Traditional craft villages along the Day River

The Day River, whose name in Chinese characters is "De Giang," is located about 20km from the center of Hanoi. Folklore has a compound word, "dao de," meaning "to penetrate to the bottom," referring to wise and insightful people. This seems to be a characteristic well-suited to those engaged in handicrafts, especially those thriving in the villages of the districts along the Day River.

The area encompassing the two districts of Phuc Tho and Quoc Oai, located on the right bank of the Day River, boasts 26 recognized craft villages, encompassing a diverse range of activities from agricultural product processing to carpentry.

They form an ecosystem of raw materials and finished products that are very close to everyday life, such as tailoring in Thuong Hiep and Tam Thuan alongside carpet weaving in Phung Thuong, both in Phuc Tho district. Meanwhile, villages along the Day River in Quoc Oai district, as well as bamboo and rattan forest areas in Thach That, are very developed in the production of woven mats, such as Muon and Trai Do villages (Tuyet Nghia commune), Nghia Huong and Liep Tuyet in Quoc Oai, and the rattan and bamboo weaving villages of Phu Hoa, Thai Hoa, and Binh Xa in Thach That.

There's an old saying, "bridges in the South, temples in the North, communal houses in the West," meaning that building the largest and most beautiful communal houses requires top-tier carpentry skills. These are none other than the craftsmen from the villages of Quoc Oai and Thach That. The semi-mountainous region of Thach That, once a forest gateway for centuries, is still home to famous carpentry villages such as Chang Son, Canh Nau, Di Nau, Huu Bang, Huong Ngai, Ngo Sai, Yen Quan, Nghia Huong, and Ngoc Than…

Among these, villages specializing in building traditional houses often have close ties with villages specializing in making wooden statues and religious artifacts, such as Son Dong in Hoai Duc district across the Day River.

Traditional food-making villages have also created well-known brands such as vermicelli from So and Tan Hoa villages (Cong Hoa district), and sticky rice cakes from Thach village, all located along the food-growing region bordering the Day River. These villages, along with the beautiful temples and pagodas in the area, create a vibrant and colorful belt that embodies the unique character of the Doai region. Tourists visiting So Temple, Thay Pagoda, Hoang Xa Cave (Quoc Oai district), Tay Phuong Pagoda (Thach That district), Ha Hiep Temple (Phuc Tho district)... not only admire the architectural structures but also experience the lives of the people who produce these goods.

Heritage Magazine