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| Enjoying tea at Hien Tra Nhi Do Mai |
The steady sound of chisels echoes through a small workshop. On a wooden table, finely shaved bamboo strips are neatly arranged, waiting to be crafted into finished products. After nearly 18 years of carrying on his family's traditional bamboo and rattan craft, Le Duc Quoc Bao, owner of May Tre Hue in Phu Xuan Ward, understands that beautiful products alone are not enough for the craft to survive in modern society.
"This craft demands meticulous care, from selecting straight bamboo with natural resistance to termites to mastering techniques such as deep carving and fine joinery. Every product is handmade, taking from a few hours to several days, or even more than half a month, to complete. Visitors often ask why bamboo and rattan products are so durable, or why no nails are used in the joints. I enjoy telling them about the craft and its process rather than simply selling them a chair," Bao shared.
Elsewhere, another traditional craft is told through the fragrance of tea. The delicate scent of lotus still lingers in the tea scenting room at Hien Tra Nhi Do Mai, a brand specializing in naturally scented flower teas made by using traditional handcrafted methods. Visitors come not merely to enjoy a cup of tea, but to experience Hue's culture through every sip.
“Every batch of tea carries the story of generations in our family. Some scenting techniques have been passed down from my grandfather and father. Certain flowers must be picked at precisely the right stage and infused several times to preserve their natural fragrance. To us, it is Hue's climate, vegetation, and pace of life that give Hue tea its distinctive character, so every cup contains not only aroma but also the spirit of this land and its people,” said Tran Thi Thanh Nhi, co-founder of Hien Tra Nhi Do Mai.
Matthieu Landeche and Floriane Lemieux, two visitors from France, expressed their delight after experiencing Vietnam's traditional scented tea. “We have been fortunate to enjoy tea in many parts of the world, from Europe to Central Asia, and now Vietnam. In Hue, we discovered something truly special, Hoang Mai tea, which combines ancient Shan Tuyet tea with Hue's signature yellow apricot blossoms. As we tasted it, we could appreciate every layer of its aroma and flavor. It was a remarkable experience."
In addition to blending Hue's Hoang Mai blossoms with Ha Giang Shan Tuyet tea, Hien Tra plans to use Truoi tea, a local specialty from Hue, to produce a line of naturally scented teas made entirely from local ingredients. This represents not only product innovation but also a more complete way of telling the story of the former imperial capital.
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While artisans tell their stories through the products they create, Y Nhi and Thuy Tu, co-founders of the Shunhwa brand, have chosen to tell those stories through experience by organizing traditional craft village workshops in Hue. “After travelling and joining workshops in many places, we realized that what we truly wanted was to share the stories of Hue's culture in the most accessible way. Traditional craft workshops allow us to connect visitors with these cultural values, giving them the chance to make handicrafts themselves, listen to artisans' stories, and experience Hue's culture firsthand,” Thuy Tu said.
Beyond bamboo and rattan crafts, tea, and paper flowers, many young people in Hue are finding new ways to preserve traditional crafts by incorporating contemporary design, building brands, developing experiential tourism, and using social media to promote their products. Rather than simply selling handmade items, they are telling the stories of craft villages, artisans, and the cultural identity behind every product. This approach is bringing traditional crafts closer to younger generations and visitors alike while creating new opportunities for craft villages to adapt to changing market demands.
Whether making Thanh Tien paper flowers, printing Sinh Village folk paintings, painting conical hats, or sculpting Ong Tao figurines in Dia Linh Village, participants leave with more than a handmade souvenir. They leave with the feeling of having lived like a Hue local for a few hours, having listened to artisans' stories and experienced the city's traditional values firsthand.
For those who dedicate themselves to traditional crafts, the work is about more than earning a livelihood. It is about ensuring that bamboo and rattan furniture, fragrant flower tea, and delicate paper flowers continue to carry the story of Hue to visitors from near and far. As long as there are people willing to carry that story forward, traditional crafts will continue to thrive in contemporary life.