Does this Cong Muong Mai shipbuilding village still exist?

The wooden shipbuilding village of Cong Muong has existed for more than 600 years, and has been the pride of the people of Phong Hai ward, Quang Yen town (Quang Ninh), because of its reputation far and wide, with boats born from the skillful hands and shipbuilding experience of their ancestors, so that the boats can go against the current and wind, helping fishermen reach the sea. However, following the modern trend, the shipbuilding village is gradually fading away, even facing the risk of being lost. On the slope at the beginning of the village, looking down, Lam Ninh is as beautiful as a picturesque landscape painting. The curved concrete road follows the newly built solid houses, embracing the lush green rice fields in their prime. The place I used to go to, but today returning to Lam Ninh, the change made me surprised... At noon on March 21, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Mr. Philippe Tabarot, Minister in charge of Transport (under the Ministry of Ecological Transition, French Territorial Cohesion) who was visiting and working in Vietnam. Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee has just issued Decision No. 26/2025/QD-UBND dated March 19, 2025 stipulating the conditions, contents, and preferential loan levels to implement a number of lending activities under the national target program in the province. In order to equip and foster legal knowledge, experience, and skills in performing the work of propagating, disseminating, educating the law, and mediating at the grassroots level, the People's Committee and the Department of Justice of Duc Co District (Gia Lai) have just organized a training conference for nearly 230 trainees who are legal propagandists and mediators at the grassroots level in 5 communes in the area. Recently, Hai Lang District (Quang Tri) has been The Prime Minister signed Decision No. 542/QD-TTg dated March 7, 2025 recognizing the district as meeting new rural standards (NTM) in 2024. This is the result of the highest determination of the entire political system, the solidarity and cooperation of the local people, including religious dignitaries and followers, in 13 years of persistently implementing the program. On March 21, the Gia Rai people in the border commune of Ia Pech, Ia Grai district, Gia Lai joined hands to organize a forest worship ceremony to thank the Forest God for protecting the villagers and providing many products under the forest canopy. From there, together, they will preserve the green of the forests. With the theme "Khau Vai returns", the Khau Vai prosperous market festival (Meo Vac district, Ha Giang) in 2025 will take place for 3 days, from April 22 - 24 (March 25 - 27 of the lunar calendar). This year, the Festival is organized on a provincial scale, promising to bring visitors many interesting experiences. General news of the Ethnic and Development Newspaper. The morning news on March 21, has the following notable information: Intoxicated by the colors of flowers in March. Sang Ma Sao terraced fields in the water pouring season. The village "taming earth and fire". Along with other current news in ethnic minority and mountainous areas. The leaders of Vietnam Railway Corporation have just had a working session with the leaders of Binh Duong province, on the expansion and implementation of the planning of An Binh terminal station, City. Di An, Binh Duong province, becomes a regional and international transport hub. In 6 days (from May 6 to 12, 2024), the former Head of the Tan Chau Waterway Traffic Police Station (An Giang) directed 2 officers to take advantage of their positions and powers to receive money from vehicle owners to ignore violations when passing through the station to receive bribes of more than 448 million VND. The People's Committee of Binh Duong province has just approved the pre-feasibility study report of the Urban Railway Line No. 1 Project, connecting with Metro Line No. 1 Ho Chi Minh City Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien at Suoi Tien station, passing through 4 cities and ending in Thu Dau Mot City. The route is 32.5 km long. The Cong Muong wooden shipbuilding village has existed for more than 600 years, and has been the pride of the people of Phong Hai ward, Quang Yen town (Quang Ninh), because of its reputation far and wide, with boats born from the skillful hands and shipbuilding experience of their ancestors, so that the boats can go against the current and wind, helping fishermen reach the sea. However, following the modern trend, the shipbuilding village is gradually fading away, even facing the risk of being lost. The Hung Temple Festival is a major event that takes place on the 10th day of the third lunar month every year in Phu Tho province for people across the country to commemorate the Hung Kings' contributions to building the country. Although imbued with ancestor worship, this festival still includes Buddhist rituals, expressing the spirit of compassion, praying for national peace and prosperity, while affirming the deep connection between Buddhism and Vietnamese culture.

There are now a few people making model boats to sell to tourists.

History of traditional craft villages

With a passion and concern for wooden shipbuilding, artisan Le Van Chan, the 17th generation descendant of Cong Muong craft village, has been attached to this traditional craft for many years. He shared that, according to the elders in the village, in 1434, under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong, 17 clans from Thang Long Citadel sailed to the East to reclaim land, establish villages, and lay the foundation for the shipbuilding profession here.

