Wooden, rattan, and bamboo products by Hanoi's craft villages (Photo: Duc Anh/VOV5)

There are more than 1,350 craft villages in Hanoi, 318 of which are recognized as traditional craft villages. The villages are focused on production of agro-forestry and fisheries products, materials for rural occupations, handicrafts, wooden, rattan, and bamboo products, pottery, glassware, textiles, embroidery, and small-scale mechanical production.

Ta Van Tuong, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: “The age-old capital city has been the birthplace of many trades, passed down through generations. Our traditions, culture, and national identity have been effectively preserved and promoted in craft villages. Many new craft villages have also developed strongly.”

Vietnam Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival 2023 (Photo: Duc Anh/VOV5)

Each craft village in Hanoi has its own identity and its unique and charming products, which embrace Vietnamese cultural identity. The products are high-quality and vary in types and designs and several of them are strongly competitive in both domestic and foreign markets, including textiles, pottery, traditional embroidery, and timber goods for consumption and construction.

The Hanoi municipal People’s Committee has particularly focused on preserving and promoting local craft villages, and improving products’ competitiveness. The city has held several events, trade fairs, promotional programs, competitions, and festivals to honor local craft villages.

Notable ones include the “Quintessence of Craft Villages, Hanoi OCOP Products 2023” program, held in conjunction with the 4th Phu Xuyen Craft Village Festival, the Vietnam Craft Village Conservation and Development Festival 2023, and the Hanoi Tourism Gift Festival 2023”.

Le Van Binh, Chairman of the Phu Xuyen district’s People’s Committee, said: “Phu Xuyen district has 154 craft villages, 43 of which were recognized by the city. We have held festivals to honor craft villages and their products, and to preserve, and promote their identities. We aim to boost the local socio-economic development in association with promoting craft villages’ tourism and production.”

Tourists at the promotion event are excited to experience the making of handicraft products. (Photo: Duc Anh/VOV5)

Hanoi has also held several craft village promotional events to encourageskilled craftsmen and artisans to share experience, preserve their villages’ unique culture, and develop new ideas for products to meet the market’s demands. Many competitions on designing products and packages have been held, enabling craftsmen and artisans to promote their creativity as well as local culture, people, and history.

Dang Van Tien of Xuan La village, PhuXuyen district, which specializes in making To He figurines, said: “At the event, we want to encourage handicraft villages and artisans to introduce and promote products of the best quality and design.”

Hanoi has also adopted several policies to help rural businesses develop. It has approved many projects to develop craft villages. In the 2022-2025 period, Hanoi is focused on developing products in craft villages labelled as “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP), while promoting production in value chain in conjunction with developing tourism and services, and protecting the environment.

Hanoi has strengthened trade promotion and branding activities for craft products and launched websites of craft villages. The city has also linked the preservation and development of craft villages with tourism development programs to attract both domestic and foreign tourists.

Ta Van Tuong, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: “It’s important to attracting tourists to craft villages. The city will implement solutions to support artisans. For example, we can bring tourists to a shoe-making village where the artisans can tailor-make a pair of shoes for them with their own logo.”

Each handicraft product embraces typical characteristics of craft villages and reflect the soul and creativity of the craftsmen. The preservation and promotion of craft villages will contribute to promoting traditional cultural values and boosting the socio-economic development of Hanoi.