The "keeper" of the homeland's traditions
As a craft village located in the new tourist route "Discovering the South Thang Long Heritage Road" launched by the Hanoi Department of Tourism in April 2024, Phung Xa silk weaving village, My Duc district with the production facility of excellent artisan Phan Thi Thuan (born in 1954) has become a tourist attraction.
Previously, the weaving workshop welcomed spontaneous visitors on individual tours, but now many tourist groups know about the new tour route, and the number of visitors has increased significantly. Accompanying the capital's tourism tour requires tour organizers to be more professional in their service. Artisan Phan Thi Thuan proactively renovated the weaving workshop, arranged a living room space, a practical experience area at the weaving workshop and a lotus growing area...
Although he did not undergo formal training as a tour guide, his unwavering love for the traditional weaving craft helps the 70-year-old artisan clearly tell the story of the weaving craft, from the idea of catching silkworms to spin silk to weaving the unique lotus silk weaving craft. Like “silkworms spinning silk”, he wholeheartedly conveys the beauty of the craft to tourists.
Passionate about weaving, artisan Phan Thi Thuan not only preserves the soul of traditional cultural values but also creates many unique and strange products to meet the increasingly high tastes of customers. In the face of fierce competition in the market economy, the traditional weaving village of Phung Xa cannot avoid ups and downs. Determined to "revive" the traditional weaving craft of her hometown, artisan Phan Thi Thuan constantly researches the idea of catching silkworms to spin silk to weave themselves, diligently researching to make lotus silk thread and weaving lotus silk.
With 2 products of silk and lotus silk produced by new technology, artisan Phan Thi Thuan established My Duc Mulberry Silk Company Limited, creating regular jobs for 20 local workers with an average salary of 4.5 million VND/month (the number of seasonal workers is 1,500 people). Lotus silk products are ordered by many customers from France, America, Japan... and often ordered before the lotus season.
Previously, Ms. Thuan had accepted invitations to promote Hanoi craft village products at tourism fairs and tourism festivals, so she had some experience in welcoming tourists and understanding the shopping needs of international tourists. Therefore, the weaving workshop has a product display booth so that visitors can buy them as gifts and souvenirs.
"Fostering" love for traditional professions
With his love for the profession and youthful talent, Nguyen Tan Phat (born in 1983) was awarded the title of Hanoi Artisan in the mother-of-pearl inlay and lacquer craft in 2017 by the Hanoi People's Committee.
Having graduated from the University of Industrial Fine Arts, the young man chose to “anchor in his hometown” to start his business. Taking advantage of the existing advantages of Duong Lam Ancient Village, Nguyen Tan Phat built the Phat Studio model, a place to display mother-of-pearl inlay and lacquer products on wooden floors. In the space of the ancient house, young artisan Nguyen Tan Phat took advantage of every wall and corner of the yard to display design products, like a “mini museum”.
From the perspective of a design student, with the cradle inherited from his father and grandfather who were sculptors of pagodas and temples, the mother-of-pearl inlay and lacquer products have their own shapes. Notably, the work "Thang Long Heritage Gate" won the "Hanoi Tourism Gift Product Design Award 2022" is a set of unique gift products of Hanoi.
At the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2023, the creative exhibition space "Son Tay, the heritage land" with a unique buffalo model recreating the rice bin and the typical tiled roof of Duong Lam Ancient Village designed by artisan Nguyen Tan Phat left an impression on visitors.
For over 10 years, Nguyen Tan Phat has been known as a teacher who teaches traditional fine arts for free to children and international tourists. Through the program "Days of Love Activities" held annually during the summer vacation, thousands of children have participated in woodblock printing activities, and tourists have been guided to complete lacquer woodblock paintings.
Duong Lam ancient village was once known as the “unique” ancient village in the Northern Delta. But to keep tourists coming to Duong Lam, in addition to the ancient houses, soy sauce jars, laterite clusters, village wells..., young artisan Nguyen Tan Phat struggled to find his own way.
That is the "new look" for Duong Lam Ancient Village from community activities, creative spaces to enhance the experience for visitors. Mong Phu OCOP House, also known as "Village Craft", is the address for organizing "Free Traditional Fine Arts Classes". Here, young artisan Nguyen Tan Phat organizes free traditional craft experience classes: to he, woodblock prints, color painting, pottery on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings every week.
Artisan Nguyen Tan Phat once shared: “Children learning traditional crafts will help preserve and promote the cultural and artistic values of the nation. This is very important in the context of many traditional crafts gradually fading away. Participating in traditional and creative craft learning activities helps children understand and appreciate the cultural heritage of their nation better.”
Hanoi is a land of hundreds of crafts, with a thousand-year-old history and culture, crystallizing the cultural quintessence of the nation. In the flow of history, preserving the soul of traditional craft villages is not only about preservation but also promoting cultural values to the community. Artisans like Ms. Phan Thi Thuan or Mr. Nguyen Tan Phat are not only the "soul keepers" of traditional craft villages of their homeland, but also contribute to promoting and developing Phung Xa weaving, lacquer art to spread and reach international level.
Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/hai-the-he-nghe-nhan-ha-noi-quang-ba-du-lich-lang-nghe.html
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