Bat Trang pottery village (Ha Noi) met cultural, historical, economic, and social criteria to be accepted last month as an official member of the Global Network of Creative Craft Cities. This will open up opportunities for the village to promote its craft to the world.
Bat Trang pottery products. (Photo: VOV2)
Receiving a membership certificate from the World Crafts Council gave residents of Bat Trang great hope. One villager said this is a wonderful chance to introduce Bat Trang pottery internationally and that the handicraft village has retained its traditional uniqueness. According to a craft person, today by combining traditional and contemporary characteristics, Bat Trang will become a production and tourism craft village. Bat Trang is changing but this is a good development.
Artisan Ha Thi Vinh, Vice President of the Vietnam Craft Village Association and President of the Hanoi Handicraft and Craft Village Association, is hopeful about the future of Bat Trang following its membership of the Global Network of Creative Craft Cities.
“This is our pride from which we will develop our unique brand domestically and globally. That’s our dream,” said Vinh, adding, “Through this brand, we’ll publicize our homeland’s history and culture and create prosperity for our children. As a member of the Global Network of Creative Craft Cities, we’ll learn from other craft villages and spread the beauty of Bat Trang to the world,” Vinh said.
In this 500-year-old village on the Red River, in Hanoi’s Bat Trang commune, artisans with a passion for pottery, creativity, skilled hands, and trade secrets passed down through generations, have been creating sophisticated, eye-catching pottery for centuries. Ancient pottery artifacts of Vietnam’s feudal dynasties have been beautifully restored by Bat Trang artisans.
Artisan Pham Ngoc Huy has more than 50 years engaged in the pottery making craft in Bat Trang. (Photo: baohaiduong.vn)
Artisan Pham Ngoc Huy said, “Bat Trang pottery is known for its jade, matte, blue, and brown enamel. The enamel is fired at a relatively high temperature, between 1,250 and 1,320 degrees Celsius, making it different from that of other pottery villages. The enamel glazes are achieved by burning rice husks in wood kilns.”
Bat Trang pottery products have grown steadily in popularity in Vietnam and are exported to Asia, Europe, and the US. Its high-end products have been given as gifts to heads of state and diplomatic delegations visiting Vietnam.
Bat Trang pottery village has 100 master artisans, 200 businesses, and 1,000 households producing and selling pottery and ceramic pieces. 9 out of 10 young people in the village know how to make pottery.
Inside the Center for Quintessence of the Vietnamese Craft Village in Bat Trang (Photo: Viet Trung/ congluan.vn)
Vu Nhu Quynh, a young Bat Trang artisan, is very proud of her job, recalled that in the past, every step was done by hand, leading to great losses from damage and breakage. “In addition to preserving the traditions and secrets of the craft, I keep up to date with new technology and techniques for handmade pottery. Nowadays, potters have to know, not only how to make ceramics, but how to advertise and market their pottery,” Quynh noted.
Today Bat Trang is one of Ha Noi’s most famous tourist attractions. By becoming a member of the Global Network of Creative Craft Cities, Bat Trang will have new support for preserving and developing its craft and affirming its position among the world’s craft villages.
Le Phuong
