The Vietnam-ASEAN handicraft village exhibitions 2005 at the Tao Dan Cultural Park is also billed as a festival to charm tourists and provide a forum for exchange between artisans from various countries.
The expo earmarks separate areas for handicraft villages from Vietnam’s southern, central, northern, and central highlands regions, and Ho Chi Minh City as well as participants from ASEAN member-countries.
Vietnam has a long tradition of handicraft villages, which were founded between the 11th and 18th countries, where entire villages are occupied in making sophisticated ceramic, wooden, rattan, bamboo, silk and ivory products.
The northern region has long been known for brocade made by the Mong people in Lao Cai province, and ceramics in Bat Trang village near Hanoi. The silk weavers of Van Phuc village near the capital, wood carvers and sculptors of Bac Ninh, Ha Tay and Thai Binh provinces, and mat weavers of Thanh Hoa province are also famous.
The central region is known for the copper works in Hue city and Quang Ngai province and stone carving in DaNang city.
The Mekong Delta region in the south is reputed for the red pottery, carpet weaving, and rush matting made in Vinh Long province, ornamental plants in Dong Thap province, and brocade woven by the Cham and Khmer ethnic groups in An Giang province.
The exhibition plans to showcase the skills of all these artisans amid the authentic settings of a real craft village.
“The industry ministry had been asked to hold a competition named Golden Hand, in which craftspeople from more than 50 villages across the country would participate. The entries, to be made completely by hand, would be displayed for visitors to admire and judge for aesthetic appeal and quality,” according to an organizer, Trinh Thang.
The organizers also plan to hold seminars on handicrafts and fine arts, development of handicraft villages, and building trademarks for them.
More than 100 exhibitors from Vietnam, as well as several from the 10 ASEAN member-countries and other Asian countries including China, Japan, Republic of Korea, and India have registered to participate.
The fair will last to December 6, said the organizers.
In the past eleven months of this year, Vietnam notched up US$459 million from handicraft exports, up 11.2 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The country is expected to obtain a total US$500 million from handicraft exports this year, according to the Ministry of Trade.
VNS
Vietnamese
