Go to Hue to see heritage, visit craft villages

Along with cultural heritage sites, scenic spots and historical relics, Thua Thien Hue also preserves many unique traditional occupations and craft villages. This is the basis for the ancient capital to develop a type of tourism that complements the strength of cultural-heritage tourism.

International visitors try making incense at Thuy Xuan incense village, Hue city.

In Thua Thien Hue, there are 92 craft villages, including 42 traditional craft villages with a long history such as: Phuong Duc bronze casting, Phu Cam conical hats, Bao La bamboo and rattan weaving, Dia Linh mother-of-pearl inlay, My Xuyen sculpture, Ke Mon jewelry, Phuoc Tich pottery, Lang Sinh paper paintings, Thanh Tien paper flowers, A Luoi zeng weaving... These craft villages are considered treasures of craft knowledge and rich cultural heritage for the locality to develop craft village tourism.

Preserving and conserving craft villages

Among the designated craft villages in Hue, there are now more than 20 traditional craft villages, such as bronze casting, jewelry, incense making, pottery, paper flowers, fine art wood carving, weaving, etc. The products are favored by domestic and international tourists as many businesses and craft villages have implemented many good ways of doing things, helping to increase income, stabilize the economy for the people, and preserve and develop traditional crafts. Many children of Hue, whether far from home or overseas, always remember the unique craft village products of their homeland.

After being awarded the “Most Attractive Destination in Vietnam” award by the Vietnam Tourism Association in 2015, Thanh Tien paper flower village, Phu Mau commune, Phu Vang district (now part of Hue city) has become more widely known, attracting domestic and foreign tourists.

Artisan Nguyen Hoa in Thanh Tien village, Phu Mau commune (Hue city) said that every week, he welcomes hundreds of international and domestic visitors and groups of students from schools to visit. Currently, at its busiest, Thanh Tien paper flower village has up to 30 households making flowers, and visitors coming here admire the talent and dexterity of the artisans. For tourists, traditional craft villages also have a special attraction because each craft village is associated with a system of historical and cultural relics.

According to the Hue City Department of Culture, many craft villages have gone from producing consumer goods and interior and exterior decoration to impressive craft village tours that attract tourists. Thuy Xuan incense village is a typical example of the transformation from a craft village that used to only produce products for daily life to now being upgraded to a famous tourist destination.

Almost every tourist coming to Hue comes to Thuy Xuan incense village to check in. The combination with the five-panel ao dai has made the incense village a new phenomenon of tourism in the ancient capital in the past 2 years. Many tourists also buy incense products here to bring back as gifts for family and friends. People's income has increased significantly since the change.

The leader of the Department of Tourism of Thua Thien Hue province said that preserving, maintaining and developing traditional crafts has brought both material and spiritual values to the people and tourists. It is easy to see that craft villages have helped people identify their brands and create jobs for many workers. In addition to contributing to increasing people's income, craft villages are also places to preserve and associate with regional cultural values.

For example, goldsmithing is one of the famous traditional crafts of Hue that has existed for a long time. This craft originated from Ke Mon village, Dien Mon commune (Phong Dien district), about 40 km northeast of Hue city center.

People's Artisan Tran Duy Mong shared: "For many years, the goldsmith profession in Hue has been passed down by artisans to the next generation, both preserving and developing, continuing to create products with unique features and high artistic value. In each period, there are skilled artisans and workers who are dedicated to preserving and passing on the profession to the younger generation."

For many years, the goldsmith craft in Hue has been passed down by artisans to the next generation, both preserving and developing, continuing to create products with unique features and high artistic value. Each period has had skilled artisans and workers who are dedicated to preserving and passing on their craft to the younger generation.
People's Artist Tran Duy Mong

In other craft villages such as weaving, painting, bronze casting, fine art carpentry... with the talent of artisans and skilled workers, they have created works of art, such as: tables, chairs, statues, paintings, decorative items for homes, gardens, tourist areas, hotels, restaurants... Wicker products, although made of rattan and bamboo materials, have now been stylized, innovated, and become unique decorative interior products such as tables, chairs, lanterns... that are often ordered by restaurant and hotel owners.

