At the end of the year, artisans in Thanh Tien village are busy making colorful handmade paper flowers to celebrate Lunar New Year.
Located along the lower reaches of the Perfume River, about 8 km from Truong Tien Bridge, Thanh Tien village in Phu Mau commune, Hue city, is famous for its 300-year-old paper flower making craft. Thanh Tien paper flower craft village was recognized as a traditional craft village by the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue province in 2013.
Thanh Tien villagers mainly work in agriculture. At certain times of the year, especially in December (the 12th lunar month), people return to making paper flowers to meet the demand during the Lunar New Year. Photo: Nguyen Thu
The advantages of Thanh Tien paper flowers are rich colors, beautiful shapes, long lasting, economical and showing solemnity and respect. In the past, paper flowers were placed in places of worship in the house, temples, shrines, altars of the local god, the kitchen god, and only changed once a year on the occasion of Lunar New Year. Therefore, the official production time of this craft is mainly in December. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hoang Khanh
Thanh Tien villagers use locally available materials such as linden and bamboo, combined with imagination and skillful hands to simulate flowers such as orchids, lilies, single and double chrysanthemums, wallflowers, and wild sunflowers.
The most famous of these is the lotus, which is considered the national flower of Vietnam. Thanh Tien paper lotus appears in major festivals such as Hue Festival, Ao Dai Festival, cultural and artistic exchange programs, and is displayed in the Hue Imperial City and Nguyen Chi Dieu Memorial House, Thanh Tien Village, Phu Mau Commune, Hue City. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hoang Khanh
Before the rainy season in Hue, artisan Nguyen Hoa and Mrs. Tran Thi Thanh Tam (pictured) prepared materials to make paper flowers. Mrs. Tam said her family has been making paper flowers for over 40 years. Currently, there are about 10 households in the village still maintaining this traditional craft. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hoang Khanh
The special feature of Thanh Tien village paper flowers is that all production stages are done by hand. The main materials to make paper flowers are bamboo and colored paper.
Since the eighth lunar month, Mrs. Tam and her husband have been cutting down bamboo planted in the backyard to split and dry to make flower branches. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hoang Khanh
Bamboo sticks are split, rounded, dyed and dried, then hand-bent into shapes to make branches and flower stems. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hoang Khanh
To create different types of flowers, artisans use iron chisels to carve colored paper onto wooden flower molds, then use fishing line to create folds and lines. The final step is to glue the pistils, also made from colored paper, to create a complete flower before attaching them to the stem. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hoang Khanh
Previously, like other households making paper flowers in Thanh Tien, Mr. Hoa’s family used resin and leaves to make dyes according to a traditional recipe. Nowadays, to reduce the dyeing process, the family often buys ready-made colored paper. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hoang Khanh
A complete Thanh Tien bougainvillea branch consists of many types of flowers such as orchids, lilies, roses, chrysanthemums, wild sunflowers, and wallflowers. On the branch are attached red flower buds and long green rice leaves, symbolizing the typical farming profession in the locality. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hoang Khanh
The completed flower branches are attached to a bamboo stick wrapped in straw by Mrs. Tam. Mrs. Tam said that this year, her family made about 10,000 paper flower branches to sell during Tet. Usually after the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, villagers will carry paper flower branches to sell. Each pair of flowers costs 10,000 VND. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hoang Khanh
Nguyen Dinh Hoang Khanh, 30 years old, Ho Chi Minh City, a blogger who loves learning about culture and history, visited Thanh Tien paper flower village at the end of the year. The main occupation of the people here is farming, so the road to the village is mostly vast rice fields, giving a peaceful feeling. But when entering the houses of the paper flower artisans, Khanh was surprised by the eye-catching colors such as yellow, red, and green appearing everywhere, making the space lively and brilliant.
He was most impressed with the lotus flowers for their authenticity and meticulousness in the process. The flower buds have a certain amount of spread from the tip of the flower to the stem. Each lotus petal is created with small, even folds. "If you don't look closely, it's hard to distinguish between real and fake," Khanh said. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Hoang Khanh
Over time, Thanh Tien paper flowers have become a cultural feature of Hue people and have spread to neighboring provinces such as Quang Tri and Da Nang.
Every year, Thanh Tien paper village welcomes a number of foreign tourists to visit and experience the paper flower making process directly at the facility. In addition, the village is also a place chosen by many schools for students to learn about the culture and traditional craft villages in the locality. Photo: Nguyen Thu
Quynh Mai Source: Electronic information portal of Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee
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