Building New Rural Areas in Hanoi Son Dong promotes cultural values ​​in building new rural areas

Building new rural areas associated with preserving and promoting cultural traditions has been considered by the leaders, government and people of Son Dong commune as a central and continuous task of the entire political system and people in the commune. Accordingly, the commune focuses on propagating and mobilizing people to effectively implement the campaigns "All people unite to build new rural areas and civilized urban areas", "All people unite to build a cultural life"...

Preserving and promoting traditional cultural values

Son Dong commune was established on the basis of merging the entire area and population of the communes: Son Dong, Lai Yen, Tien Yen, Van Canh, most of the area of ​​Song Phuong commune, part of the natural area of ​​An Thuong, An Khanh, Van Con communes (all belonging to the old Hoai Duc district). Son Dong commune has the advantage that the old communes of Lai Yen and Son Dong have met the model new rural standards; the old communes of Tien Yen, Van Canh, Song Phuong have met the advanced new rural standards. Inheriting the achievements, Son Dong determined to build a new rural area associated with preserving and promoting cultural traditions.

Chairman of Son Dong Commune People's Committee Pham Gia Loc said that the commune aims at sustainable rural development, especially preserving traditional cultural values. This is considered a central and continuous task of the entire political system and people in the commune. In recent times, the commune has focused on propagating and mobilizing people to effectively implement the campaigns "All people unite to build new rural areas and civilized urban areas", "All people unite to build a cultural life"...

Son Dong craft village, with a history of more than 1,000 years, the art of sculpture, statue carving, lacquering, and gilding of Son Dong craft village has been contributing to the fame of the handicraft quintessence of Son Dong commune. The artisans and workers of Son Dong craft village always focus on preserving and promoting traditional values ​​and quintessence from thousands of years ago. Currently, Son Dong craft village has more than 4,000 workers, bringing in hundreds of billions of VND in income per year. The products of the craft village are regularly sent to and participate in fairs and exhibitions in the city, domestically and internationally.

Sculptures, statues, lacquer and gold-plated products of Son Dong craft village

Meritorious artisan Nguyen Viet Thanh shared that, with the efforts to preserve and promote the value of traditional craft villages, in 2007, Son Dong craft village was recognized in Vietnam as the "Largest Buddhist statue and worshiping object craft village in Vietnam"; in June 2024, Son Dong was recognized as the Center for Design, Creation, Introduction, Promotion and Sale of OCOP Products and Fine Arts Products. In early 2025, Son Dong craft village registered to join the world 's handicraft network. This is also an opportunity for the craft village to integrate with the world and develop tourism, bringing high income value. The development of Son Dong handicraft village has been demonstrating the results of respecting, preserving and promoting traditional values.

According to artisan Nguyen Viet Thanh, trade promotion activities are of interest to all levels of government and craft village associations. Every year, the craft village association and the artisan association of the commune coordinate with the city's departments, branches, and sectors to bring craft village products to display and promote at trade promotion fairs organized by the central government, city, and district. Trade activities and promotion of craft village products are also promoted by business owners and production facilities on social networking platforms such as Zalo, Facebook, Shopee, TikTok, etc. and become effective promotional information channels, with widespread global reach, while promotion costs are low.

Determining the goal of building a new model rural area is to improve the living standards and enjoyment of the people, Son Dong commune has mobilized the participation of the entire political system. With the advantage of having traditional craft villages, services and trade in Son Dong commune have developed strongly, contributing to creating jobs and increasing income for local people. It can be said that the implementation of the National Target Program on building new rural areas, advanced new rural areas, and models has really changed the lives of the people.

Actively care for the development of cultural careers

The craft of carving statues and making worship objects in Son Dong has been passed down through generations, becoming the pride and main livelihood of thousands of local people. Son Dong products are present in a series of famous cultural and spiritual works such as: Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, Ngoc Son Temple, Quan Thanh Temple, One Pillar Pagoda, Tran Quoc Pagoda, Bai Dinh Pagoda, Ba Vang Pagoda, Phat Tich Pagoda... These works are living proof of the enduring vitality and unique artistic value of Son Dong handicraft.

In 2007, the Vietnam Book of Records recognized Son Dong as "The largest Buddhist statue and worshiping object craft village in Vietnam". Currently, the village has nearly 700 households and 10 handicraft production enterprises, creating jobs for thousands of workers. The average income is about 140 million VND/person/year, an impressive figure for a rural area. In addition, Son Dong's craft village products not only serve the domestic market, but are also exported to many countries such as Russia, France, the US, Thailand, Laos... contributing to spreading the quintessence of Vietnamese crafts to the world.

According to Party Secretary and Chairman of the People's Council of Son Dong Commune, Nguyen Truc Anh, the work of preserving, restoring, embellishing and promoting the values ​​of cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage has always been of interest to the commune. The commune maintains and effectively promotes the movement "All people unite to build a cultural life". On the basis of inheriting the achievements, in the coming time, Son Dong will continue to promote the good traditional cultural values ​​that have existed. The commune strives for 92% of villages and residential groups to achieve and maintain the cultural title, 93.5% of cultural families; 96% of agencies and units to meet cultural standards; 100% of villages and residential groups have cultural houses and community activity houses. At the same time, the commune actively takes care of developing cultural careers, building elegant and civilized Son Dong people.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/xay-dung-nong-thon-moi-o-ha-noi-son-dong-phat-huy-gia-tri-van-hoa-trong-xay-dung-nong-thon-moi-10394955.html