Bat Trang Ancient Village

The restored candlestick and incense burner from the Mac Dynasty by the late National Artist Vu Thang.

In the ancient village, there are 23 historic homes and 16 ancestral halls where many ancient Bát Tràng traditions are preserved. Since 2019, Bát Tràng has been recognized as a notable landmark of the city.

Among them are 8 Meritorious Artisans, 27 Hanoi's Artisans, 5 Folk Artisans and over 100 craftsmen who have been awarded with honorary titles by the State and the City for their contribution to the crafts. Notably, Tran Do and the late Vu Thang are two of few people in the handicrafts field to have been nationally recognized by the State as the People's Artisans in the last 10 years.

To create ceramics that can resiliently withstand wear and tear, as well as being vibrant in colours and intricate in details, the artisans of Bat Trang use clay and kaolin as raw materials, which they mix, shape, fire and glaze using secret techniques that they inherited from generations of predecessors. (The photos above) patterns engraving technique, shaping and retouching products process.

Lo bau (Gourd-shaped Kiln) is a wood-fired traditional kiln of Bat Trang, with multiple gourds like domes placed together. There were approximately 20 lo bau’s ever produced and each of the domes was allowed to be rented by small workshops. Nowadays, only one of these ancient kilns is left, and it is currently being preserved as a tourist attraction. Most Bat Trang modern ceramic products are fired in electric or gas kilns.

Skilled artisans combine technical meticulousness and artistic ingenuity to create high-quality ceramics. Not only are they enduring, functional and beautiful, these ceramics are also evident of the people's economic, intellectual and cultural advancements.

Bat Trang's riverside location is advantageous to the village's ceramics trades and tourism. In addition to domestic consumption, Bat Trang ceramics are valuable export goods as they are gaining increasing popularity on the international market. Annually, the village averaged about 50,000 visitors and pottery customers, many of which hail from abroad.

Significant among them is the Communal House, where the social and cultural activities of the village have been taking place for over 300 years. Although it was destroyed in the wars, the Communal House has been restored in its entirety by the collective efforts of the local residents. Additionally, there is also the Temple of Literature, which serves both to worship the great scholars of ancient times, and as the symbol of the nation's tradition of studiousness.

Founded by the late National Artist Vu Thang, the Bat Trang Museum of Viet Soul Art (also called Bat Trang Museum) is the first government-licensed private museum in Bat Trang village since 2016. The museum offers an extraordinary collection of traditional Bat Trang ceramics spanning from the 18th-19th to the early 20th century. The repertoire comprises pieces meticulously collected by the late National Artist Vu Thang and many of his unique works created during his 50-year-long career.