Several traditional crafts in Huế and nationwide will be honoured during a festival dedicated to the trade.

Themed ‘The Quintessence of Vietnamese Crafts’, the 2023 Huế Traditional Craft Festival started on Friday to preserve local centuries-old crafts, introducing and further promoting the image of the former imperial city.

Taking place on main streets in the city’s centre, including the pedestrian street Nguyễn Đình Chiểu alongside the Hương (Perfume) River, the festival will display and present handicraft products of numerous villages across the province.

Life-size models of nhà rường (wooden house with many beams and pillars), a type of traditional house built in Huế, have been set up at the event, creating a peaceful and poetic space that is in harmony with the picturesque landscape of Hương River. Artisans will gather at the event to present demonstrations of their crafts.

The festival is expected to draw a large number of tourists, especially as it coincides with the five-day national holiday.

According to the Chairman of Huế People’s Committee Võ Lê Nhật, after two years of hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ninth season of the Festival of Huế Traditional Crafts this year has been organised on a larger scale and better quality, aiming to boost the provincial socio-economic growth, bringing traditional craft products closer to domestic and international markets.

Lễ Tế Tổ Bách Nghệ, a worshipping ritual to commemorate founders of traditional crafts will be held as part of the 2023 Huế Traditional Craft Festival. — Photo thuathienhue.gov.vn

The festival’s agenda will also feature a diversified art programme and recreation of popular folk festivals and royal rituals.

Lễ Tế Tổ Bách Nghệ (Worshipping Ritual for Craft Founders) and a procession to honour the crafts will be among the activities of the festival. Festival goers can enjoy several flavourful dishes made from noodles at a culinary programme entitled Tinh Hoa Nghề Bún (The Quintessence of Noodle Making Craft).

Visitors can also enjoy an art cultural exchange programme between Huế and other sister cities in Việt Nam and other countries. The programme includes a parade featuring stilt walkers from Belgium, South Korean folk music and martial art performance, and a fashion show showcasing traditional Korean hanbok.

Quintessence of crafts

Huế Traditional Craft Festival has been presenting unique products created by talented craftsmen from traditional villages in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province and other localities across the country.

To prepare for the craft festival, workshops in Thủy Xuân Village, famous for the incense stick making craft over the past 700 years, have created new products with creative packaging designs to meet all the requirements of the festival-goers. The villagers are happy to have a chance to introduce and promote their product which partly presents the cultural feature of the former imperial capital.

Hồ Ngọc Thứ, the owner of Đức Thành Incense Workshop, said that at the festival, his craftsmen would demonstrate techniques in incense making as well as present how to sculpture agarwood and extract agarwood oil.

Thủy Xuân Village in Huế City has been famous for the incense stick making craft over the past 700 years — Photo dulichconvoi.com

He also said that the festival would be a good opportunity for craftsmen in Thủy Xuân Village and other traditional villages to introduce their handicraft products, contributing to the preservation and promotion of traditional crafts, at the same time to increase incomes and develop livelihoods for people.

Three hundred and fifty artisans from 69 famous craft villages nationwide will gather at the Huế Festival to show off their skills.

Especially, 37 foreign artisans from six sister cities in South Korea and Japan, where they established bonding relationships with Huế, will also participate in the event.

During the festival, visitors will have a chance to learn about numerous traditional crafts such as brocade weaving, fine art carpenter, sculpture, inlaid and carving, silversmith, bamboo and rattan weaving, palm leaf conical hat making, ceramic, and folk painting.

The 2023 Huế Traditional Craft Festival will last until May 5. — VNS