In Vi Khe village, located in Vi Khe ward of Ninh Binh province, it’s not rare to find ornamental trees that have sold for billions of dong. With a history spanning over 800 years, the flower and ornamental tree craft in Vi Khe has endured numerous ups and downs. Yet, the locals have persistently preserved and developed it, turning Vi Khe into one of Vietnam’s most famous ornamental tree craft villages.

Nguyen Cong Khanh (born in 1972), a resident of Vi Khe and chairman of the Vi Khe Ward Ornamental Creatures Association, shared that more than 95% of households in the ward remain attached to the ornamental tree profession.

Specifically, in the historic village of Vi Khe, nearly 100% of households are engaged in the trade. Many families own gardens valued at tens of billions of dong.

Visitors to the village easily come across towering ficus (sanh), pine (tung), and fig (sung) trees that have been nurtured and shaped for decades. These living artworks are valued in the billions of dong range.

Thanks to its long-standing reputation and craftsmanship, ornamental tree creations from Vi Khe artisans are in high demand among collectors. As a result, high-value transactions worth billions are not uncommon.

Continuing his family's tradition, artisan Nguyen Cong Khanh has been involved in ornamental horticulture since childhood. He owns a garden spanning about 5,000 square meters, with over 200 trees, mostly of the Nam Dien ficus variety.

He shared that from the beginning of 2025 until now, he has sold six ornamental tree pieces. In August alone, he sold two ancient ficus bonsai trees for a total of VND 3 billion (around USD 118,000).

The two pieces he sold were styled in “dragon transformation” and “upright transformation” forms, respectively, with each tree estimated to be between 70 and 80 years old.

Previously, Khanh had completed many other billion-dong transactions, including his highest in 2018 when two trees titled Tam Da (Three Blessings) and Di cung nam thang (Through the Years) were sold for VND 9.5 billion (approximately USD 375,000). Both works had won gold prizes at several major ornamental tree exhibitions in Vietnam.

Khanh is not the only one in the village to own valuable trees. Many other families in Vi Khe also possess “massive” gardens and have completed high-value transactions.

Recently, Nguyen Thanh Nam (born in 1982) sold a pair of “dragon transformation” ficus bonsai trees to a customer from former Thai Binh province (now part of Hung Yen) for VND 4.2 billion (about USD 166,000). These deals highlight the enduring appeal of Vi Khe’s bonsai craftsmanship.

However, behind each highly valued bonsai tree lies decades of meticulous care and shaping, into which artisans pour their heart, skill, and soul.

Khanh explained that creating a valuable bonsai begins with selecting the right tree stump, or phoi. From there, the artisan must dedicate years to nurturing, pruning, and training the tree to achieve the desired form.

Each finished piece is the culmination of a long process requiring patience, precision, and immense passion. Depending on the tree’s natural posture, artisans skillfully shape each root and branch into a living sculpture.

“Trees that sell for billions usually have lifespans approaching a hundred years,” Khanh said. “Like the two I sold last month - it might sound like a big deal to sell for a billion dong each, but I spent nearly 30 years caring for and shaping them into their current forms. If we calculate labor day by day, it doesn’t amount to much.”

“That’s why in this craft, to achieve results, you must have not only passion but also an extraordinary level of patience,” he concluded.

Trong Tung