Thanh Tien paper flowers are colorful.

In the midst of the ancient capital of Hue, imbued with cultural colors, Thanh Tien paper flower craft village is like a gentle and quiet highlight along the poetic Huong River. After more than 4 decades, the craft village is not only a place to make paper flowers for religious and festival purposes, but also carries within it a valuable intangible cultural heritage.

Thanh Tien paper flower village is located in the fields of Phu Mau commune, Phu Vang district, Thua Thien Hue province, now Duong No ward, Hue city. Unlike ordinary decorative flowers, Thanh Tien paper flowers carry a special cultural depth. Each lotus, lily, and chrysanthemum is associated with religious rituals, ancestor worship customs, Tet, full moon, and festivals imbued with the spirituality of the Vietnamese people. From the skillful and meticulous hands of artisans, colorful, delicate paper flowers are created, imbued with the unique style of the craft village here.

To create a paper flower, the artisan must prepare in advance. Bamboo must be selected from the most flexible type, split into small pieces and dried to make branches and flower stems. Colored paper must be cut into flower shapes, glued to create shapes, pistils must be grafted to form each flower, and then the flowers must be grafted onto the branches. The process of dyeing the flower paper is done manually with natural colors according to each family's traditional recipe.

Mr. Tran Phu is 63 years old this year - a long-time artisan of the flower village.

Mr. Tran Phu is 63 years old this year - a famous artisan in the region and the third generation in a family with a tradition of making paper flowers. He shared: "Making paper flowers in the past did not guarantee a living like it does now, they could only be sold during Tet holidays, and during other times they had to do extra farm work to earn extra money. But now paper flowers are ordered all year round, many tourists know about them and participate in the experience of making flowers."

When we arrived here, we saw some young people and tourists participating in the experience of making a real flower. Some people meticulously created folds and ripples for the petals, others attached the petals to form the shapes of flowers: wallflowers, roses, lilies... I saw on the faces of the young people full of enthusiasm as well as excitement for these flowers.

According to NTHTrang - a third-year student at the University of Arts, Hue University, shared: "Every time Tet comes, I see my mother buying Thanh Tien paper flowers to display in the house. I myself feel curious and interested in the colorful and eye-catching paper flowers. Therefore, I learned about the craft village and spent time exploring the craft village as well as experiencing making a paper flower. After participating in the flower making experience and listening to the uncle's sharing, I feel love for each flower, not only because of its beauty but also because of the story and the effort the craftsman puts in."

TPThanh - a final year student at Phu Xuan University, said: “At first, I only thought of going to the craft village to experience it with my friends. But when Mr. Phu personally guided me to make a rose, I suddenly felt quiet. The feeling when seeing paper turn into flowers, simple but strangely sacred. And I thought I had to do something useful to let people know about the craft village. So, I often introduce it to my friends, and take foreign guests to experience Thanh Tien craft village.”

Thanh Tien paper flower craft village attracts young people

From here, many students come to the village during the holidays to film and make videos and use the media to let more people know about the craft village. Many schools at all levels in the city and neighboring provinces regularly organize field trips during the school year for students to Thanh Tien village. This helps them learn about traditions and love their national identity through each paper flower and each story told by each artisan in the village.

Through each film and each photo, the journey of making paper flowers is recorded by very young hands - students who seem to be only familiar with books and technology, but are the ones who are silently preserving the village soul and traditional culture of Thanh Tien craft village.

Mr. Phu added: “When I see more and more tourists, especially young people, interested in and knowing about the craft village, I feel very happy. Thanh Tien paper flowers are associated with me through every memory and stage of my life. Making paper flowers is not just for sale, but to preserve the soul of the village, of my hometown, of my ancestors. That is the motivation for me to pursue and preserve this soul for all these years”. That saying, which seems to be just a sharing of an artisan who keeps the profession, has become a silent call, guiding many young people to step into the arduous but also emotional path: The journey to preserve Thanh Tien paper flowers.

Preserving the craft village is not a matter of a day or two. Thanh Tien paper flowers still face many difficulties. However, Thanh Tien paper flower village today is still as colorful as hundreds of years ago, and what is more precious is that it is reviving with a new breath - the breath of young people full of passion, creativity and responsibility of each generation.

Hoang Anh - Phuong Minh

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/nhip-tho-moi-tu-lang-hoa-giay-thanh-tien-155456.html