic village also carries the cultural quintessence of the traditional craft village of the nation.

Photo: Vietnam +.

Firing is the final stage to create finished products, because the kiln has only one door, so the craftsman must always observe the temperature and time to produce the best batches of pottery. The firing stage requires the craftsman to master the technique of arranging the kiln and "regulating" the fire, otherwise the whole batch of pottery will be ruined.

Photo: PV/Vietnam +.

Carving on ceramic. Photo: PV/Vietnam +.

Although there are still many difficulties in preserving the traditional craft, the artisans of Huong Canh pottery village still develop with all their heart. Today's ceramics are not simply simple items but are increasingly sophisticated, becoming closer to modern life. According to iVIVU.com