Artisan Le Dinh Nghien is recognised as the last artist to paint by woodblocks in Hang Trong, an ancient street by Sword Lake in downtown Hanoi (Photo: VNA)

According to Nghien, Hang Trong paintings are made differently with a more sophisticated method than other genres of traditional paintings (Photo: VNA)

Artisan Nghien starts with woodblocks to print black basic shapes of the paintings and then draws the details (Photo: VNA)

He has been working to preserve and restore Hang Trong paintings at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum since 1972 (Photo: VNA)

Nghien still keeps nearly 50 woodblocks of Hang Trong paintings which he considers a valuable inheritance from his ancestors (Photo: VNA)

Hang Trong paintings first appeared in the 16th-17th century, and became popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Photo: VNA)

Many researchers affirm that Hang Trong paintings are strongly influenced by the regional thoughts, culture and religions of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism (Photo: VNA)

The paintings also combine the art of statues and sculptures in temples and pagodas and normal beauty in people’s daily lives (Photo: VNA)

Painting ‘Ly ngu vong nguyet’ (Carp watching the Moon) (Photo: VNA)

Painting ‘Tu binh’ (Four female musicians) (Photo: VNA)