Storyteller of traditional craft villages

Amidst the hustle and bustle of modern life, Ngo Quy Duc is one of the few young people who choose a quiet journey, documenting and recounting the stories of the crafts and people within Vietnam's handicraft heritage.

Ngo Quy Duc guides young people in practicing printing Thanh Lieu woodblock prints on Do paper at Ngu Ha Vien. Photo: HXK

For him, heritage is not the past, but the ongoing breath in every chisel stroke, every grain of wood, every coat of paint... where culture is touched, revived, and continues to shine in everyday life.

The "Return to the Village" journey

Duc recounts that his love for these traditional toys stems from childhood memories of folk toys like star-shaped lanterns, spinning tops, clay figurines, and papier-mâché masks. As he grew older, Duc realized these items were disappearing from collective memory, and he felt the need to do something to save them.

That love prompted the IT student to leave his computer and seek out the quiet craft villages nestled among bamboo groves, where skilled hands still keep the flame of their ancestors' trades alive every day.

In 2006, Duc initiated the "My Hanoi" project, an online library about Hanoi's culture, documenting the memories, spaces, traditional crafts, architecture, and customs of this thousand-year-old land.

The project quickly became the foundation for him to expand his journey into "Returning to the Village" - a network connecting artisans, craftspeople, researchers, collectors, and young people who love folk culture.

For nearly two decades of tireless effort, he has helped connect seemingly disparate pieces of Vietnam's handicraft heritage, becoming a bridge between old values ​​and new life, between memory and the present.

Duc has traveled through more than 500 craft villages across all three regions of Vietnam, meeting hundreds of artisans and craftsmen. He listened, learned, took notes, and recounted their stories with gratitude and respect. Many artisans trust him and consider him a son in their craft, willingly passing on the techniques and secrets they had kept secret, because in his eyes they see genuine love for their heritage.

Recreating living memories

Beyond simply collecting or documenting, Ngo Quy Duc seeks to "reconstruct memories" through spaces where heritage can tell its own story. He doesn't recreate traditional craft villages in a nostalgic way, but rather creates spaces for dialogue between tradition and the contemporary – where young people are free to learn, practice, and create on the foundation of old heritage.

In 2024, he established the "Traditional Crafts Ward" in Ha Dong so that young people could learn, practice, and experience traditional crafts. In 2025, he brought that spirit to Hue , the cradle of royal court crafts and fine arts, with the "Ngu Ha Vien" project, an ancient wooden house located along the Ngu Ha River. This is where he received the flame from his predecessor - the late artisan Duong Dinh Vinh - and lit it even more brilliantly.

Tourists and young people flock to Ngự Hà Viên as a meeting place to participate in discussions and conversations with artisans, and to try their hand at woodblock printing – to connect with their roots and experience heritage with their hands and hearts. There, heritage is not distant but is returning naturally, vividly, and intimately.

Recently, Duc has further expanded this journey with a research project to revive the craft of making Chuon village scrolls – a fading heritage in Hue. By studying the connection between the printing and engraving techniques of Chuon village scrolls and the woodblock prints of Thanh Lieu, Hang Trong, Dong Ho, and Kim Hoang paintings, he hopes to recreate not only the products but also the folk creativity of the past and to open training classes to pass on the craft to local youth.

"My goal is to build a sustainable ecosystem, proving that cultural heritage doesn't just belong to the past, but can absolutely become a valuable, vibrant, and proud part of contemporary life," Duc shared.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/nguoi-ke-chuyen-nhung-lang-nghe-3315886.html