Hoi An has long been known as one of the famous cultural heritages in the Central Coast region, which is recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage.
With a featured ancient house design with a long time, varied and rich culture, Hoi An is also known as an attractive new destination for villages with traditional values such as Tra Que vegetable village and Kim Bong carpentry village
Especially, one of the traditional villages with over 500 years of age in Hoi An that you must visit when coming here is Thanh Ha pottery village. This is a vivid demonstration of a traditional handicraft village that has been developing here.
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1. Those who breathe soul into clay in Thanh Ha Pottery Village.
Thanh Ha Pottery Village is located next to the poetic Thu Bon River, 30 km west of the ancient town of Hoi An, Thanh Ha Pottery Village is a witness of history witnessing the ups and downs of history.
Since ancient times, earthenware pottery was a popular item used by the majority of people, from which the people succeeded their ancestors to protect and continue to make pottery and earthenware until the end now.
Visiting Thanh Ha Pottery Village, visitors have the opportunity to roam in an ancient green space of a Vietnamese village with wells, bamboo villages, dirt roads, and small houses with a fence just as low as your body.
In addition, you can also see firsthand how the skillful craftsmen create unique products with traditional old ways with very strict processes. The holdings of soulless clay suddenly turned into wonderful works more soulful than ever.
2. Traditional Ceramics Process requires Meticulous Care and Highly Precision
To make products from the clay till the completion of the furnace requires meticulousness of the pottery craftsman. Clay is the main material for making pottery products in Thanh Ha and must be taken from Dien Ban district, 15 km away by the river.
After the clay is collected, the mechanic shreds the soil and plows three times, then rails three more times to obtain a thin, fine soil mixture. Then proceed to pedal the soil to make the texture smooth, then bring it back to shape the product. The more the soil is selected and cleaned, the better the final product will be.
The uniqueness of Thanh Ha pottery is that it is a craftsman who makes pottery by hand and does not use any mold. Pottery workers often come together in pairs, one standing with two hands kneading the ground with the foot of the turntable and the other sitting on the turntable.
This method requires two workers to have a smooth coordination with each other, because depending on the different stages, the speed of the rotation should be fast or slow. Products made are left to dry for 2-3 hours to dry and then finalized to be final, then baked
Thanh Ha pottery is not glazed but is baked with a traditional wood stove to create products with many different colors. Every five to ten days, the pottery will be baked once, the time from one to two days depends on the type of furnace or back facing. The special feature of the artisan here that I am impressed is that Thanh Ha people baked pottery without any thermometer or temperature measuring device, they can watch the temperature at the most accurate level only through the sensor. and experience.
Just hear the sound of fire, feel the heat from the furnace, adjust the heat just enough to ensure enough heat to heat all the products but still not cause the products near the outside of the oven to be distorted due to overheating. a lot of. Three days after the fire is down, the ceramic product is finished. It is no exaggeration to say that the beauty of Thanh Ha pottery is the beauty that comes from its original simplicity.
3. Common products of Thanh Ha Pottery Village
The main products of traditional Thanh Ha pottery are household products such as cups, saucers, pots, jars, pots, etc. They used to be very popular with the development of society and red ceramic products of Thanh Ha village with the appearance of everyday life gradually.
To meet the requirements and tastes of users, people have switched to producing decorative and fine-art ceramics but still keeping the tradition and nature of the craft village
In addition, Thanh Ha pottery is also produced into interesting souvenirs found in the pedestrian halls of Hoi An ancient town, such as the curious river, or the blowing bird, which becomes a cute gift for every tourist. Bring home gifts for relatives and friends. A special feature that impressed me most is that visitors have the opportunity to transform into a true potter, making their own unique products under the enthusiastic guidance of the Thanh Ha people
Hearing them share about the meticulous pottery making, the ups and downs in the career of preserving and preserving the traditional culture of the ancestors, we love and treasure the plates more and more. love the job, love the homeland of the simple, honest people in Thanh Ha – Hoi An.
4. There’s a Miniature World in Thanh Ha Terracotta Park – Did you know?
With the ingenious hands of the artisans here, they have breathed in each product by their meticulous ingenuity, Thanh Ha pottery increasingly attracts visitors to visit and look to admire.
In 2019, Thanh Ha Pottery Village was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage, this is an opportunity to make more people know about Thanh Ha Pottery Village and also a great challenge in preserving the integrity. Traditional heritage of the nation.
With the purpose of bringing Vietnam pottery in general and Thanh Ha pottery in particular to the world, and preserving and promoting the value of the nation, Thanh Ha people together built Thanh Ha terracotta park with the campus about 6000m2. The idea of building Thanh Ha terracotta park was developed by architect Nguyen Van Nguyen who is a son of Thanh Ha village with the desire to succeed the heritage of the ancestors left behind, convey the desire for conservation. traditional culture as well as the desire to bring pottery in the home country to reach out.
This is a unique large terracotta park made of terracotta, is considered a pottery museum with thousands of products such as artifacts, pictures, and pictures of traditional culture very artistic.
The park consists of two main areas, simulating a Thanh Ha pottery kiln. The three-story building houses traditional works from ancient times. The back office is dedicated to display and organize new ceramic product introduction, trade fairs, …
Park space of Thanh Ha pottery village consists of 9 separate areas including:
- ceramic kiln,
- village sanctuary,
- terracotta market,
- miniature world,
- garden installation,
- Sa Huynh Cham pottery area,
- traditional craft villages area
- and exhibition grounds.
The highlight of it is a miniature world of many wonders, unique architectural works of humanity, especially reminiscent of Sydney theater, Egyptian pyramids, Notre Dame Cathedral, or the outstanding works in our country such as Khue Van Cac, turtle towers, …
Besides, there is a space of ceramic garden displaying Vietnamese terracotta products from the last century and famous pottery villages such as Sa Huynh, Thanh Ha, Bau Truc …
With the combination of the miniatures and the meticulous attention in every detail under the talented hands of artisans, the terracotta building has an indelible impression and left many impressions in the hearts of visitors coming here. .
Tickets to the village 15,000 / person
Tickets to the Terracotta Park 35,000 / person including 1 capacity to try pottery and get a ceramic bowl.
Experiencing many ups and downs of history and its golden moments, Thanh Ha pottery village still preserves and preserves its special traditions until now.
There are periods when this place seems to be oversleeping and sinking into the dust of time. But on the contrary, Thanh Ha pottery village has been living and is increasingly famous and known as an attractive traditional destination that is loved by tourists everywhere.
TrungNguyen
