Cao Thon is a small village situated on the bank of the Red River in Bao Khe commune of northern Hung Yen province. There are more than 100 families making incense in the village 

The village becomes busier whenever the Lunar New Year, the biggest traditional festival of Vietnam, approaches

Many families in Cao Thon have produced incense for three or four generations

 Main incense ingredients include cinnamon, Aquilaria crassna Pierre and Syzygium aromaticum. Each family has its own way of mixing those ingredients, and that's why incense products made by different families also smell different

Sticks are dried to prepare for making incense

Sticks are dried in the sun

Sunlight will ​dry incense while keeping the products' colour and fragrance

Finished incense coils