Hue ancient capital is the only place in Vietnam that brings together a complete ecosystem of craft villages, from handicrafts and jewelry making to culinary arts and medicinal herbs. With their refined, sophisticated character and rich cultural philosophy, Hue’s craft villages possess distinctive features that are unmatched by any other craft villages in the country.
The soul of the imperial land
Beyond creating material products, Hue’s craft villages are preserving cultural, spiritual, and aesthetic values and long-standing historical memories. Local citizens often say that “preserving Hue’s traditional crafts means preserving Hue’s character,” because in every conical hat, piece of fabric, embroidered painting, or drop of cajeput essential oil lies the shadow of ancestors and an entire dynasty that has passed.
Among regions possessing many traditional craft villages, Hue has the most abundant and distinctive group in Vietnam. From manufacturing crafts like bronze casting, jewelry making, fine woodworking, and ceramics, to handicrafts serving medicine and culture, such as making dó paper (Rhamnoneuron balansae), printing folk paintings, food processing, distilling essential oils, and conical hat making - all converge here. What distinguishes Hue’s craft villages is their close connection with the Nguyen dynasty court. Many crafts produced items to serve emperors and nobles, court ladies and concubines, thus creating strict standards for technique, aesthetics, and quality.
As for Dr. Tran Dinh Hang, Director of Hue Sub-Institute, Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies, when the Nguyen lords established their capital in Phu Xuan in the 16th-17th centuries, they recruited talented artisans from North to South, from Chinese immigrants to Cham Pa communities to gather in Hue. It was these people who created the cradles of traditional crafts in this new land. When Emperor Gia Long ascended the throne (1802), Hue became the official capital of the Nguyen dynasty. At that time, craft villages were officially recognized, standardized, and flourished under the “royal patronage” system, with close support and management from the court.
Phuong Duc Village, now part of Thuan Hoa Ward, has had traditional bronze casting since the 16th century, but its peak period was when the Nguyen dynasty chose Hue as the capital. The nine dynastic urns, bronze statues, temple bells, bronze cauldrons, incense burners, bronze drums that serve religious ceremonies, and state administration were mainly cast by this village. Today, visitors to Hue cannot help but be amazed when standing before masterpieces of bells weighing several tons, created by ancient Phuong Duc artisans.
Mr. Nguyen Phung Son, the 12th generation of bronze artisans, currently living in Thuan Hoa Ward, shares: “My family clan has cast bells for Hue’s pagodas. My ancestors also joined hands in casting bells for Tu Dam, Tu Hieu, Linh Mu pagodas... I myself have cast dozens of bells and worship statues for temples and village communal houses from North to South, including a ‘great bell’ weighing over 30 tons. For people of Phuong Duc, bronze casting is not just a livelihood, but also a source of pride, honor, and ancestral memory.”
Unlike the “heat” of the bronze foundry, in Loc Thuy, former Phu Loc district, now part of Chan May - Lang Co commune, there is the cajeput oil distillation craft that runs deep like underground water - quiet and persistent. According to folk historical records, people here have been distilling essential oil from cajeput leaves for several hundred years, serving local medicine. Hue cajeput essential oil, especially from Loc Thuy, is famous for its purity, gentle fragrance, good warming ability, and safety for children and pregnant women. The oil-making method here was formerly completely manual, using copper pots, bamboo tubes, and wood fires.
In the city center lies Thuan Loc embroidery village, which once specialized in making costumes and bedding for the Nguyen dynasty court. Embroidered paintings of lotus flowers, cranes, dragons, and phoenixes were made entirely by hand, with each stitch meticulously and vividly rendered on fine silk.
Downstream along the Huong River, Sinh folk painting village (Phu Mau commune, Phu Vang district, now part of Duong No ward) is one of the three most famous folk painting traditions in Vietnam, and still continues to print paintings for worship ceremonies, weddings, and Tet. Though no longer in its golden age, each time indigo color and dó paper touch the mold, villagers seem to see the shadows of ancestors and villages through the paintings.
Preserving the essence of Heaven and Earth
What is remarkable about Hue is that, despite no longer having the golden era when each craft village was patronized, trained, and standardized to serve the court, the craft villages still quietly exist. Not loudly, but persistently like the Huong River flowing through the city peacefully and profoundly.
In Hue, craft villages are not just places that create products but also places that preserve the soul of a community and a land. Artisans are not merely “craftspeople” but also keepers of memories - vivid memories not written in books but carved in skilled hands, in stories told at nightfall, in the flames of copper furnaces, or in cajeput fragrance wafting through rural villages. Each generation leaves behind a layer of memory, not through words but through actions - the way fathers teach sons to split bamboo, mothers teach daughters to dry paper, or grandmothers sit quietly threading each embroidery thread on fine silk.
Delving deep into the past of Hue’s craft villages, I recall the pottery craft of Phuoc Tich village. This village lies on the banks of the O Lau River, about 40km north of Hue city center. According to old records, Phuoc Tich’s pottery craft was formed over 500 years ago with the name Ke Doc village. During the Nguyen dynasty, Phuoc Tich was the major pottery production center of the capital, with products present throughout central provinces.
Village elders recount that not just during the Nguyen period, but from the 17th-18th centuries, Phuoc Tich pottery developed very strongly. At that time, the entire village had more than ten kilns scattered near the water docks along the O Lau River. The kilns burned day and night, and merchants from various places came to trade busily, bringing wealth and fame to the local people.
Phuoc Tich pottery is made from clay taken from the O Lau River and fired very carefully using traditional methods. The kilns are built solidly with high heat, fires always glowing red, ensuring products come out uncracked and unbrittle. Phuoc Tich pottery is beautiful due to its rustic, natural appearance - thick and solid clay body that becomes like stoneware, unglazed exterior, but naturally beautiful dark brown color that’s clean and shiny. Therefore, many products with high artistic value, such as pots, jars, cooking vessels, and teapots, were used in the Nguyen Imperial Palace, which Phuoc Tich people still take pride in today.
Not only Phuoc Tich pottery, but in every poem-conical-hat, drop of cajeput essential oil, folk painting frame, or ancient Hue bronze bell, there is not just technique but also propriety and life philosophy. Although many other localities have pottery and embroidery crafts, Phuoc Tich pottery and Hue paintings are made not just for hanging as decoration or souvenirs in living rooms but also for worship. Other places have essential oil distillation crafts, but Hue cajeput essential oil is a fusion of local medicine and folk ethics. Therefore, traditional crafts in Hue are not just made for living, but also for preserving virtue and maintaining the essence left by ancestors.
Many crafts, though past their prime, still have numerous Hue artisans who persist in maintaining their crafts despite no longer being profitable. They could live by other trades but still keep the old crafts as a way of repaying their ancestors. This is not nostalgia but a choice full of self-respect and sentiment. However, with the unstoppable flow of time, when technology reigns, when markets demand things that are fast, cheap, and convenient, then, crafts requiring meticulousness and the “heart” to preserve the soul of village products become a quiet struggle.
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BOX: Dr. “Hue’s craft villages carry very high symbolic value. They are not just economic entities, but also represent the cultural identity of the Ancient Capital. The refinement, standards, and strictness in every technical detail also reflect the spirit of respecting propriety and traditional values of Hue people,” states Tran Dinh Hang, Director of Hue Sub-Institute, Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies.
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