Bat Trang Ceramic Village:
On the left bank of Hong river and about 10 km from Hanoi in East (in
Gia Lam District, Hanoi), there situated a pottery village, which is the
most famous and long-standing pottery village in Vietnam for its name
of Bat Trang. Up to present, Ba Trang Pottery Village has still been
operating and developing ceaselessly. According to a legend, the village
was first called as Bach Tho Phuong before its name was changed into
Bat Trang Phuong. People in the village remember in their memory that
the place of their origin Bo Bat Village (or called Bach Bat Village),
Yen Mo District, Ninh Binh Province.
Dong Ky Carpentry Village:
Dong Ky was at one time known as the ‘firecracker village’. Prior to
1995 (when the Government banned fire crackers) there was always a
firecracker festival in Dong Ky. A competition for the loudest
firecracker once resulted in the building of a gargantuan 16m long
firecracker.
With the firecracker industry now extinguished, the village survives by
producing beautiful traditional furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
If you wish, you can have handcrafted furniture custom-made here and
exported directly to your address abroad. Arranging the payment may
prove a bit tricky if you are leaving Vietnam before the final product
is produced and shipped. Dong Ky is 15km north-east of Hanoi.