Much potential to be exploited

Arriving at Phuoc Tich pottery village, Phong Hoa commune (Phong Dien district), the tourist group was representatives of travel agencies nationwide. Everyone was fascinated by the peaceful scenery of the village and was interested in the pottery craft in Phuoc Tich. A representative of a travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City said: “Being guided and making pottery by yourself is very interesting. The experiences here bring people back to their childhood, back to the genuine, rustic beauty. That is the material for exploiting tourism”.

Not only in Phuoc Tich, in Hue there are many occupations and craft villages that can be exploited to develop tourism. Director of the Department of Tourism Nguyen Van Phuc said that Hue has been an economic, political and cultural center for more than 400 years and was the capital of the Tay Son and Nguyen dynasties for nearly 160 years, a place to preserve and spread timeless beauty.

Hue is also a land that gathers the quintessence of creative talents of the whole country, containing a special cultural treasure of natural landscapes, history, architecture and unique traditional craft villages. Currently, the Provincial People's Committee has recognized 7 traditional occupations, 10 craft villages and 20 traditional craft villages in 8/9 districts, towns and cities.

In recent years, with the attention and direction of provincial leaders, functional sectors, and localities, the province's occupations and craft villages have been restored, with production and business generating good incomes and gradually adapting to the market mechanism such as: Making Van Cu and O Sa vermicelli, processing Phu Thuan fish sauce, My Xuyen carpentry... Hue has also introduced and developed a number of occupations such as fine art carpentry, embroidery, rattan, bamboo, knitting... contributing to exploiting the potential and strengths of the locality, increasing the value of industrial and handicraft production.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc said that currently, many craft villages have been oriented, combined with tourism development and brought about initial positive results. However, besides the positive aspects, the development of occupations and craft villages still has many limitations such as no planning, no strategy to build and develop brands for products, small scale, fragmented, somewhat outdated technical facilities, mostly using manual and traditional tools, products are mainly self-sufficient, low competitiveness, environmental pollution, many traditional occupations are produced at a low level, at risk of fading and disappearing... That is one of the concerns when linking the development of craft tourism and craft villages.

Over the years, the province has had policies to preserve and develop craft villages. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, said: The province is implementing the project "Developing craft tourism and craft villages in the province, period 2022-2030", aiming to implement the overall system of traditional craft villages to convey community values and become tourist destinations, contributing to the preservation, maintenance and promotion of cultural heritage and historical values as well as promoting the socio-economic values of traditional craft villages in the area.

The province is implementing the project "Developing vocational tourism and craft villages in the province, period 2022-2030", aiming to implement the overall system of traditional craft villages to convey community values and become tourist destinations, contributing to preserving, maintaining and promoting cultural heritage and historical values as well as promoting the socio-economic values of traditional craft villages in the area.
Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh

Developing tourism in craft villages not only preserves traditional cultural quintessence but also creates jobs and improves income for local people, while creating momentum for socio-economic development and enhancing integration of craft villages.

According to the leader of the Department of Tourism, to develop vocational tourism and craft villages, it not only requires the efforts of the tourism industry but also the joint efforts of many sectors, localities, business communities and people.

The tourism industry and units and localities need to focus on many solutions, including orienting the development of locations and routes for craft tourism and traditional craft villages; researching and developing tourism types and products; periodically researching and surveying the tourism market to serve as a basis for developing strategies, programs and plans to promote destinations, products and brands of traditional craft village tourism; diversifying forms of promoting traditional craft village tourism; 3D digitizing some typical traditional craft village tourism development locations to serve the promotion and more visual introduction of traditional craft village products and services to domestic and foreign tourists.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/toi-hue-ngam-di-san-tham-lang-nghe-5031775.html