From that century-old craft village, countless ships and boats have set sail, reaching out to sea. Especially the three-sided boat with bat-wing sails – a masterpiece of our ancestors’ ingenuity and experience, capable of going against the current and wind, helping fishermen master the sea.

From that hundred-year-old traditional shipbuilding village, countless ships have set sail, reaching out to cling to the sea.

Thanks to its great contributions, Cong Muong craft village has been recognized and awarded royal titles by many feudal dynasties. Typically, in the 28th year of King Tu Duc's reign, the village was honored with the title "Craft village that benefits the country, benefits the family, benefits the people, and provides utensils". In the 8th year of Thanh Thai, the King continued to issue a royal title praising the talented craftsmanship of the craftsmen here.

In particular, during the years of resistance against France and the US, the ships built by the craft village not only accompanied fishermen, but also became a means of transporting weapons and food, contributing significantly to the nation's victory.

"Thanks to the outstanding characteristics of the bat-winged sampan, many domestic and foreign researchers have come to learn and apply Cong Muong's boat-building techniques. Excited and proud, in November 2014, the craft village was recognized as a traditional craft village by Quang Ninh province," artisan Le Van Chan proudly shared.

Risk of loss

With a proud tradition, however, in recent years, Cong Muong craft village has been facing the risk of fading away due to lack of orders. From a vibrant craft village, bustling with the sound of chisels and saws, Cong Muong has now become quiet and deserted, gradually receding into memory, facing the risk of being lost.

Mr. Nguyen Nhat Thang's family, one of the families that still maintains a boat repair workshop in Cong Muong, said that ten years ago, the whole village had about 30 wooden shipbuilding workshops, with about 500 workers, building 30 new boats/year. Now there are only a few workshops with a few dozen workers, mainly doing repairs.

Mr. Thang shared that regulations on fishing license quotas, along with the requirement that offshore fishing vessels must be 15m or longer, have increased the cost of shipbuilding. Finding large-sized wood sources for shipbuilding is also increasingly difficult. Meanwhile, the demand for building iron and composite ships is increasing, causing wooden-hulled ships to gradually be forgotten.

"We are old now, and can only rely on the young generation - those who still have passion and responsibility for their ancestors' profession - to continue preserving this tradition," he said.

Mr. Thang shared with reporters about the risk of no longer having a traditional shipbuilding village.

Mr. Le Duc Son, the fourth son of artisan Le Duc Chan, shared that in the family, he is the only one who continues his father's career. The other siblings have turned to building rafts for aquaculture or doing business services for many years now. Currently, the work in some workshops in Cong Muong craft village is mainly repairing wooden boats, the amount of work is small, and the scene is no longer as bustling as before.

"This is a traditional profession that has flourished for centuries. I and some other workers also want to follow the family business. However, the thing that worries workshop owners the most right now is the problem of capital, production space and product output," Mr. Son expressed.

According to many elders in the village, it is not until now that those who are passionate about the craft village are struggling to find a new direction. In previous years, many households proactively switched to building iron-hulled and composite ships. They linked up, cooperated, and even sent their children to study and acquire modern techniques to adapt to the times.

Along with that, the People's Committee of Quang Yen town also actively connected businesses to Cong Muong, opening up opportunities to exploit experiential tourism, contributing to creating livelihoods for the people. However, when the transformation was just getting into gear, the Covid-19 pandemic suddenly struck. Without capital to maintain, many workshops were forced to close, and workers had to sadly turn to other jobs.

Pointing to a three-sided boat with a bat-wing sail for sale as a souvenir, artisan Le Duc Chan said: "The wood to build long-bodied fishing boats in areas according to current regulations is basically gone. Therefore, to commemorate the past, people can only build models to sell to tourists."

Artisan Le Duc Chan introduces model boats for sale to tourists.

With its sophisticated craftsmanship and sturdy wooden boats, this craft village once not only contributed significantly to the fisheries industry; but was also the pride of the local community. However, in the modern context, this traditional craft is gradually fading away and facing the risk of being lost.

Discussing this situation, Vice Chairman of Quang Yen Town People's Committee Duong Van Hao admitted that Cong Muong craft village is facing many difficulties, while the local government has not yet had a truly suitable support mechanism. In the coming time, the town and relevant agencies will study and find solutions to preserve and develop the craft village, especially issues related to land, factories and exploiting the potential of experiential tourism.

Will the traditional shipbuilding profession still exist in the future?! To preserve and develop this craft village, we need a suitable support mechanism from the government and the cooperation of businesses, researchers, and people.

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Source: https://baodantoc.vn/lang-nghe-dong-tau-cong-muong-mai-nay-con-khong-1742549571071.htm